Alan Mulally Announces return of the PINTO

[Local1111]

AH HA!!!

 

You only wish it was sooooooooooo true!

[CarShark]

Wow.

 

I should have seen that coming. Yet I clicked anyways. *sigh* I fell for the "Focus refresh called Escort" thread, too.

[Moosetang]

Ha ha, so current/topical. Well, that rename happened months ago and there haven't been any such revivals since, but still, way to go.

[rmc523]

AH HA!!!

 

You only wish it was sooooooooooo true!

 

Haha, I knew it was fake. LOL

[wescoent]

Hmmm.. a V6, RWD, subcompact car named after a horse...

[GreyPony]

They once based a Mustang off a Pinto and called it the Mustang II. This time, why don't they base a Pinto off the Mustang and call it a Pinto II?

[syrtran]

AH HA!!!

 

You only wish it was sooooooooooo true!

I clicked this thread expecting to at least see some horribly photoshopped picture of a Verve with a bug-eye front end.

:D

 

 

P.S. Did anyone else ever notice how much the original Neon headlights/grille looked like the Pinto?

[syrtran]

They once based a Mustang off a Pinto and called it the Mustang II. This time, why don't they base a Pinto off the Mustang and call it a Pinto II?

-Another- Mustang SE! They could drop the 2.5 I4 under the hood, give it some ridiculously low rear axle ratio, say 2.93:1, strip the interior down to vinyl and hard plastic, and paint the body white with brown or black splotches. And give it a full rear window/trunklid hatch. The Mustang Pinto II MPG!

 

 

 

Uh, I hope no one at Ford is watching this thread!

[Mark B. Morrow]

-Another- Mustang SE! They could drop the 2.5 I4 under the hood, give it some ridiculously low rear axle ratio, say 2.93:1, strip the interior down to vinyl and hard plastic, and paint the body white with brown or black splotches. And give it a full rear window/trunklid hatch. The Mustang Pinto II MPG!

Uh, I hope no one at Ford is watching this thread!

 

 

Yeah with our luck This is the one they would take seriously.

[jpd80]

Actually, base the next Mustang on a RWD version of the C2 Focus and a Pinto is an easy do.

 

Good luck getting anyone to actually buy either of them.

[kevinb120]

If you were alive when Pintos were on the road, you'd wish Ford would have another car that sold like that again.

 

Funny enough, the issues with the tanks were born from the car originally being designed with a fuel bladder/liner in the tank like a race car. A quick switch before production started to a standard tank allowed it to get through without more thorough testing of the different tank design in relation to the bumper brackets. It was also supposed to have airbags, they were toying with SIDE airbags as well and also looked into ABS brakes, but nobody wanted that shit nor would pay for it back then. Again, put in context(just like the Explorer 'roll overs'), 27 people were killed in rear end fires out of over 2 MILLION vehicles sold(not including Mercury Bobcats), about dead center average for all cars made at the time. They initially tried the now-standard Toyota 'take em to court' approach and got busted by the media, and it was blown way out of proportion and sensationalized, it was not uncommon practice for automakers in the 70's. The eventually recalled the vehicles with the possible issue, later models were improved. Some of the original intent to make it the worlds safest car made it through like the first unitbody car to use door impact beams simply because it was safer for people in the car, not because it was required by law. The front suspension and steering system was also excellent for the time, and still to this day makes a good basis for modern kit cars, including most AC Cobra replicas. By far more advanced then the new 09 Corolla at least

Edited December 29, 2007 by kevinb120

[jpd80]

If you were alive when Pintos were on the road, you'd wish Ford would have another car that sold like that again.

I wouldn't wish Pintos on anyone.

The strut design and 2.0 engine were pinched from FoE

[Watchdevil]

The true successor to the Pinto was really the 1979+ four cylinder Mustangs, not the Escort. The 1981 Escort introduced a whole new for Ford of NA class of small space efficient FWD cars including rear doors on the 5-door hatchback and wagon models. The Mustang was a chopped down Fairmont with a 2-door sedan and hatchback body using the old Pinto and Mustang II engines 4-cyl and V6. If Ford continued the Pinto redesigned in some form it really would not have been much different than that as far as size and packaging. Base Mustangs were pretty stripped down with no bodyside moldings, pie pan wheel covers, no center console and high back bucket seats. The formula of the Mustang by then had consolidated all the bare bones attributes of a Pinto and base Mustang II combined but on a modern advanced platform. So producing a Pinto model would have been pretty much redundant, especially since the Mustang name carried a better image for people to associate with. Mustangs did not even begin to return to the horsepower race until 1982 wih the 5.0 GT. All V8 engines before that were suffocated.

