The Ford Pinto Case (Business Ethics)

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Ford Motor Company, one of the most prominent cars in US launch the light vehicle Ford Pinto in order to compete with other sub-compact cars. The newly designed cars consist of poor designs; the location of the gas tank at the rear that cause them to explode if hit from behind by another vehicle. Despite the knowledge, Ford has decided to inform the public but failed to recall the cars which will prevent future accident.

In the late 1990’s Ford found themselves to another controversy, cases of Ford Pintos exploding in the highways and killing Americans. An estimated 500 people died in rear-end collisions involving Pintos. The impact was Ford spend millions of dollars to settle the issues.

In my opinion, the decision of Ford to launch Pinto cars and proceed with its production despite the knowledge of the danger it may bring to the passengers is not in accordance with their vision in providing products and services that meet the need of its customers. Ford should think first, the safety of their customers than maximizing profits. Also, Ford should disclosed to the consumers of their full knowledge about Ford Pinto.

        

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