The Ford Pinto had a decent reception upon its 1970 release and started out a solid seller. What went wrong?

The Pinto's demise began with the discovery of a defective fuel tank design that made it susceptible to catching fire upon being rear-ended. Making matters worse was the fact that Ford marketed the car heavily to young drivers—i.e. the most accident prone. But what truly sunk the ship was the infamous "Pinto Memo": an uncovered internal corporate communication showing that Ford had learned about the defect late in the design process but decided to bury it after performing a cost (to Ford's shareholders)/benefit (fewer human lives lost) analysis. The number of deaths that resulted is estimated to be between 27-180. The damage to Ford's reputation was beyond measure.

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