Image source: Flickr, Riley
Deadly Consequences
To date, the Ford 1980 recall was one of the largest recalls in automotive history, affecting 20 million cars. The problem pertained to a safety malfunction in the transmission. When the safety catch failed, it allowed the cars to suddenly shift from park to reverse mode. This issue caused 98 deaths, 1,700 injuries, and 6,000 accidents. As a result, Ford spent roughly $1.7 billion in repairs and court judgments.
The worst part was that internal documents within Ford showed that they knew about the defect as early as the 1970s and could have solved the problem for an extra three cents per vehicle. Overall, Ford issued millions in lawsuit judgments. To see more of Ford’s recall history, check out the next slide.