The American carmaker involved in the Pinto fuel-tank scandal was Ford Motor Company.
Ford introduced the Pinto in 1970 as a small, affordable car intended to compete with increasingly popular imported subcompacts. Its fuel tank was positioned between the rear axle and bumper, a layout that became controversial after rear-end collisions caused fuel leakage and fires. The controversy intensified after reports of deaths and severe burn injuries involving early Pintos.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated the design and concluded in 1978 that 1971–1976 Pintos had a fuel-system safety defect. Ford then recalled roughly 1.5 million Pintos and related Mercury Bobcats, one of the largest automotive recalls at that time. The scandal also produced major civil and criminal cases, including Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co. and Indiana v. Ford Motor Co.
The public story often treats the Pinto as uniquely dangerous, but later analyses noted that other 1970s subcompacts also had fuel-system vulnerabilities. Ford’s Pinto nevertheless became a lasting case study in corporate ethics and product liability.