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> The fight club defence IIRC that was based on the ford pinto

• ErikVandeWater 5y ago
  Popular Mechanics says the Ford Pinto was no more dangerous than competitors' cars: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a6700/top-automotive-engineering-failures-ford-pinto-fuel-tanks/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a6700/top-automotive-e... Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I imagine that small cars are the most dangerous to be in, since they will stop more abruptly if they hit something, as opposed to something like a bus which will demolish almost anything in its way.
  • ericbarrett 5y ago
    Note even that article isn't saying the Pinto didn't have a defect; just that its American competitors were equally as compromised. The 70s were a real nadir for American auto manufacturing, as the Big 3 (Ford, Chrysler, GM) had been caught flat-footed by competition from Japanese imports. In much the same way as you still see today in any industry, they set aggressive goals to cargo-cult what they saw as their competitors' advantages (weight, fuel economy, price) without understanding the real consumer perception issues (quality, longevity, driving experience) that they faced.