on 17 november 1992, dateline nbc ran a fifteen-miniute segment "waiting to explode." its focus was the safety of general motors' full-size pickup trucks in model years 1973-1987. These trucks were designed with gas tanks mounted outside the frame.
The dateline report began with the story of Shannon Moseley, a teenage killed in a pickup given to him by his parents. A law officer described Shannon's screams as he died in the fire. Another segment showed a tearful 22 years old mother whose two infant daughters died in a similar crash. She could hear their screams as fire engulfed the cab. In their episode, Dateline also showed an empty pickup being hit from the side and ignite if the tank were punctured on impact or fuel forced out of the cap. NBC did not tell viewers that the tank had been filled to the brim and an improper gas cap used tp seal it. Dateline NBC did not inform viewers that toy rocket engines had been taped under the truck to ensure a fire even if the tank did not explode or gas. Did not leak out during the crash test. The incendiary devices were connected to a remote control and activated just before impact. NBC claimed a faulty heading wire on the old car sent crashing into the pickup had actually speaked the fire, in effect making the flares unnecessary therefore, they were not memtioned in the program.
And NBC did not tell viewers that its estimates of crash speeds were underplayed of both crashes. All these facts would come to light through the careful investigative work of not the media but the corporation whose reputation Dateline had impugned.