The Ford Pinto: Did a Cost Calculation Put a Price on Human Life?

A source-grounded Banned History episode on the Ford Pinto fuel-tank controversy, beginning with the 1972 crash that killed Lilly Gray and severely injured thirteen-year-old Richard Grimshaw. The episode follows Ford’s accelerated Pinto development, pre-sale rear-impact tests, internal records discussed in the Grimshaw civil case, the famous but often-misunderstood 1973 Grush/Saunby cost-benefit memorandum, the Center for Auto Safety petition, Mark Dowie’s 1977 reporting, the 1978 civil verdict, NHTSA’s defect determination and recall, the separate Indiana criminal prosecution, and the 1981 California appellate ruling. It separates documented findings from allegations, settlements from verdicts, civil liability from criminal acquittal, and the real memo from the myth built around it.

This podcast uses artificial intelligence in its research, writing, production, and narration. Episodes are editorially reviewed before publication.

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YES OR NO: Should companies be barred from using dollar values for predicted deaths when deciding whether to add safety protections???????