On June 9, 1978, Ford Motor Company agreed to recall 1.5 million Ford Pinto models for fuel tank design defects that made the vehicles susceptible to fire in the event of a moderate-speed rear end collision. The action was the result of investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigations sparked by a national publication expose of the hazard and publicity over the largest punitive damages awarded by a California jury to a young man who had been severely injured in a Pinto fuel tank fire .
             Prior to the 1960's, the trend for the American auto industry was to produce bigger and less fuel-efficient cars. By the late 60's competition from Japanese and German automakers was heating up and the demand for energy conservation was just around the corner. The Ford Motor Company with Lee Iacocca as its president, introduced a new line of cars-the Ford Pinto. Designed to compete with Japan's sub-compacts and Germany's Volkswagen Bug, the Pinto was to cost less than $2,000 and weigh less that 2,000 pounds. To keep pace with the competition, Ford rushed its newest car into production in much less time than is usually required to develop a new design. The standard time in the industry to develop an automobile is 43 months. Ford took just 38. During the design process, Ford engineers debated the placement of the fuel tank. The traditional position in the industry was behind the rear axle, however, an engineering study determined that the safest place was directly above the rear axle. This option was considered but discarded due to design limitations that would have prohibited hatch back and station model offerings. In subsequent examinations, senior company engineers determined that the over the axle design might in fact increase the likelihood of passenger compartment fires. The over the axle placement would also lower storage space and would make servicing the vehicle more difficult. The placement o...