I agree with every word of that, and the Ford memo about paying the costs of lawsuits as being cheaper than reinforcing the fuel tanks on the cars should have had its writer sent to prison. (GM had that same problem, too.) What GM should have done with the Vega was added iron liners to the engine block, which they later did, right from the start. That woulda fixed the problem right there. As for the gas to diesel conversions, in addition to them being unreliable, they were also god-awful slow, and one must ask how you make an engine with 5.7 liters displacement make only 105 horsepower. (No, really. 105 horsepower from a 5.7-liter V8.)
Truth is, though, net ratings were not only inaccurate for a while, they were actually WAY off at first.......at least here in the States. {e.g. a '72 Chevelle rated at 300 hp actually developed around 360, etc.}
Chances are these engines probably made around 130-140 hp...............still pathetic, though
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