sorry.. above... not behind
With the introduction of subcompact cars in the 1960’s, Volkswagen and Japanese car manufacturers put enormous pressure on domestic manufacturers to compete in the American small-car market. The Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo) responded to this import invasion by introducing a new model, called the Pinto, in order to reclaim a large portion of the auto sales in the United States. The Pinto was rushed into production in almost half of the regular time required to develop a new automobile. Prior to production, Ford engineers discovered a major safety hazard on the Pinto: If the car was rear-ended at a speed of 30 miles per hour, the fuel tank would rupture and spill gasoline all over the road around the car. This was discovered only after the assembly-line machines were tooled. It was determined that the cost to change the assembly line would render a huge profit loss for Ford. As a direct result of Ford’s decision to build the Pinto despite its safety problems, several hundred people died or were seriously injured.
http://www.pitt.edu/~jwm21/event.html