What 1970s Ford model attracted controversy concerning the safety of its gas tanks and was spoofed in the film Top Secret in which gently tapping the rear bumper of the car causes it to explode?
"behind the rear axle (see Ford Pinto). In the United States, NHTSA is studying how to address this issue . Beyond lethal interactions, repair costs of passenger car/SUV collisions can also be significant due to the height mismatch. This mismatch can result in vehicles being so severely damaged that they are inoperable after low speed collisions. In most jurisdictions, bumpers are legally required on all vehicles. Regulations for automobile bumpers have been implemented for two reasons – to allow the car to sustain a low-speed impact without damage to the vehicle's safety systems, and to protect pedestrians from injury. These"
"such as the Ford Pinto or the models that still use the Ford Panther platform (Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, and Mercury Grand Marquis) are notorious for having the fuel tank behind the rear axle. Since 1980 new Ford models corrected this problem and had the fuel tank in front of the rear axle. General Motors 1973-1987 C/K pickup trucks have the fuel tank located outside the frame. According to the Center for Auto Safety this creates a fire hazard. In automotive applications, improper placement of the fuel tank has led to increased probability of fire in collisions. Circa"
"withdrawn. While the car has been highly rated for safety, there was some controversy and lawsuits in the 1990s and 2000s over Ford Crown Victoria gas tank leaks after certain types of high speed impacts, specifically when being hit in the rear end at high speeds. These impacts caused fuel tank failures in the Crown Victoria. The leaking fuel in combination with friction between the vehicle and the road was found to be the cause of fires. The reports that the cars were more prone to fires during a rear collision were a simple combination of three things. First, most"
"from 1974 to 1976 the incorporation into all Ford cars of either a shock absorbent ""flak suit"" to protect the fuel tank at a cost of $4 per car, or a nylon bladder within the tank at a cost of $5.25 to $8 per car. Agreeing to the decision would allow Ford to realize a savings of $10.9 million. MacDonald agreed to the report's recommendation, and hence left the Pinto exposed to rear-end collisions. In 1972, a rear-end accident occurred in California, that killed Pinto occupant Lily Gray and severely burned 13-year-old Richard Grimshaw. The accident resulted in the court"
"Ford Pinto. In 1977, there were allegations that the Pinto's structural design allowed its fuel-tank filler neck to break off and the fuel tank to be punctured in a rear-end collision, resulting in deadly fires. This case is a staple of engineering ethics courses as an example of a bad cost–benefit analysis. In 1978, all 1971-1976 Pintos were recalled and had safety shielding and reinforcements installed to protect the fuel tank. Iacocca was strongly courted by the Chrysler Corporation, at a time when the company appeared to be on the verge of going out of business and had just sold"
"positioned its fuel tank between the rear axle and the rear bumper, a standard practice in US subcompact cars at the time. The Pinto's vulnerability to fuel leakage and fire in a rear-end collision was exacerbated by reduced rear ""crush space"", a lack of structural reinforcement in the rear, and an ""essentially ornamental"" rear bumper (though similar to other manufacturers). Crash testing, conducted in 1970 with modified Ford Mavericks, as part of a response to NHTSA proposed regulations, demonstrated vulnerability at fairly low crash speeds. Design changes were made, but post launch tests showed similar results. These tests were conducted"
"1990, General Motors faced over a hundred product liability lawsuits related to fires allegedly caused by GM's decision to place the fuel tanks in its pickup trucks outside the protection of the vehicle's frame. In 1993, reportage on this matter for NBC News created a scandal over vehicles rigged to catch fire for the television camera. Ford's Pinto also sparked controversy for putting the fuel tank in a poorly reinforced area which can cause deadly fires and explosions if the car got into a rear-end collision, costing Ford US$125 million. Likewise for safety reasons, the filler could no longer be"
"bunker inside the plant. The company denied the allegations. In September 1971 the Ford Motor Company launched the Pinto for the North American market. The car's fuel tank integrity is alleged to have been substandard for the time, making the car inordinately susceptible to fuel tank ruptures in rear impact collisions. An article published in ""Mother Jones"" contributed to a public controversy by saying that Ford knowingly released a design that would result in hundreds of deaths as well as calculating that it was cheaper to fight injury claims in court than make changes to the Pinto's fuel system. Public"
