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1. Ford Pinto
Fewer cars hurt America’s perception of hatchbacks than the Ford Pinto, a car that debuted with a 75 horsepower four-cylinder engine.
Back in the 1970s, Ford Motor Co. needed something to compete against the Japanese compact cars and Volkswagen Beetle that were growing in popularity. Ford’s answer was the Pinto, a pudgy two-door hatch with low riding bucket seats. Worse yet, the Pinto spent the entire Me Decade accused of being an exploding death trap. Those are never the words any company wants to be associated with.
Why it’s so dumb: It’s the hubris Ford executives brought to the table. There is a paper trail leading to a memo in which Ford brass weighed the cost benefit analysis of changing the engineering of the car to make it safer versus paying our injury and death claims it knew would come. Worst of all, the Pinto, in part because of its budget pricing, were scooped up by many a college student and was one of the cars that ultimately decreased sales and popularity of the VW Beetle. So, this car was aimed at the least experienced drivers in America, and most prone to be in accidents. And after the truth came out, it soured a lot of those kids and their parents on buying more Fords just as the Asians were rising, and redefining quality in America.
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