For questioning the safety of our cars.
Fight Club is a movie starring Ed Norton and Brad Pitt based on the novel written by Chuck Palahniuk. This movie is clever, exciting, and fun. A total guy flick that girls love too. The plot is witty and extremely well acted. Ed Norton plays the narrator, an automobile recall appraiser. In a small part of the movie, he reveals, in detail, the equation used to assess the potential of a car recall. Ed Norton’s character explains, “You take the population of vehicles in the field (A) and multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B), then multiply the result by the average cost of an out-of-court settlement (C). A times B times C equals X. This is what it will cost if we don’t initiate a recall. If X is greater than the cost of a recall, we recall the cars and no one gets hurt. If X is less than the cost of a recall, then we DON’T recall.”
Thanks for that tidbit of information. Now every time we travel by car, we can never fully trust the safety of our vehicles. Just that slight doubt will always screw with our subconscious. Unfortunately, after a little research, I found the equation to be true.
In 1970, Ford introduced the Pinto. It was a subcompact designed to compete with foreign carmakers. During production, problems were found in the gas tank assembly. The fuel tank was weak and, in the event of a rear-end collision, would leak and easily ignite. Unfortunately, the human body wasn’t built Ford tough, which resulted in many fiery deaths. Of course, Ford was aware of the defect and could have retooled the Pinto’s design during production, but it chose not to. The auto giant could have issued a recall after cars started exploding, but it didn’t allow that either. Instead, Ford did the math and decided it would be cheaper to pay the potential lawsuits.
How much is your life worth? Given Ford’s estimated out-of-court settlements for death in 1970, it’s around $200,000.