The Region - News from Dec. 20, 1985

A Ventura Superior Court jury ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay more than $1.9 million to the family of a man who burned to death seven years ago. Ron Archer, 42, of Oxnard was driving alone in his 1969 Ford LTD on Nov. 27, 1978, when the inside of the car suddenly burst into flames. He suffered burns over 30% of his body and died three days later. Witnesses testified on the family’s behalf that a fault in the car’s design allowed gasoline vapors to accumulate in the passenger compartment and catch fire. Ford’s lawyers, who said they would ask for a new trial, argued that if there was a design flaw, it was not serious enough to cause such an incident.