Dangerous Ford Models

Three sisters were returning home from a rock concert in a Ford Lincoln Town Car limo, rented as an extra safety precaution for their special occasion, when they were rear-ended in heavy traffic. The limo’s fuel tank, dangerously vulnerable, exploded, burning all three women alive. Ford continues to manufacture a line of cars with this fatal flaw. The Ford Crown Victoria (now sold primarily as fleet vehicles, such as police cars and taxis), the Lincoln Town car (which includes many stretch limousines) and the Grand Marquis are still designed with the gas tank outside the rear axle, the only cars still made this way in North America. The design has resulted in the deaths of scores of police officers who drive Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, and hundreds of civilians, according to the Center for Auto Safety and Crown Victoria Safety Alert . Why won’t Ford change the design?

Ford’s “Panther” line of cars, which includes the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and Town Car, are still being manufactured on the oldest car manufacturing platform in North America. Because of its age, it is Ford’s most profitable line of cars. While all other car manufacturers in North America have altered designs to locate the fuel tank inside the protection of the rear axle, Ford has not, preferring profits to safety.

Ford’s foot-dragging with respect to this issue is obvious. After 11 fiery deaths of police officers in Ford police cruisers between 1997 and 2002, Ford In October, 2002, paid to retrofit approximately 350,000 police cars with protective fuel tank shields. But the company rejected calls to place the shields on non-police cars, saying "this is not a civilian issue." Actually, a majority of deaths and injuries in these events have occurred in non-police, family and business cars.

This same too-little-too-late safety action occurred with regard to Town Car limousines. The three sisters, all from North Carolina, were killed September 10, 2003. In court documents, experts concluded that the shields would have prevented the fuel tank punctures and the sisters would have survived if there has been no fire. The women’s families settled lawsuits with Ford over their deaths in January 2005. In September, 2005, Ford notified Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine dealers and owners about a higher risk of fuel tank puncture or rupture in these cars in high-speed rear end collisions and offered free protective shield upgrade packages. But the company again refused to place shields on non-police models.

These dangerous cars are still being sold today. Hundreds of thousands of them remain on the road. Ford knows what it should do to save lives, but that would mean spending money. It’s obvious they only make a change when forced to by lawsuits by victims. For more information on this issue:

Center for Auto Safety

Crown Victoria Safety Alert

CNN presents "In the Line of Fire"

CNN: Ford Owners Not told of Ways to Reduce Fuel-Tank Fire Risk