The Ford Pinto proved popular with a price below $2,000. But it was eventually scrapped when Ford settled hundreds of product-liability cases in which the car's rear-mounted gasoline tank caught fire during a rear-end collision. The Pinto also featured a fuel filler neck that sometimes, in a collision, was ripped out on impact, allowing gas to spill and possibly ignite. As part of Ford's senior management and perhaps the Pinto's biggest champion, Lee Iacocca accepted responsibility, but in his autobiography he denied Ford tried to save a few bucks and knowingly made a dangerous car. "The auto industry has often been arrogant," he wrote, "but it's not that callous." (FORD)
