Pinto Fire Essay

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Recommended: Ford pinto case ethical issues

The pinto fire case was one the most controversial cases in the 1970’s. This case focused on the fatalities that occurred because of the fuel tank of a Ford Pinto. The design of this vehicle was flawed and there was a significant risk of rupturing the fuel tank. This case was brought up when three teenage girls died because of the ruptured fuel tank of the 1973 Pinto. The pinto fire case addressed many ethical issues, it addressed many product safety questions, and it addressed the cost-benefit analysis of human life. There were many ethical problems with Ford in this case. Ford knew that the Pinto car was proved defective after many tests. The Pinto in the tests was involved in low-speed collisions and it still had a serious fire hazard …show more content…

Businesses have a core responsibility to ensure that the products they are selling are safe to the consumers. Managers are involved in the product development process and they have a great deal of knowledge in product safety issues and they should be held responsible to fix those issues. The problem with management in this case is that they knew the flaws existing in the fuel tank design, but they did not tank any action to fix it. Management just wanted to lower the price of the Pinto, but with that came the high risk of injury and mortality with the Pinto due to the fuel tank …show more content…

Businesses have a core responsibility to deliver a product that is safe to the consumer. I think especially in this case that Ford should have not been selling these cars. Ford knew that these cars were unsafe to drive for the consumer, but they sold them anyways. The Pinto cars in the test runs were going up in flames because of the flawed fuel tank design. As a business owner, you should know when to take risks and when to take advantage of the market. I think in this instance this was an unnecessary risk and it took the lives of hundreds of

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