Ford Pinto
The
Ford Pinto was an American
subcompact car manufactured by the
Ford Motor Company, first introduced in
1971, and built through the
1980 model year. Like many Ford cars, it had a "twin": in the Pinto's case, the
Mercury Bobcat, introduced in
Canada in 1974 and then in the U.S. for 1975. Introduced in the same time frame as the
Chevrolet Vega and
AMC Gremlin, the Pinto was the most successful of the U.S. designs, and was the basis for the upcoming
Mustang II. Pintos were built in
St. Thomas,
Ontario,
Canada and in
California.
For many years Ford had sold small models from its British line as captive imports, including the
Ford Cortina. The Pinto's design began in
1968 under the direction of Ford executive
Lee Iacocca. The Pinto was replaced by the
Escort for the 1981 model year.
Body styles included a 2-door
coupe, a three-door
hatchback, 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.
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. Seating was very low to the floor, and styling somewhat resembled the larger
Ford Maverick in grille and tail light themes.
Road & Track faulted the suspension and standard
drum brakes, calling the latter a "serious deficiency". But they praised the 1.6 L
Kent engine, especially compared to the much-larger
2300 found in arch-rival
Chevrolet Vega.
Original engines included a
British-built 1.6 L
OHV I4 and a German-built 2.0 L
SOHC I4. In
1974, the 1.6 L powerplant was dropped and a new 2.3 L engine became available; a 2.8 L
V6 was available from 1975.
* 1971-1973 - 1.6 L
Kent OHV I4, 75 hp (60 kW) and 96 ft.lbf (130 Nm)
* 1971-1980 - 2.0 L
EAO SOHC I4
* 1974-1980 - 2.3 L
OHC SOHC I4
* 1975-1980 - 2.8 L
Cologne V6Through early production of the model, it became a focus of a major
scandal when it was alleged that the car's design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the event of a
rear-end collision which sometimes resulted in deadly fires and explosions. Critics argued that the vehicle's lack of a true rear bumper as well as any reinforcing structure between the rear panel and the tank, meant that in certain collisions, the tank would be thrust forward into the
differential, which had a number of protruding bolts that could puncture the tank. This, and the fact that the doors could potentially jam during an accident (due to poor reinforcing) made the car a potential deathtrap.
Ford was allegedly aware of this design flaw but refused to pay what was characterized as the minimal expense of a redesign. Instead, it was argued, Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay off possible lawsuits for resulting deaths.
Mother Jones magazine obtained the cost-benefit analysis Ford had used to compare the cost of an $11 repair against the cost of paying off potential law suits. The characterization of Ford's design decision as gross disregard for human lives in favor of profits led to major lawsuits, inconclusive criminal charges, and a costly recall of all affected Pintos. Ford lost several million dollars and gained a reputation for manufacturing "the barbecue that seats four."
The cynical way of calculating costs of settlements against the costs of a recall is thematized in the novel
Fight Club and its movie adaption, but economists note that
cost-benefit analysis is the only possible way of measuring whether safety measures are worthwhile. For example, all automobiles would be safer if they were limited to go no faster than fifteen miles per hour, but they would be far less useful or desirable in such circumstances, so that safety measure is not taken, even though thousands of lives a year are lost as a result.
The most famous Ford Pinto
product liability case resulted in a judicial
opinion that is a staple of
remedies courses in American
law schools. In
Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co., 119 Cal. App. 3d 757 (4th Dist. 1981) [
1], the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District reviewed Ford's conduct in painstaking detail, and upheld compensatory
damages of $2.5 million and
punitive damages of $3.5 million against Ford. It also upheld the judge's reduction of the punitive damages from the jury's original verdict of $125 million. Of the two plaintiffs, one was killed in the collision that caused her Pinto to explode, and her passenger, 13-year old Richard Grimshaw, was badly burned and scarred for life.
More recently, it has been argued (in a well-known 1991 law review paper by Gary Schwartz [
2], among others) that the case against the Pinto was less clear-cut than commonly supposed. Only 27 people ever died in Pinto fires. Given the Pinto's production figures (over 2 million built), this was no worse than typical for the time, and far less than the "hundreds" claimed by the consumer safety advocates whose allegations are largely responsible for the reputation of the vehicle. Schwartz argues that the car was no more fire-prone than other cars of the time, and that the supposed "smoking gun" document showing Ford's callousness actually referred to the auto industry in general rather than the Pinto specifically.
Due to the alleged engineering, safety, and reliability problems,
Forbes Magazine included the Pinto on its list of the worst cars of all time. Ironically Ford had originally planned to include an inexpensive rubber bladder inside the gas tank that would have prevented most of the explosive crashes that plagued the car's run; in addition, Ford had also planned to include revolutionary dual front air bags. The addition of these two safety features would have added a few hundred dollars to the $2000 base price of the vehicle but would have probably made it a much safer vehicle. However, it is quite possible Ford would not have sold over two million of the modified car due to the substantial increase in price and may or may not have made less profit. The Pinto was once referred to as "the car nobody loved, but everybody bought".
