The 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee is a modern day Pinto for soccer moms with a fuel tank located dangerously behind the rear axle in the crush zone of an impact. In the United States alone, there have been 184 fatal fire crashes in Jeep Grand Cherokees which have resulted in 269 deaths from 1993 through 2009. In 2005 during the merger with Daimler Benz, Chrysler moved the fuel tank forward of the rear axle to the safer location preferred by German engineers and used in Mercedes models.

via Statement on Jeep Grand Cherokee Recall – The Nader Page.

This is Ralph Nader at his best being the watchdog the nation has so often benefited from.

Now that Fiat has purchased Chrysler, it has the moral obligation to remedy the deadly fuel tank design in the Jeep Grand Cherokee before more innocent victims are burned today, not only in the United States, but also in Europe where Chrysler marketed the Grand Cherokee since 1994 in its Build Up for Export (BUX) plan. Just like Ford recalled the Pinto, Fiat needs to recall the Grand Cherokee and remedy the fuel tank defect by installing (1) an optional frame rail reinforcement bracket on the 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee, (2) optional skid plates on all 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees that do not have them, (3) an effective check valve system to shut off the flow of gasoline if the filler hose is pulled out of the fuel tank or filler neck, and (4) additional shields to protect the fuel tank from sharp objects in the crush zone impacts. To ensure these inexpensive remedies are adequate, Fiat should conduct a public crash test program just as was done for the Ford Pinto recall.

I agree with Ralph Nader on this point.

Roslyn and Howard Zinn left two children, Myla and Jeff, and five grandchildren. Together with his publisher, Dan Simon of 7 Stories Press, his editor, Matthew Rothschild, his interviewer, Amy Goodman, his associate, Anthony Arnove, and his innumerable writers and fighters for justice, for the principle that the truth is revolutionary, why not a well-funded and staffed Institute, organizing from the neighborhoods on up, as he urged so often, with horizons for all seasons, as befits his vision?

Nader suggests it be called the Howard Zinn Institute for Advancing Peace and Justice.