That sounds like the story about the Chevy Malibu. Federal law states
that all cars have an impact zone of 11 inches. Well, or order to
save money in the building process, GM moved the gas tank on the late
70's-early 80's Chevy Malibu back, and had it located on 8" from the
rear bumper.
There was a story about some woman with her kids that were pulled
over on the side of the road one dark night ('83 I think), and the
car was rear-ended by a truck. The mother and one of her children got
out ok from the front seat, but the child in the rear seat was burned
to death when the gas tank ruptured, and sprayed fuel into the
passenger compartment. And here is yet another story about the
problems with the Chevy Malibu:
Diesel fuel is VERY hard to ignite when compared to gasoline. That's
why it's acceptable to have saddle mounted fuel tanks that carry
diesel fuel on heavy duty trucks and tractors. But GM got real cheap,
and decided that saddle mounted fuel tanks were acceptable for both
their diesel, and gas powered trucks. Back in the late 80's, I
remember the huge news stories about these tanks, and all the gas
powered trucks that were catching fire when they were T-boned. GM
quickly switched over, but only after it became more economicly
viable. After all, almost everyone was going to Ford trucks after
that.
I so don't trust GM & their substandard products.
-Robert
--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "timnagin" <timnagin@xxxx> wrote:
> Yep. There was a movie some time ago with a similar plot, though
the title
> escapes me. Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson was in it.
Anyway, they
> talked about a known problem with a vehicle that could cause a fire
but it
> was cheaper to pay off the people who were hurt, or the family that
lost a
> loved one, than to announce the recall. It was purely based on
what was
> cheaper.
>
> Greg
Back to the Home of PROJECT VIXEN