Ford Pinto because its uglier than sin...
why the hate, bagged?
The
Ford Pinto was a
subcompact car manufactured by the
Ford Motor Company for the
North American market, first introduced on
September 11,
1970, and built through the 1980
model year. It had a similar car sold under the
Lincoln-Mercury brand, in the Pinto's case, the
Mercury Bobcat first appeared in
Canada for 1974, and subsequently in the U.S. the following year.
The new Pinto was beaten to the market by the
AMC Gremlin, which arrived on
April Fool's Day in 1970 - six months before the small Ford. Like Pinto, which shared parts with the slightly larger
Ford Maverick, the Gremlin shared parts with the
AMC Hornet. In the new American
subcompact car class, only the
Chevrolet Vega was a truly brand-new design.
Although the previously introduced Ford Maverick (and similarly-sized AMC Hornet) was initially compared with the
Volkswagen Beetle, it was still designed around a
L6 or
V8 motor, with an interior featuring two bench seats. The new Pinto, with its 4-cylinder engine and bucket seats, was aimed squarely at small imports such as the Beetle and
Toyota Corolla. Although the Chevrolet Vega and AMC Gremlin would often win higher magazine ratings,[
citation needed] the Pinto was the most successful of the U.S. designs. The Pinto was also the starting point for the downsized
Mustang II pony car. Pintos were built in
St. Thomas,
Ontario;
Edison,
New Jersey; and in Richmond
[1],
California.
Contents
[hide]
[edit] History
For many years, Ford sold many small models from its British line as captive imports, including the
Ford Cortina which somewhat resembled a reduced
Ford Falcon. The Pinto's design began in
1968 under the direction of Ford executive
Lee Iacocca. The Pinto would be later complemented by the imported, but even smaller front wheel drive
Ford Fiesta, and formally replaced by the more modern
Escort, patterned after the technically advanced front-drive
Volkswagen Rabbit, for the 1981 model year.
Compared with other imports, seating was very low to the floor. Styling somewhat resembled the larger
Ford Maverick in grille and tail light themes, but had a smooth fastback profile.
Body styles included a two-door
coupé with a conventional trunk, a three-door
hatchback called the Runabout, a two-door
station wagon, and the
Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon, produced from 1977 to 1980 and styled to resemble a small
conversion van (very much the trend in the late 1970s) complete with a round "bubble window" in the side panels. There was even a top of the line Pinto Squire, which had faux wood sides like the flag ship
Ford Country Squire. There were appearance packages, but never a factory performance package similar to the Cosworth Vega or the 304 V8 Gremlin X.
The car's design was conventional, with
unibody construction, a longitudinally-mounted engine in front driving the rear wheels through either a
manual or
automatic transmission and
live axle rear end. Suspension was by unequal length A-arms with coil springs at the front and the live axle rear was suspended on leaf springs. The
rack and pinion steering had optional power assist, as did the brakes.
Road & Track faulted the suspension and standard
drum brakes, calling the latter a "serious deficiency". But they praised the proven 1.6 L
Kent engine, adapted from European Fords. The much larger
2300 found in arch-rival
Chevrolet Vega was an innovative brand new design using an aluminum block and iron head. This new engine design suffered from serious reliability problems.
Consumer Reports rated the 1971 Pinto below the Vega but above the Gremlin.
Though the cars were thoroughly forgotten for some time, the Pinto seems to be enjoying success as an amateur-level vintage racing car,[
citation needed] owing to its light weight,
rear-wheel drive (RWD) layout, willing and durable Ford of Europe engines, and good car and parts availability.
