Too bad the Bronco II was a safety disaster for Ford #Shorts

Safety controversy

Stability problems with Bronco II were noted during the design phase, as well as in the verification tests by 1981. For example, the J-turn test was canceled during the testing procedures by Ford officials "out of fear of killing or injuring one of its own drivers."Engineering modifications were suggested, but Ford officials declined the modifications because they would have delayed the marketing of the new vehicles.Eight months before production began, Ford's Office of General Counsel collected 113 documents concerning the new vehicle's handling problems.However, 53 of these test, simulation, and related reports about the stability of the Bronco II "disappeared" in an "unusual document handling procedure" that forebode the lawsuits against Ford starting in the late-1980s.

The dismissal of the Bronco II rollover controversy however is now being looked at as a mistake. Describing in defense of the Bronco II "strongly influenced by the adverse driver or environmental factors." meaning that people who were irresponsible made Ford look worse than it should have.[

The Bronco II was dogged by reports that it was prone to rollovers.[9] Some of the headlines in 1989-90 included "NHTSA Investigates Bronco II Rollovers," Automotive News (March 20, 1989) "Magazine Gives Ford's Bronco II 'Avoid' Rating," The Wall Street Journal (May 8, 1989), and "Consumer Reports Criticizes Ford Bronco II's Handling," The Washington Post (May 18, 1989).

After analysis of SUV crashes of the Suzuki Samurai, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a formal study of the Ford Bronco II in 1989. There were 43 Bronco II rollover fatalities in 1987, compared with eight for the Samurai, but accident data in four states showed the Bronco II's rollover rate was similar to that of other SUVs, so the investigation was closed. NHTSA declined to reopen the investigation in 1997 after more Bronco II crashes.

It was estimated that 260 people had died in Bronco II rollover crashes, a rate that is several times more than in any similar vehicle according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. By 1995, Ford had paid $113 million to settle 334 injury and wrongful death lawsuits.A class-action settlement with owners of its controversial Bronco II provided "new safety warnings and up to $200 for repairs and modifications." Ford ended production of the Bronco II in 1990, but "always contended that rollovers are overwhelmingly caused by bad driving or unsafe modifications to the vehicle."

Individual lawsuit examples include famed jockey Bill Shoemaker, that awarded him one million dollars. Shoemaker was paralyzed from the neck down after rolling his Bronco II in California in 1991 while intoxicated. Thereafter, he was confined to a wheelchair. The largest award involving the Bronco II up to 1995 was a $62.4 million verdict for two passengers, one of whom who received brain injuries and left her in need of a legal guardian, after the 1986 model in which they were riding rolled over.

The safety record was "frightening" with "one in 500 Bronco II's ever produced [being] involved in a fatal rollover." Automobile insurer GEICO stopped writing insurance policies for the Bronco II.[15] By 2001, Time magazine reported that the "notorious bucking Bronco II" rollover lawsuits had "cost the company approximately $2.4 billion in damage settlements."

One of the reasons for the significant losses by the automaker was a deal Ford made with a former engineer, David Bickerstaff. He worked on the Bronco II and had published SAE reports about Ford truck suspensions. In 1990, Bickerstaff testified in court that the Bronco II had a dangerously low stability index. His credibility was questioned by attorneys.

Courtesy: Wikipedia