[MarkFive]

If you were alive when Pintos were on the road, you'd wish Ford would have another car that sold like that again.

 

Thing I remember about the Pinto was how bare it was inside. My brother had one and I used to joke about how it came with the steering wheel and door handle options. It didn't have much more than that. It also rusted out pretty quickly.

 

The following website has a lot of very interesting background information on the Pinto.

 

Ford Pinto Background

[Blue II]

I wouldn't wish Pintos on anyone.

The strut design and 2.0 engine were pinched from FoE

 

The Pinto didn't use MacPherson struts. The 2.0 was a nice little engine for the Pinto. The 1.6 Kent was a bit too small though unless you has some Weslake or Cosworth gear.

[MarkFive]

Some of the original intent to make it the worlds safest car made it through like the first unitbody car to use door impact beams simply because it was safer for people in the car, not because it was required by law.

 

The Pinto's two domestic competitors also came with safety features not found on the Pinto:

 

The Chevrolet Vega had a unique feature called "cracked aluminum engine block" which prevented the car from being driven, thus avoiding an accident.

 

The AMC Gremlin came with something called "2000 lbs of ugly" which caused people to not want to be seen in it, thus preventing the chance for any accidents.

Edited December 29, 2007 by MarkFive

[RaZor]

Last week our local TV station did a segment on the evening news (they are #1 in ratings in SoFla) with clips from the latest front bumper crash reports. They showed how the Accord had $3500 + damage with just a rolling frontal 6 mph impact. They also showed how the G35 had $14,000+ damage in all four tests. . . and then showed a comparison with . . . the 1981 Escort ($86 damage).

 

I literally broke out laughing. Well you can see the report from which they took the clips HERE

 

<Not sure where they got the Accord clips from>

 

The Audi did pretty good in the test (bumper test) but I remember seeing this real life 'test' where the score was one fairly small tree = 1 . . . Audi RS6=0 (well, I guess you could say, it was more like Audi = two halves)

[chromehorn]

The Pinto's two domestic competitors also came with safety features not found on the Pinto:

 

The Chevrolet Vega had a unique feature called "cracked aluminum engine block" which prevented the car from being driven, thus avoiding an accident.

 

The AMC Gremlin came with something called "2000 lbs of ugly" which caused people to not want to be seen in it, thus preventing the chance for any accidents.

 

 

 

So true! I had a 79 Pinto, a friend had a 74 Gremlin, and a neighbor had a 74 Vega. The Vega was always busted, looked okay though, it was a 3 door wagon IIRC. The Gremlin was, well, just plain funky looking...not as bad as a another friends Pacer though! The Gremlin moved along ok with a 6 cyl, and 3 on the floor. If we were to line them up and race (which we did many a time) the Pinto and Gremlin would be neck and neck and the Vega would be flat out sucking wind.

 

If the road got curvy, or we were driving on the numerous dirt roads where I grew up, the Pinto was just too good for the others to touch. (amazing what you can do with a floor mounted parking brake on dirt roads)

 

Today it seems the Pinto is pretty well liked in mini stock racing as is the Ford 2.3 4 cyl. engine. It may actually be one the rare classes of racing where a Ford engine is the engine of choice amongst racers because it's so durable and easy to work on.

[Ovaltine]

If it hadn't of been for the fires debacle, I actually thought the Pinto was a cool little car.

 

The accusations of premature body cancer are COMPLETELY true though.... but that was pretty much true of ALL cars in the early 70's.

 

*** 70's FLASHBACK ALERT ***

I can remember helping a buddy of mine bondo up a 4 speed '72 (in 1976...only 4 years later!) that looked like a lace curtain. We were 13 at the time, and he had bought the car with some money he got for his church confirmation.

 

He originally bought it for something like $300, and sold it for something like $650 when we were done with it.