"to another. Ford struggled when it was revealed that the Ford Pinto's gas tank was vulnerable to exploding when hit from behind. Ford knew about this vulnerability but did not design any safeguards in order to save a few dollars per vehicle. They rationalized that the cost of lawsuits would be less than the cost of redesigning the car. GM had a string of miscues starting with the Chevrolet Vega, which developed a reputation for rapidly rusting and having major problems with the aluminium engine. Cadillac damaged their reputation when the four-cylinder Cadillac Cimarron was introduced in 1981 (a gussied-up"
"the fuel systems in these vehicles."" The Ford recall placed a polyethylene shield between the tank and likely causes of puncture, lengthened the filler tube, and improved the tank filler seal in the event of collision. Approximately 117 lawsuits were brought against Ford in connection with rear-end accidents in the Pinto. The two most significant cases were ""Grimshaw vs. Ford Motor Company"" and ""State of Indiana vs. Ford Motor Company"". ""Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co."", decided in February 1978, is one of two important Pinto cases. A 1972 Pinto driven by Lily Gray stalled in the center lane of a"
"federal agencies, such as Secret Service for example. 240 deaths and 3,000 catastrophic injuries resulted from the combination of early generation Explorers and Firestone tires. The tire tread separated and the vehicle had an unusually high rate of rollover crash as a result. Both companies' reputations were tarnished. This event led to a disruption in the 90-year-old Ford/Firestone partnership. Rollover risk is inherently higher in truck-based vehicles, like the Explorer, than in ordinary passenger cars, as modification for bulky 4-wheel-drive hardware requires increases in height to avoid compromising ground clearance (raising the center of gravity), while a short wheelbase further"
"moderate speed, rear-end collisions that have resulted in fuel tank damage, fuel leakage, and fire occurrences that have resulted in fatalities and non-fatal burn injuries ... The fuel tank design and structural characteristics of the 1975–1976 Mercury Bobcat which render it identical to contemporary Pinto vehicles, also render it subject to like consequences in rear impact collisions. NHTSA scheduled a public hearing for June 1978, and NHTSA negotiated with Ford on the recall. Lee and Ermann noted that NHTSA used a worst case test to justify the recall of the Pinto, rather than the regular 1977 rear impact crash test."
"test, and was ranked the ""2nd Worst Performing Vehicle"" behind the 1997–2005 GM U-platform minivans. Ford has found that the cruise control system in many of their trucks could catch fire, because the switch system could corrode over time, overheat and ignite. Ignition was later blamed on spillage from the adjacent master cylinder. On March 5, 2007 Ford recalled 155,000 2003 full-size pickups and full-size SUVs for the defective part. During the previous two years Ford had recalled 5.8 million vehicles in because of the defective cruise control systems in trucks, SUVs and vans. That recall, one of the largest"
"T-bucket A T-bucket (or Bucket T) is a hot rod, based on a Ford Model T of the 1915 to 1927 era, but extensively modified. T-buckets were favorites for greasers. Model Ts were hot-rodded and customized from the 1920s on, but the T-bucket was specifically created and named by Norm Grabowski in the 1950s. This car was named ""Lightning Bug"", better known as the ""Kookie Kar"", after being redesigned by Grabowski and appearing in the TV show ""77 Sunset Strip"", driven by character Gerald ""Kookie"" Kookson. The exposure it gained led to numerous copies being built. A genuine T-bucket has"
"relied on an unusually high front to rear pressure differential (15psi front, 26psi rear, when cold; 18 psi and 30psi hot), and if one inflated the tires equally, as was standard practice for all other cars at the time, the result was a dangerous oversteer. In early March 1966, several media outlets, including ""The New Republic"" and ""The New York Times"", alleged that GM had tried to discredit Ralph Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past, and hiring prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations. Nader sued the company for invasion of privacy and settled"
"people use modern fuel-injected engines. T-bucket A T-bucket (or Bucket T) is a hot rod, based on a Ford Model T of the 1915 to 1927 era, but extensively modified. T-buckets were favorites for greasers. Model Ts were hot-rodded and customized from the 1920s on, but the T-bucket was specifically created and named by Norm Grabowski in the 1950s. This car was named ""Lightning Bug"", better known as the ""Kookie Kar"", after being redesigned by Grabowski and appearing in the TV show ""77 Sunset Strip"", driven by character Gerald ""Kookie"" Kookson. The exposure it gained led to numerous copies being"
"and Ford retaliated with the Torino Talladega and Mercury Spoiler. Both were to have streamlined noses, but the Mercury launch was delayed until the mid-year Cyclone Spoiler II. Only 519 were sold, all with 351-cid V-8s instead of the bigger 428. A Dan Gurney special edition had a dark blue roof, striping, and a signature decal on the white lowers, while the Cale Yarborough edition was red and white like his Woods Brothers car, with a signature. Three Cyclone models were produced for 1970, all of which shared the Torino’s semi-fastback body, and all of which carried a four-part nose."
