Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

The Ford Pinto is a car that became notoriously associated with fuel-fed crash fires in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the compact vehicle showed a propensity for catching fire when involved in even low-speed crashes. In 1977, a Ford Memo revealed that the company was aware of design problems with the Pinto that made it more susceptible to crash-related fires, but that it had deemed the overall benefits of redesigning the automobile – which included preventing an average of 180 deaths each year – to be not worth the cost – an estimated $11 per automobile.

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So how much do you think your life is worth? $100M? $20M? $420? According to a 1973 General Motors memo, the value of your life is $200,000. Evidently, GM saved over $250M by letting a few hundred people burn to death in their cars.

For nearly 30 years, automobile manufacturers have skirted the issue of fundamental design flaws that make cars prone to catch fire when involved in a crash. Engineers know how to relocate fuel tanks to make them less likely to leak or suffer punctures, but manufacturers have never been held responsible for ensuring their vehicles are safe.

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