93. The Infamous Ford Pinto Controversy
Year: 1971 – 1980
Location: Edison, New Jersey/Milpitas, California
Company: Ford Motor Company
Estimated Damage Value: $121 million*
Between 1971 and 1980, the Ford Pinto became notorious for its propensity to explode upon rear-end collisions. Produced by Ford Motor Company in Edison, New Jersey, and Milpitas, California, what should have been a hallmark subcompact model turned into a safety nightmare, culminating in government attention due to its hazardous fuel tank design.

The revelation of the 1968 ‘Pinto Memo’ showed Ford executives coldly calculating the trade-off between human lives and monetary costs. Despite fixes being a $137 million option, Ford assessed the ‘benefit to society’ to be lesser, at $49.5 million, choosing not to implement safety changes. This decision led to an estimated 27 to 180 fatalities and a steep cost in public relations damage.