The Pinto's competition included not only rival U.S. built models, but the
Toyota Corolla,
Datsun B210 and other similar small
Japanese cars. In measures of quality, durability, economy, value, and performance, the Pinto compared poorly to these lighter vehicles. Ford's marketing response was to emphasize the vehicle as having
"…more road-hugging weight".
 |
A Pinto Pangra. The same car is also visible in the background in the first picture in this article. |
The
Pinto Pangra was a modified, sporting Pinto produced in limited numbers by a Ford dealer, Huntington Ford in
Arcadia, California. Approximately 200 were sold during
1973 and (to a limited degree)
1974, and in addition the components were sold in kit form. A Pangra cost approximately $5,000.
The most visible modification was a slanted fiberglass nose with pop-up headlights. Internally, the stock 2 liter engine was fitted with an AK Miller turbocharger; a "Can-Am" suspension package with Koni dampers lowered the car and improved the handling; aluminum wheels with wider tires were fitted, as were Recaro seats, a revised dash with a new center console, full instrumentation, and a digital tachometer.
The Pinto, along with the
Yugo,
AMC Gremlin,
AMC Pacer, suffers the reputation of being an American symbol for a "cheap economy car" or "cheapness", and the Pinto has made its way into popular culture because of this. Also, its reputation for being unsafe is frequently lampooned. Examples include:
*Movies
*
Cujo - a Pinto with a failing alternator is attacked by a rabies-infected
St. Bernard.
*
Friday (movie) -
Chris Tucker drives a Pinto which has a car alarm.
*
The Silence of the Lambs -
Clarice Starling (played by
Jodie Foster) drives a Pinto.
*
Speed - When Jack asks Annie if she can handle the (booby trapped) bus, she replies, "Sure, it's just like driving a really big Pinto."
*
Superman II -
General Zod,
Ursa, and
Non use their super-exhaling to quelch the uprising of the citizens of
Metropolis after
Superman is thought to have been killed by being crushed by a bus thrown by Ursa and Non. In this scene, a Ford Pinto is seen being blown backwards into a hole in the street. Once falling in the hole, an explosion is seen emanating from the back of the car, and the car is immediately engulfed in flames.
*
Top Secret! - A military truck touches the rear bumper of a Pinto, blowing it up immediately.
*
Spirit of '76 - Another car stops just short of a Pinto's rear bumper. Two supporting characters drag the lead character to safety who claims "But it didn't hit it!" and they reply, "It doesn't matter!" The car then explodes in a fireworks stand.
*
The Blues Brothers 1980 movie has the Illinois Nazi Party's leader being chauffered in a red Pinto station wagon. A scene toward the end of the film required an
FAA UNairworthiness certificate for the car.
*
Clerks. During a look back at past idiotic questions people have asked, a guy comes in and asks, "Do you have any hubcaps for a 1972 Pinto hatchback?"
*TV Shows
*
Charlie's Angels - one of the Angels in the TV series drives a Pinto. The other angels drive a
Mustang II (one of them a Mustang II Ghia and a Cobra II), while their boss is seen with a
Ford LTD.
*
Third Rock from the Sun - A car salesman tried to sell Sally a Pinto, but she originally wanted a Viper. (Finances tell all)
*
Johnny Bravo - The main character, Johnny Bravo, drives a Pinto.
*
The Simpsons*
Mad TV Has a Price is Right sketch with the Ford Pinto as an explosive car for a prize
**"
Daria" has an episode where the line "Well its no Pinto" talking about a dangerous car, with the response line "Those you have to hit before they explode."
**"
Sex and the City"* had an episode when Steve wanted to get a fake, but experimental testicle, and Miranda said not to do it. When the surgon said that it was perfectly safe Miranda replied "Well that's what they said about the Ford Pinto. Do you want a Pinto by your penis?"
**An episode of "
CHiPs" had a flashback moment where two girls ran into a Pinto, started it up, threw it into what they thought was reverse, then flying forward through the wall in the garage, and into a swimming pool, sinking to the bottom. Ponch and John then dove into the pool to save them.
**On an episode of
You Can't Do That on Television, Senator Lance Prevert kept bragging that he can fix anything himself and didn't need to call the repair man. Finally the lights (which he worked on) go out and he gives in and goes to call the repair man, but when he picks up the phone, it shorts out, so then he decides to drive over to the repair man. At this, Valerie, his wife, starts loudly begging, "Please, don't take the Pinto! NO! Not the Pinto!"
*Music
*
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) by
The Offspring has the lyrics "Now cruising in his Pinto, he sees homies as he pass..."
*
You saw my blinker by
Will Smith has the lyrics "There was this lady in a Pinto coupe"
*
UUHHH by
Will Smith has the lyrics "I'm like a Porsche you a Pinto"
*
AM Radio by
Everclear "Sometimes we go driving around in my sister's Pinto"
*Books/Magazines
**
Mad Magazine had a spot in one issue called "Average Speeds", and one of them was "17.3 MPH: The average speed of a Ford Pinto that is supposed to be in Park".
*
Ford Pinto engine - Used in many other cars as well
*
AVE Mizar - A flying Pinto
* Parente, Mike.
Pinto Pangra. Retrieved on
April 20,
2005.
*
Pinto on DMoz*
FordPinto.com*
Mother Jones magazine's 1977 expose on the Ford Pinto*
Pinto Yahoo Group, rather active
*
Pinto Page - year by year specifications and magazine articles.
