Towards the end of the 1960s, the Ford Motor Company, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, was gradually losing market share. In 1968, President Lee Iacocca decided that a small cheap car had to be designed quickly. This was to become the Ford Pinto. The decision was to put it onto the market for less than $2,000 in 1970 This was a very competitive price, but the production schedule for the car’s development was rushed. At the time, car development normally required around 43 months. Only 24 months were reserved for the Ford Pinto. Because the Pinto had to cost a maximum of $2,000, a radical design was selected in which styling took precedence over engineering design. The safety aspect of the design did not receive sufficient priority. There was no experience with small cars within the company at all. Later it was found that the gear construction in the rear axles was situated in a way that would puncture the gas tank in the event of a collision.