"system in rear-end accidents."" Proposed federal regulations required impacts ""without significant fuel spillage,"" up to impacts by 1972 and by 1973. Crash tests proved that the Pinto could not meet the proposed regulations. A collision from the rear ""caused the fuel tank to be driven forward and to be punctured, causing fuel leakage."" A collision of a production Pinto ""caused the fuel neck to be torn from the gas tank and the tank to be punctured by a bolt head on the differential housing."" In at least one test collision ""spilled fuel entered the driver's compartment through gaps resulting from"
"as basic gas tank location is concerned, I am persuaded that the trunk capacity problem, in conjunction with American auto custom, provides the best explanation for Ford's choice to place the Pinto gas tank behind the axle. As for additional design proposals brought forward by the plaintiffs, several of them-for example, a bladder within the gas tank, and a ""tank within the tank""-concerned somewhat innovative technology that had never been utilized in actual auto production. At trial, there was testimony that a bladder would have been feasible in the early 1970's, but also rebuttal testimony that a bladder was at"
"""GMT400"" design. The third generation of GM's full-size pickup line had a fuel tank design that drew criticism after the model run ended. The fuel tank was relocated from the cab to the outboard sides of one or both frame rails beneath the cab floor extending under the leading edge of the pickup box, commonly referred to as a sidesaddle arrangement. The writer and editorialist Walter Olson made the following points: According to a later-debunked 1993 report on ""Dateline NBC"", this arrangement made the trucks prone to exploding in a side collision. The faked video was staged by an expert"
"for the 1970 model year. Hidden headlights were deleted in favor of four exposed round headlamps outboard of narrower grille openings. The nose retained the protruding vertical prow theme, although it was less prominent. While the standard Tempest and Le Mans had chrome grilles, the GTO retained the Endura urethane cover around the headlamps and grille. The suspension was upgraded with the addition of a rear anti-roll bar, essentially the same bar as used on the Oldsmobile 442 and Buick Gran Sport. The front anti-roll bar was slightly stiffer. The result was a useful reduction in body lean in turns"
"the TV-programme Top Gear (Series 5, 2nd episode, aired October 31, 2004), the one used in the film was nominated for restoration in the ""Restoration Rip-off"" feature, but it was out-voted by Paddy Hopkirk's Mini for restoration. The car was subsequently restored by Club Autosport Ltd. A previous model, the Probe 15 was manufactured by the Adams Brothers. It is believed that only one of these were ever made and it is still intact in Switzerland. A subsequent model to the Probe 16, the Probe 2001 was also manufactured from 1970 to 1972 by the Probe Motor Company and WT"
"the associated episode of ""Fifth Gear"", first broadcast 15 October 2007, presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson suggested the fire was caused by a ""faulty oil sealing component,"" which, having been identified, has been fully rectified by Caparo. While being tested for competing British television programme ""Top Gear"", first broadcast on 11 November 2007, a floor panel came loose from the test vehicle as it was being driven at speed by Jeremy Clarkson, after he had already made a play of being scared about driving the car because of Plato's experience. Afterwards, there was a problem with the car's petrol injection system. In"
"""rather volatile nature. The car tended to erupt in flame in rear-end collisions."" The safety of the design of the Pinto's fuel system led to critical incidents and subsequently resulted in a recall, lawsuits, a criminal prosecution, and public controversy. The events surrounding the controversy have been described as a ""landmark narrative"". Former UCLA law professor Gary T. Schwartz describes the associated legal case as ""mythical"" due to several significant factual misconceptions and their impact on the public's understanding. The Ford Pinto has been cited and debated in numerous business ethics as well as tort reform case studies. The placement"
"the tank, braced by two steel straps hanging from the top rail of the frame. Following the crash, numerous erroneous accounts described the tank as oversized, some claiming it held upwards of . An urban legend circulated that Thompson was boasting plans to drive the entire 500 miles without a pit stop, using an oversized fuel tank, but this has been proven false. The crashworthiness of the car and the fuel cell was brought into question at the time. During practice, it was discovered immediately that the car's handling was seriously flawed. Masten Gregory complained that aerodynamic lift reduced the"
