before final sign-off of the 1972 pinto, in april 1971 harold macdonald, ford vice president of car engineering, chaired a product review meeting around a report from ford engineers. the recommendation suggested deferring from 1974 to 1976 the incorporation into all ford cars of either a shock absorbent "flak suit" to protect the fuel tank at a cost of $4 per car, or a nylon bladder within the tank at a cost of $5.25 to $8 per car. agreeing to the decision would allow ford to realize a savings of $10.9 million. macdonald agreed to the report's recommendation, and hence left the pinto exposed to rear-end collisions.