Reference no: EM131432630

You should read about the Ford Pinto case. Familiarize yourself with the facts of the case, and the outcome.

Use Google - the search words Ford Pinto Lawsuit should bring up a ton of information

1. draft arguments that Lee Iacocca should have been prosecuted criminally.

2. defend your position against this 

This case involves the Ford Pinto and its reputation for the gas tank exploding causing hundreds of injuries and lawsuits.Lee Iacocca was accused at the time of being "in a hurry" to bring a subcompact car into the market to compete with competitors.In that rush, it was said that cost saving measures were used to speed up production.It was argued that these cost saving techniques caused the issues with the exploding gas tank. Ford and Iacocca believed it would be cheaper to pay off the families of the victims as the claims arose rather than fixing the issue on each car after production. This ruined Ford's reputation.

Although some would argue that Lee Iacocca was personally responsible for the deaths of numerous individuals, the trial did indicate that there were hundreds of projects engineers that worked on the case that stated they knew of the flaw but did not tell Lee Iacocca.Reckless homicide must be presented as willful misbehavior and that was difficult to prove in this case.I think it would be next to impossible to prove he willfully acted in this manner however, Ford certainly should be held responsible for any damages or a different charge.

3. Defend your position against this.

Lee Iacocca should not have been prosecuted criminally. Were there accidents? Sure. Is any make/model of automobile perfect? No. "However, Ford and other auto industry associates were successful at lobbying in delaying for seven years the adoption of any NHTSA crash standard."(Philosophia) There were even criminal charges brought up on Ford for the accident in Elkhart, Indiana, which were found not guilty by a jury. The company knew that the gas tanks were unsafe, and found that "95 percent of the fatalities would have survived if Ford had located the fuel tank over the axle (as it had done on its Capri automobiles)." (Philosophia) They had done crash tests and found that the cars couldn't withstand a hit of 20 mph or higher from the rear, but those standards weren't in effect by the NHTSA yet. So, technically they were within the standards of safety. They should be morally ashamed of themselves though. They continued to make the product for 6 years, until they finally made a recall to fix the $10 dollar part to make the vehicles safer.