"and rear axle, a rear collision could cause the fuel tank to leak, causing a fire. The NHTSA claims that it has reports of 157 deaths resulting from fires caused by Grand Cherokees crashing. Also affected are 2002–2007 Jeep Liberty models and 1986–2001 Jeep Cherokee models, which totals about 5.1 million affected vehicles. In June, 2013, Chrysler Corporation responded to the recall, agreeing to recall 2.7 million Jeeps, though eliminating both the 1986–2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ and 1999–2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ from the recall. The recall will include 2.7 million 1993–1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ and 2002–2007 Jeep Liberty"
"caused smaller vehicles (such as a Ford Taurus) to become severely overridden in a head-on collision. In the test, the tire of the Excursion drove up to the windshield of the Taurus, reducing the chance of survival for the Taurus driver. As a response, Ford modified the chassis to include an under-bumper ""blocker beam""; the device was initially tested by the French transportation ministry in 1971. For the rear of the chassis, Ford chose to include a trailer hitch as standard equipment in production to reduce underriding in rear-end collisions by smaller vehicles. During its entire production, the 5.4L Triton"
"damages, to the parents of a 17 year old named Shannon Moseley who burned to death. The verdict was later overturned by an appeals court and the case settled before it could be re-tried. On Oct. 17, 1994, U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico F. Pena announced that a two-year investigation had found that the trucks posed a fire hazard. Federal officials estimated that 150 persons may have died in preventable fiery crashes. The gas tanks leaked in at least two crash tests performed by GM around the time the trucks were first sold in 1972. The federal report also stated that"
"been driving Peernock's car, a 1971 Cadillac, when the car struck a utility pole. The interior of the car was found to have been soaked with gasoline, with Claire and Natasha also covered with the fluid. It was found that an explosive device had been placed on the gas tank rigged to explode, but that it had failed to detonate. Claire died from head wounds that were termed ""inconsistent"" with a traffic accident and Natasha was severely injured, but survived. A family member told authorities that Peernock and Claire had been in the process of separating and that she had"
"of the car's fuel tank was the result of both conservative industry practice of the time as well the uncertain regulatory environment during the development and early sales periods of the car. Ford was accused of knowing the car had an unsafe tank placement then forgoing design changes based on an internal cost benefit analysis. Two landmark legal cases, ""Grimshaw vs Ford"" and ""State of Indiana vs Ford"" resulted from fatal accidents involving Pintos. Scholarly work published in the decades after the Pinto's release have examined the cases and offered summations of the general understanding of the Pinto and the"
"boost pressure to produce and . A version of the 20B known as the ""R20B RENESIS 3 Rotor Engine"" was built by Racing Beat in the U.S.A for the Furai concept car which was released on 27 December, 2007. The engine was turned to run powerfully on 100% environmentally-friendly ethanol (E100) fuel, produced in partnership with BP . During a ""Top Gear"" photo shoot in 2008, a fire in the engine bay combined with a delay to inform the fire crews, the car was engulfed and the entire car destroyed. This information was withheld until made public in 2013. The"
"stability. The 1960s was a decade when forward looking manufacturers were highlighting secondary safety features. Those on the K70 included a fuel tank mounted directly ahead of the rear axle and boot/trunk, and within the wheelbase. As publicity for the Mercedes-Benz S Class would stress when that car was launched in 1972, this was the least vulnerable position in terms of the risk of the fuel tank being punctured in the event of a crash. The steering column was angled in order to reduce the risk of its being pushed too far back into the passenger cabin, and while seat"
"fighter jet-inspired grille opening that incorporated hidden headlights. The 1970 Thunderbird continued with the same platform and many of the same parts and styling cues used in the 1967 to 1969 models, including the sequential turn signals incorporated into the full width taillamps in the rear of the vehicle. The most noticeable change was in the front fascia where there was now a large prominent projection resembling a bird or eagle's beak that was in line with long angular lines in the hood. Semon ""Bunkie"" Knudsen, the former GM man now President of Ford, is said to be responsible for"