The Ford Pinto was meant to be the Beetle’s cooler, cheaper cousin, quick to market, easy on the wallet, and built in just two years. What could possibly go wrong? Well… quite a bit, actually.

This little car had one big problem. If you got rear-ended, the fuel tank could turn your commute into a bonfire. Between 1970 and 1976, it was linked to dozens of deaths and injuries, with some estimates suggesting up to 900 fatalities. And Ford? They did the maths and figured paying off lawsuits was cheaper than fixing the design. Nice.

It caused a massive stir, helped change safety laws forever, and became a case study in how not to handle a crisis. Ford’s brought back plenty of retro models over the years, but the Pinto? Yeah, that one’s been left in the history books with a quiet “let’s never talk about this again.”

Buckle up for a ride through dodgy decisions, fiery crashes, and the car that gave the phrase “explosive performance” a whole new meaning.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.