largely the car industry learned a lesson courtesy of our friends at ford. ford pinto

The Pinto, a subcompact car made by Ford Motor Company, became infamous in the 1970s for bursting into flames if its gas tank was ruptured in a collision. The lawsuits brought by injured people and their survivors uncovered how the company rushed the Pinto through production and onto the market.

• the article continues on with more info about them… the cars were ‘pop culture’ punchlines for shitty cars etc.