Giant Ginkgo

Some interesting history on the original SUV:

• Ford engineers abandoned critical road tests with the Bronco II, which, with modest changes, went on to become the Explorer, because these safety tests were too dangerous for test drivers
• When litigation began to heat up, Ford paid a former company engineer, David Bickerstaff, $5,000,000 over eight years to lie in a series of 30 rollover cases
• Bickerstaff also helped Ford rig a videotape designed to convince juries that the Bronco II was not likely to roll over, by loading a Bronco II with 900 lbs of lead shot on the floorboards and seats in a manner that artificially lowered the center of gravity
• 3,826 people died in Bronco II and Explorer rollovers between 1983 and 2001.