It became clear that it was stupid and lethal to place the fuel tank behind the rear axle and near the rear bumper. My “Phoenix Project” Forward-of-Axle Fuel Tank Design and Crash Test.īeginning in the late-1960’s and early 1970’s, I had inspected and evaluated many vehicles that had been in rear-impact fiery crashes. Many of the competitive SUVs in the same era, such as the Chevy Blazer (shown below) and the Chevy Tahoe and Ford Explorer, all had their fuel tank designed into the safer location forward of the rear axle. Thus crushing and rupturing the tank and creating an immediate fuel-fed fire that quickly engulfed the Jeep’s interior. In many accidents, the rear-ending vehicle would crash beneath the Jeep’s bumper directly into the fuel tank. The Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty were designed with a High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) molded plastic fuel tank located behind the rear axle and in close proximity to the rear bumper, with a portion of the fuel tank exposed below the bumper. Including the 1993-thru-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV and the 2002-thru-2007 Jeep Liberty SUV. Thankfully, most automakers made that safety change as their new models evolved, but there were exceptions. Move the fuel tank away from the rear bumper, and design it into the safer location forward of the rear axle. I felt the case was sending a message to the entire auto industry: I testified in the precedent-setting “reckless homicide” Pinto trial in Indiana in 1980. Many of us will remember the notorious Ford Pinto, which made headlines in the 1970’s and 1980’s with revelations about its terribly vulnerable fuel tank located near the rear bumper, with resulting fuel-fed fires in rear-impact accidents coast-to-coast.
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