There are many aweful cars that have been made. Â Some cars had poor handling, while others had questionable styling. Â Some cars were heavy and underpowered, and other cars were just unreliable and constantly broke down on the road. Â Some cars were just not safe to drive. The worst car ever made was slow, ugly, unreliable, unsafe, and had a fatal flaw.
The worst car ever made could not survive a rear-end collision. Â This car structural design allowed its fuel tank filler neck to be broken off and cause the car catch fire. Â According to a Mother Jones article in 1977, at least 500 burn deaths were caused by the design flaw. Â The case was in my engineering ethics book. Â The company that made this car could have recalled the vehicles and fixed the problems. Â The company looked at the cost for casualties and the cost to fix each vehicle. Â The company calculated that it would cost $137 million to fix the problem and only $49.53 million to cover the costs of deaths and injuries and burned out vehicles. Â The company valued money over human life.
Not only was this car a death trap, but it was very slow. Â The best this car got was 102 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque from a 2.8L V6. Â It went from 0 to 60 mph in 11.4 seconds and had a top speed of 102 mph. Â Even by 1970’s standards it was slow.
The worst car ever made is the Ford Pinto. Â It is slow, an eye sore, and a death trap. Â This car was a PR nightmare for Ford. Â A company should never chose money over the life of a human. Â This goes against the ethics code for engineers. Â Ford’s “Pinto” memo showed that it cost $11 dollars to fix each vehicle, but there were 12.5 million vehicles that had to be modified. Â The total cost to fix these vehicles was $137 million. Â The memo also estimated 180 burn deaths, estimated $200,000 per burn death, 180 serious burn injuries, estimated $67,000 per injury, and 2100 burned out vehicles, at $700 per burned out vehicle, resulting in $49.53 million cost not to fix the fatal flaw. Â If you value your life, do not get into a Ford Pinto, let alone buy one.
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| If you see this car for sale, DO NOT BUY. Â It is a death trap |
Ford has greatly improved its quality its vehicles. Â The F150 is one of the best trucks on the market. Â The Mustang has been an automotive icon for several decades. Â The subcompact Fiesta is one of the best cars in its class. Â Motor Trend named the Ford Fusion its 2010 Car of the Year. Â It took a few decades for Ford to recover from the Pinto disaster, but Ford is back and better than ever.
CarJunkie
The Yugo is a close second.
Originally written April 30, 2011
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