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Ford Pinto

On August 10, 1978 a group composed of three young women, two were eighteen and one was sixteen, were the subject of a rear end automobile accident by another vehicle while driving in a 1973 Ford Pinto. Other similar reports of the cars combustion upon an accident also began to emerge. However, Ford understood the cause of the problem well before any of the accidents occurred. Ford had actually conducted a cost benefit analysis that factored items such as the cost of fixing the fuel system problem on existing cars compared to the estimated legal costs associated with the lawsuits that were directed at Ford due to the unneeded loss of human life. Even though the part was not very expensive, Ford decided that it would still be cheaper to provide compensation through legal settlements than it would be to conduct a product recall to fix the systems.

Ford's actions were definitely unethical in many regards. Even it would have been cheaper for the company to provide compensation to the families would have been cheaper than fixing the problem, the company was still unethical. When considering the costs of human life, protecting lives should certainly come before profits. Not only was the Ford company unethical, but they were also bad at judging the costs. They were forced to pay heavily in settlements, but the total damage was far worse. The company's brand lost a significant amount of value among many consumers which cost them business for years.