The standard of vehicle manufacturing has been constantly evolving and improving since the very first cars became commercially available. But despite rigorous health and safety initiatives being launched every year, there are always models which will slip under the radar and into the manufacturing process.
This post will be dedicated to what have been, (in my opinion) five of the most laughable issues and in some cases potentially dangerous errors which have been ignored and allowed to roll their off the production line and onto the roads.
5. Triumph Stag
First up is the 1970 released Stag model by Triumph. Triumph who are now more famous for their motorbikes released this sleek and modern looking sports roadster much to public delight. Its aesthetic was so pleasing that initial sales proved promising until the first errors started to become apparent. After a while the whole lot become obvious and were publicised. Essentially the group of errors came to together to make a car which would become quickly un-drivable. The pistons would shoot through the engine block, the oil burned very badly and quickly, the timing belts would snap, the bearings seized, the aluminium heads warped and twisted and the water pump would malfunction.
4. Chevrolet Corvette 305
Chevrolet has become a company whose cars are generally associated with high speeds, large engines and a set of generally masculine attributes which make for the ultimate sports driving experience. But despite the obviously phallic and macho appearance of Chevrolet’s 1980 305 model, its horse power was greatly diminished by readily changing emission regulations to the point where its appearance no longer matched either its speed or power. After being designed to look like the ultimate sports car for the 80s it was left with a meagre 180 horse power, the same as some modern family cars. It also suffered from a three speed transmission which only furthered its issues with power and speed.
3. Ford Explorer (throughout)
Most models of car which suffer from serious mechanical issues are scrapped after one run. But with some the problems are small enough for the production team to feel confident in their ability to recall and address the issues. The Ford Explorer is one such model. From its issues with rear brakes binding in 1991, its multiple noise issues and twisting drive train in 1996 all the way up its inability to shift between 2nd and 3rd gear in 2001 the car has never really been without problems. Yet for some reason people still seem to have a romantic attachment to this eternally problematic little classic.
2. Toyota Tundra Truck
Despite the likely hood of error in Toyota’s 2000 re-release of its highly successful 1999 classic Tundra pick up being established at 99.99%, there was one significant issue with a very small number of its models. When the brakes pedal was applied, the vehicle sped up. It doesn’t take an expert to see how this is correct, or how it could be potentially dangerous. Despite the mathematical likelihood being exceptionally low Toyota were forced to recall this model following the discovery of this issue.
1. Ford Pinto
The notorious 1971 Ford Pinto has become something of a legend in the motoring community. Its issues seem so ridiculous that it’s difficult to believe that it was ever released at all. Despite these issues it was, and here are the reasons why it shouldn’t have been. To begin with, the engineers at Ford made the odd decision to place the Pinto’s fuel tank directly behind its rear bumper making it an extremely bad fire hazard on wheels. The next issue to emerge was also involving the rear bumper. The Pinto’s doors had the unfortunate habit of jamming closed in the event of a rear end collision. This meant the in the event of this particular type of accident not only was a car fire very likely but it was quite unlikely that the passengers would be able to escape in time to avoid death by burning. Not only this but the executives at Ford realised that it was cheaper to be sued in court by the loved ones of those claimed by the Pinto than it was to fix the issue, and so they let people continue to drive it completely aware that it quite consistently caused injuries and even death.
This ends my round up of some of the worst car manufacturing errors in history, from the bizarre to the downright disgusting nothing reminds us how we take health and safety standards for granted, than the Ford Pinto.
This run down manufacturing blog was written by blogger and web author Steph Staszko. Steph writes on behalf of manufacturing company PPE who create bespoke o-rings for a wide range of companies and specifications.
This post will be dedicated to what have been, (in my opinion) five of the most laughable issues and in some cases potentially dangerous errors which have been ignored and allowed to roll their off the production line and onto the roads.
5. Triumph Stag
First up is the 1970 released Stag model by Triumph. Triumph who are now more famous for their motorbikes released this sleek and modern looking sports roadster much to public delight. Its aesthetic was so pleasing that initial sales proved promising until the first errors started to become apparent. After a while the whole lot become obvious and were publicised. Essentially the group of errors came to together to make a car which would become quickly un-drivable. The pistons would shoot through the engine block, the oil burned very badly and quickly, the timing belts would snap, the bearings seized, the aluminium heads warped and twisted and the water pump would malfunction.
4. Chevrolet Corvette 305
Chevrolet has become a company whose cars are generally associated with high speeds, large engines and a set of generally masculine attributes which make for the ultimate sports driving experience. But despite the obviously phallic and macho appearance of Chevrolet’s 1980 305 model, its horse power was greatly diminished by readily changing emission regulations to the point where its appearance no longer matched either its speed or power. After being designed to look like the ultimate sports car for the 80s it was left with a meagre 180 horse power, the same as some modern family cars. It also suffered from a three speed transmission which only furthered its issues with power and speed.
3. Ford Explorer (throughout)
Most models of car which suffer from serious mechanical issues are scrapped after one run. But with some the problems are small enough for the production team to feel confident in their ability to recall and address the issues. The Ford Explorer is one such model. From its issues with rear brakes binding in 1991, its multiple noise issues and twisting drive train in 1996 all the way up its inability to shift between 2nd and 3rd gear in 2001 the car has never really been without problems. Yet for some reason people still seem to have a romantic attachment to this eternally problematic little classic.
2. Toyota Tundra Truck
Despite the likely hood of error in Toyota’s 2000 re-release of its highly successful 1999 classic Tundra pick up being established at 99.99%, there was one significant issue with a very small number of its models. When the brakes pedal was applied, the vehicle sped up. It doesn’t take an expert to see how this is correct, or how it could be potentially dangerous. Despite the mathematical likelihood being exceptionally low Toyota were forced to recall this model following the discovery of this issue.
1. Ford Pinto
The notorious 1971 Ford Pinto has become something of a legend in the motoring community. Its issues seem so ridiculous that it’s difficult to believe that it was ever released at all. Despite these issues it was, and here are the reasons why it shouldn’t have been. To begin with, the engineers at Ford made the odd decision to place the Pinto’s fuel tank directly behind its rear bumper making it an extremely bad fire hazard on wheels. The next issue to emerge was also involving the rear bumper. The Pinto’s doors had the unfortunate habit of jamming closed in the event of a rear end collision. This meant the in the event of this particular type of accident not only was a car fire very likely but it was quite unlikely that the passengers would be able to escape in time to avoid death by burning. Not only this but the executives at Ford realised that it was cheaper to be sued in court by the loved ones of those claimed by the Pinto than it was to fix the issue, and so they let people continue to drive it completely aware that it quite consistently caused injuries and even death.
This ends my round up of some of the worst car manufacturing errors in history, from the bizarre to the downright disgusting nothing reminds us how we take health and safety standards for granted, than the Ford Pinto.
This run down manufacturing blog was written by blogger and web author Steph Staszko. Steph writes on behalf of manufacturing company PPE who create bespoke o-rings for a wide range of companies and specifications.
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