More Pinto

The full Pinto memo is here: Download FordMemo.pdf[PDF].  (I obtained it from AutoSafety.org

Some interesting points from it:

First, the authors of the memo are quite cautious in their description of the cost/benefit analysis and its value:



They are similarly cautious in their description of the dollar figures allocated to the costs:

(The memo continues with a further description of the cost figures.)

Now, the memo does suggest that the authors believe that the cost/benefit analyses would come out similarly for other “impact modes” (e.g., rear-end collisions):

But even that, let’s remember, is in the context of a proposed regulation applicable to fuel systems, and this is a document prepared to address that regulation.  It is not a discussion of tort liability, and the “costs” do not reflect tort costs to Ford, but societal costs.