![]() The Pinto had sold over 100,000 units by January 1971, and 352,402 for the entire 1971 production run 1974 saw the most Pintos produced in a single model year, with 544,209 units. Īfter structural design on alternate body styles encountered obstacles, Ford offered the Pinto solely as a two-door sedan, with entry-level models priced at $1,850, undercutting GM's Chevrolet Vega and directly targeting imported models – which included such new competitors as the Mazda 1200 in 1971, the Subaru DL in 1972, and the Honda Civic in 1973. On September 11, 1970, Ford introduced the Pinto under the tagline The Little Carefree Car. The rack and pinion steering optionally had power assist, as did the brakes. ![]() The suspension was by unequal-length control arms with front coil springs while the live rear axle was mounted on leaf springs. Offered with an inline-four engine and bucket seats the Pinto's mechanical 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. The Pinto's bodywork was styled by Robert Eidschun. Iacocca ordered a rush project to build the car, and the Pinto became known internally as "Lee's car". Decisions that threatened the schedule were discouraged the attitude of Ford management was to develop the Pinto as quickly as possible. Machine tooling overlapped with product development, which froze the basic design. Some development processes usually conducted sequentially were conducted in parallel. The Pinto product development, from conception through delivery, was completed in 25 months when the automotive industry average was 43 months, the shortest production planning schedule in automotive history at the time. Ford President Lee Iacocca wanted a 1971 model that weighed under 2,000 lb (907 kg) and that would be priced at less than US$2,000 ($15,960 in 2022 dollars ). Initial planning for the Pinto began in the summer of 1967, was recommended by Ford's Product Planning Committee in December 1968, and was approved by Ford's board of directors in January 1969. Product development Ford Pinto design proposal, 1970 Ford Chairman Henry Ford II himself purchased a 1971 Runabout (hatchback) to use as one of his personal cars. ![]() It was a completely new platform, but utilized a powertrain from the European-specification Escort. Named for the pony, the Pinto was introduced on September 11, 1970. American automakers introduced their subcompacts, led by the AMC Gremlin that arrived six months before the Pinto, and the Chevrolet Vega, introduced the day before the Pinto. As the popularity of smaller Japanese imports Toyota Corolla and Datsun 510 increased throughout the 1960s, Ford North America responded by introducing the Cortina from Ford of Europe as a captive import. The safety issues surrounding the Pinto and the subsequent response by Ford have been cited widely as business ethics and tort reform case studies.īackground First-generation American subcompacts, left to right: AMC Gremlin, Ford Pinto, Chevrolet VegaĪmerican automakers had first countered imports such as the Volkswagen Beetle with compact cars including the Ford Falcon, Ford Maverick, Chevrolet Corvair and Plymouth Valiant, although these cars featured six-cylinder engines and comprised a larger vehicle class. A subsequent analysis of the overall safety of the Pinto suggested it was comparable to other 1970s subcompact cars. Its fuel-tank design attracted both media and government scrutiny after several deadly fires occurred when the tanks ruptured in rear-end collisions. Since the 1970s, the safety reputation of the Pinto has generated controversy. Thomas Assembly in Southwold, Ontario, and San Jose Assembly in Milpitas, California. The Pinto and Mercury Bobcat were produced at Edison Assembly in Edison, New Jersey, St. Over three million Pintos were produced over its ten-year production run, outproducing the combined totals of its domestic rivals, the Chevrolet Vega and the AMC Gremlin. Mercury offered rebadged versions of the Pinto as the Mercury Bobcat from 1975 until 1980 (1974–1980 in Canada ). The Pinto was marketed in three body styles throughout its production: a two-door fastback sedan with a trunk, a three-door hatchback, and a two-door station wagon. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1971 until 1980.
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