Unfortunately, it appears that Ford learned a lesson with the Pinto. Just the wrong lesson.
Brian --- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10229 > > High-Speed Chase > > Helen Gonzales is the policy director of USAction's Corporate Truth > Squad. USAction is a progressive activist organization, dedicated to > winning social, racial and economic justice for all. It represents > three million members in 34 affiliates, with statewide organizations > in 24 states. > > > Police officers don't drive their cars like the rest of us. Even the > most casual TV watcher will be familiar with the car chases on > California state highways filmed by helicopter, or the hapless > drunken joyrides of petty criminals on the TV show Cops. > > These pursuits are very often brought to a close by a police > officer's white cruiser ramming the crook off the road. When they are > on call, police ignore traffic laws and crash their cars if they have > to-it's a part of their job. So it's fair to assume that their > vehicles should be outfitted for demolition derby conditions without > endangering the lives of the officers who drive them. > > Unfortunately, one of the most popular cruiser models purchased by > police departments in America-Ford's Crown Victoria Police > Interceptor-is not equipped to withstand rear-end crashes even at > regular speeds, costing the lives of at least 14 police officers > since 1992, four of whom died in 2002 alone. These deaths occurred > because of a poor design feature in the Crown Victoria-the car's fuel > tank is located behind the rear axle within the car's "crush" zone. > Rear-end collisions to the Crown Victoria have the potential of > puncturing the fuel tank, causing dangerous leaks and explosions. > > This is exactly what occurred to one police officer, Jason > Schecterle, who was rear-ended by a taxicab in 2001. His cruiser > ignited in flames almost immediately after the crash, and Schechterle > suffered serious burns to his head and hands. His recovery has > required amputation of two of his fingers, 30 surgical procedures and > ongoing cosmetic surgery. > > This problem extends beyond bad engineering-Ford has known about the > problem in its cruisers since at least 1999, and has made efforts to > conceal its guilt and liability instead of properly addressing the > design flaws. When concerns about the design of the Crown Victoria > began to come to light as a result of class action suits in 2003, > Ford Motor Company made misleading claims about engineering > improvements and tests it ran to make the Crown Victoria safer. > > Ford claimed that retrofits that added fuel tank shielding and a > Kevlar liner to the Crown Victoria cruiser trunk met a 75-mph > rear-crash standard-even boasting in a marketing piece that police > car purchasers should challenge other competing manufacturers to meet > that standard. The sad truth is that Ford never even tested its Crown > Victoria retrofit. The city of Dallas ran its own crash tests on the > "upgraded" Crown Victoria and found that though fuel tank punctures > were in fact less likely, the greater possibility was that rear- end > crashes would cleave the tanks in half-a much more deadly scenario. > > Officers like Schechterle and the families of officers who were > killed in rear-end Crown Victoria crashes have not seen inspired and > responsible action taken by the Ford Motor Company. It has taken > efforts by investigative news reporters and police organizations, as > well as class-action lawsuits against Ford filed by crash victims and > their families, to retrieve internal documents and receive honest > testimony about Ford's corporate misdeeds. Meanwhile, Ford has > adopted the dark art of evading corporate guilt. In 2003, Ford tried > to deter thousands of potential officers from joining a class- action > suit in Illinois by hiring a litigation communications firm to write > a brochure that claimed the crash tests conducted by the city of > Dallas were rigged. Ford then had the brochures mailed to law > enforcement agencies that purchased the Crown Victoria in the > state-ignoring the presiding judge's orders not to do so. > > Despite its efforts to the contrary, Ford is being forced to assume > responsibility for covering up this deadly design flaw. > > The dozens of class-action suits filed against Ford have helped to > reveal that the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor model has a rate of > fatal collision fuel-fed fires far higher than other police cruiser > models. Ford's internal studies showed that its Crown Victoria caused > 140 percent more fuel-fire deaths than the competitive GM police > model, and was 200 percent deadlier than Ford's own family sedan, the > Escort. > > Without the class-action suits that brought the Crown Victoria's > flaws to light through sworn testimony, Ford would not have been > forced to redesign the car, or to assume culpability for the deaths > of more than a dozen police officers and the hundreds of injuries. > It's one successful case in the ongoing battle to uncover the legions > of examples of corporate cover-up and malfeasance. > > Imagine that. Until it was forced with court action to admit and > address the Crown Victoria's deadly flaw, Ford and its engineers were > content to have Escort-driving joyriders be less likely to die in a > flaming wreck than the police who chase them. > > > Published: Apr 26 2004 ------------------------ Yahoo! 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