The case revealed that prosecution of corporations for offenses pertaining to product liability will necessarily involve legal theories with which the participants in the criminal justice system are only vaguely familiar and may find inappropriate for their arena. The very fact of prosecution is notable in breaking psychological barriers. The legal community is now aware that companies recklessly endangering the physical well-being of the public may be held criminally responsible for their conduct. Nonetheless, the Pinto prosecution was a social product. The general crusade against the Pinto was integral in creating the climate for prosecution. The long-range meaning of the Pinto trial may depend less on the legal precedent that has been set than on the social context of a particular trial. It is doubtful that Ford would have come to trial in a previous era. Eight notes and 62 references are included.