Ford Pinto Paper

Ford Pinto Case Study The Ford pinto lasted from the 1960’s to the late 1970s and was highly controversial. This poorly made automobile came from a production race between the USA and Japan, where the United States promised an affordable, fuel efficient, and reliable car. Because of the hasty production, it left Ford with a flawed, dangerous, and untested product. The outrage over the obvious safety flaws of the Ford Pinto caused leaders to call upon their values, mission statement, and ethics. The outcome and actions taken in this case left consumers with a loss of confidence and respect for the Ford motor company and its leaders. In the late 1960’s the American auto industry was facing the large challenge of selling American made cars in direct competition with the dominating Japanese auto industry. The Japanese were beginning to outperform the United States auto makers, due to their smaller, fuel efficient and low-cost cars. In response to the Japanese, Ford Motor Company decided to create a smaller and more affordable vehicle that would capture the interest of the American people. Pressured by competition during the early 1970’s, Ford Motor Company began their production of the Ford Pinto (Business Ethics). Ford Motor Company saw this moment as an opportunity to create jobs, sell a large amount of cars at a very low price, and at the same time make a substantial profit for their company. Ford had the idea that the Pinto was going to be the car to reposition the American auto industry back into competition with the Japanese car industry. The Idea and intent of Ford Motor Company to create a car that was going to weigh less than 2,000 pounds and cost less than 2,000 dollars was incredible. The decision on the time frame to complete the design and produce the car became costly. Ford Motor Company decided to design and produce the Ford Pinto in 25 months versus 43 months, which was the required time for the production of a new auto line (Business

References: Ford. (n.d.). Ford Otosan. Retrieved from http://www.fordotosan.com.tr/en/visionmission.htm