That’s good to know, thank you!

Yeah how do you do that? I really ought to save this stuff off at some point

Also they weren’t singled out, other American companies producing small cars/fire traps did get sued. Ford caught actual criminal charges not because they had money but for the elements above when they came to light.

Their victory (bought with famous lawyers) helped set a precedent that ensured American corporations are an effective shield against liability and real consequences even in truly horrendous deliberate, documented harms.

It wasn’t unique in small American cars in those couple decades (notable for rushed designs with an indifference to safety across the board) but the numbers were a bit worse. They stood out for Ford’s extensive crash tests, and well-documented knowledge of the lethal design flaw, their early decision to pay out for deaths rather than make a quite inexpensive design change, and recall, and for the decade of expensive legal battles and PR campaigns where they lobbied against federal rear-end collision safety requirements which would have saved lives and identified the problem. They were happy to throw money at every aspect of the problem except for the part that kept burning their customers alive.

Also it wasn’t just the gas tank design but flaws with the frame and (essentially cosmetic bumper) which jammed every door even in minor rear end collisions.

This was half the problem with the Ford Pinto - the big name in burning people alive after minor collisions.

I stopped once to move a big snapper but he wasn’t having it. A guy in a truck stopped around the same time and approached with a snow shovel with this sort of weary confidence, like he’d done this a thousand times.

He tapped it gently on the shell, then put the shovel in front of its face. The turtle chomped right on and he pulled it off the road. I don’t know if that was the right way to move it but it worked - mostly I was impressed he had a turtle-moving protocol (and shovel) ready to go.

Retvrn to steam

Not sure if Aniline wood dyes are all that different but they also work really well!

I think I’d heard of this previously but I might actually have access to a supported device now! I’ll have to try it out.

I’d love to see more apps and especially replacement ROMs that let you use phones for a simpler task. Replacement OSs appeal to me because they could scale back the device’s capabilities, which could reduce its attack surface (a good thing if the manufacturer has dropped security updates).

This is a great fit, thank you!

Thanks! I found them over on the subreddit and have started digging through their articles. Good to know about any bias.

People already have hardware access to their own cars and make stupid modifications all the time. That’s what vehicle inspections are for. Heck, I know police aren’t generally popular on this instance but stopping vehicles with unsafe modifications they spot on the roads falls under their purview too. I’m from a state with inspections but have a friend who wasn’t and her stories about the beater cars they drove (missing floorboards, reach out the window and push on a metal rod to use the brake) tell me the system basically works. At least as well as it can while transportation infrastructure is arranged so cars are a basic necessity for huge swaths of the country.

Thanks, I’ll try to find a copy (or just read the internet archive copy) - it sounds like it’s long enough and covers enough that there should be something on rural areas

I’ll take a look! I’m aiming to have more sections on library economics so it might tie into that too

Security bits are a whole other level of irritating - especially on something like this. Thats just them being dicks. I probably have a set (more or less) put together from previous projects but I’d lose an hour easy just trying to find one that’ll work. Very glad they didn’t include that bright idea on this model.

I remember one project we didn’t have a security bit but found we could use something, maybe a small standard screwdriver? to chip the security pin out well enough for a regular bit. We definitely replaced those screws with regular philips ones from some other electronics.

I quite recommend the Swindled podcast episode on the Pinto:

https://swindledpodcast.com/podcast/124-the-pinto/

Warnings for blunt descriptions of horrible injuries and tragic deaths. And incredible corporate malfeasance.

Especially right after an accident when they’re dazed or panicky. There’s a reason emergency exits are usually clearly marked and intuitive to use.

That’s a huge improvement!

The big display screens made for corporations are supposed to be high quality TV hardware minus the ‘smart’ features - if you can find a used one without burn-in. But I don’t know specifics for makes or brands, sorry. I get my TVs from ewaste so the goal there is mostly just to limp it along while ignoring whatever problem caused the original owner to throw it away.