 

While thrashing on that thing in his "back 40", the driver's rear seat post on the left side collapsed completely through the floor! No problem-o though! A hunk of 2x4 stuffed under the lifted up seat, and we were good to go! :lol:

 

When the body work was done, my friend learned how to use a spray gun, and painted the car metallic *lime* green. Though it was originally dark brown, it had a black interior so the new exterior color worked.

 

The last we saw of it, some ugly fat chick was "putting" by in it past his house. The color was very becoming on her.

 

I do remember that car well, if for no other reason than it taught me how to work a clutch. If the rpm's and clutch release pressure weren't *perfect*, that muther would stall. It took some real expertise to get a smooth launch out of it. In contrast, my brother's '74 VW Bug could hardly BE stalled! When I started driving it around my Grandpa's farm where it was being stored, I could pop the clutch on that car withOUT even giving it any gas, and it would just go. What a difference!

 

 

To complete this trip down memory lane, check out some of these little BEAUTIES from the Pinto lineage:

 

MY personal favorite, the Pinto Cruising Wagon:

(Comes complete with Steve Miller "Book of Dreams" 8-track tape)

 

 

 

The Pinto Cruising Wagon in Silver Metallic (1G) is the first of three versions of this trend-setting mini-street-van option. All feature steel side panels with bubble-glass portholes, dual sport mirrors, front spoiler, styled steel wheels with trim rings, carpeting on inner quarter walls and load floor, and Sports Rallye Package, which adds: tachometer, ammeter, and temperature gauges, higher spring rates, front stabilizer bar (standard on Wagons), sport steering wheel, plus higher axle ratio with 2.3 litre engine and 4-speed manual transmission. Choose yours, as shown above in Silver Metallic (1G) decked out with optional three-color paint/tape, side tape stripe treatment (luggage rack included) which replaces standard vinyl

insert bodyside moldings. Sharp.

 

The classic '72:

 

The Pinto Pony MPG:

 

 

The Pinto 'Stallion' from 1976 (actually not TOO shabby looking...)

 

Going in the other direction, a special Stallion edition of the Pinto also appeared this year. As with the 1972 Sprint, this rather attractive package resembled similarly trimmed Mustangs and Mavericks. Features included silver paint with blacked-out grille, window frames, and headlight surrounds. A matte-black finish was also applied to the hood and cowl.

 

The Stallion was topped off with a pair of black sport mirrors; special logo decals on the fenders; forged aluminum wheels shod with A73313 raised-white-letter, wide-oval tires; plus a special handling suspension. This package added $283 to the base hatchback's $3,200 base price.

 

 

The '79 "RallyE".... Nearing the end of the line:

 

 

-Ovaltine

Edited December 30, 2007 by Ovaltine

[TomServo92]

My older brother had a Pinto wagon (can't remember the year). It was green metallic and he had put some aftermarket wheels on it. At the time, I thought it was a pretty sharp little car.

[suv_guy_19]

My older brother had a Pinto wagon (can't remember the year). It was green metallic and he had put some aftermarket wheels on it. At the time, I thought it was a pretty sharp little car.

 

Ewwwwww....:P

[TomServo92]

Ewwwwww....:P

 

Well, you just had to see it.... B)

[MarkFive]

My older brother had a Pinto wagon (can't remember the year). It was green metallic and he had put some aftermarket wheels on it. At the time, I thought it was a pretty sharp little car.

 

My first car was a '78 Honda Civic bought in '84. It was a piece of crap that lasted a year before the engine blew while doing 100 kph on the way to Toronto). It also rusted out completely. At least I got $100 for it.

 

What I should have purchased instead was a used Pinto. By '79 they had fixed up a lot of the prior issues with them. I also thought the new square headlights looked pretty good on the car.

Edited December 29, 2007 by MarkFive

[Edstock]

The Pinto was a nice shape for its time.

 

Here's the Pangra version:

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto

 

Check out http://hometown.aol.com/bjoorn/page1.html

 

Edited December 29, 2007 by Edstock

[RichardJensen]

They initially tried the now-standard Toyota 'take em to court' approach and got busted by the media, and it was blown way out of proportion and sensationalized, it was not uncommon practice for automakers in the 70's.

If memory serves, it was the discovery of a damning memo from a Ford exec saying that it would be cheaper to settle wrongful death lawsuits than to fix the problem that blew the situation wide open.

 

The first case to get a great deal of publicity, again, if memory serves, involved a woman who had left the gas cap off. But when that memo saw the light of day......