History's Worst Recalls Published on April 12, 2014 in Galleries by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin Photo: ford Ford is no stranger to massive recalls. in 1996, a lot of their car spontaneously went up in flames. After analysis, it was determined that the ignition factor (pun intended) was... The ignition switch, which would create an electrical short. Over 7.9 million of those switches had to be changed.