The 10 Most Infamous Automobile Scandals

Ford’s Defective Transmission

The Pinto scandal was not the end of Ford’s legal issues in the late 1970s. In 1980, the NHTSA announced the conclusion of its three-year study of automatic transmissions in Ford cars manufactured between 1966 and 1980, with C-3, C-4, C-6, FMX, and JATCO automatic transmissions. The cars’ defect came about because the shift lever was improperly placed, so the cars would often roll out of park. A story in Mother Jones magazine noted that the slippage had been happening for more than 10 years and Ford knew people were dying as a result of accidents caused by the issue.

By 1982 the death toll had risen to 200, and in 1983 public hearings were held. The case dragged on for years. Finally, in 1986 a class against Ford was dismissed, noting that Ford had corrected the defect.