Now is the time for us to remember the Ford Pinto.
Ford marketed the Pinto as "The Little Carefree Car" when they introduced it in 1970. It was a popular affordable fuel-efficient two-door subcompact. Ford sold millions of them. There was just one problem. Pintos tended to explode if anybody rear ended them, even at low speeds.
A horrible fire resulting from a low speed collision in California in 1972 became the subject of a lawsuit that made its way slowly through the courts until culminating in a landmark ruling in 1981 by the California Court of Appeals. The large award -- the largest at that point in history -- to the surviving injured child reshaped the landscape for product liability damage awards.
More about the case.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimshaw_v._Ford_Motor_Co.
Why is now the time to remember the Pinto? Because Tesla.
