Opinion ID: 2529268
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Alternative Feasible Design

Text: ¶ 32 Arndt testified that at the time Ford manufactured the Lincoln Town Car, a safer, more practical location for the fuel tank would have been forward of the axle. As evidence of an alternative feasible location for the fuel tank, Arndt performed two different crash tests in 2004 on a 1992 Ford Thunderbird with a forward-of-the-axle tank at 54 and 75 miles per hour. The trunk was packed with various items to simulate those items located in the Jablonski trunk at the time of the accident. The crash tests revealed no punctures to the fuel tank and no indication that any components punctured the tank. ¶ 33 On cross-examination, Arndt acknowledged that an automobile designer cannot merely design for rear impacts, but must also consider impacts from other angles. Arndt did not crash test the Thunderbird in a side-impact scenario and did not compare how the Lincoln Town Car would do in a side-impact or front-impact crash. He agreed that a Town Car has advantages in a side-impact collision because the tank is protected between the two rear wheels and the rear frame. Arndt also acknowledged that the Thunderbird and the Town Car are distinct vehicles. The Thunderbird is a two-door coupe and the Town Car is a four-door sedan. The Town Car is also considerably larger and weighs more. Arndt acknowledged that locating the tank forward of the axle would require Ford to completely redesign the vehicle and that cost would be a consideration in evaluating that decision. ¶ 34 As additional evidence of an alternative feasible design, Arndt explained that in the 1957 Skyliner, a rear-wheel drive, large vehicle, Ford placed the fuel tank in an over-the-axle location to accommodate space for a hard-top convertible.