Yes it is and had it not been for the bad rep it may very well been called Pinto. However, l can't think of another new Ford car that had the same fanfare that came after the Pinto. lt was the first American subcompact, it was inexpensive, light, low and wide. The seats were low like a sports car, it handled well and the steering was tight and quick thanks to the rack and pinion steering. The body was pattered after the other pony cars, Mustang and Falcon, with a long nose and short deck, and the angled sides and flared fenders were an instant hit. The 1.6 and 2.0 engines came from Formula Ford racing and they were bullet-poof. Even with only 75 hp the 1.6 was a zippy little engine that you could rev the daylights out of and thanks to a close-ratio 4 speed and decent gearing it moved along pretty good! The 2.0 had a cool 100 hp! It didn't take the aftermarket long to notice the Pinto. Body kits, mag wheels, spoilers and performance parts! For a Pinto? Really? Yep. Cams, carbs, headers......M
y oldest bother bought a '71 Runabout and of course we added all of the above.
Offenhouser intake, 390 Holley, Isky cam and a Hooker header on a 2.0. And of course a glasspack lol!!! The dragstrips were all 1/4 mile then and let me tell you, quite a few V8 cars got embarrassed by a Pinto!! That dude was screaming with 8000 rpm shifts! So who knows? Would the Pinto still be around today? Maybe. I kind of think it may have gone bye-bye for a while and then very well came back. Maybe it would have been the Fiesta platform. l read an article about the Pinto back in the early 70's about the popularity of them, it stated that the owners of these little cars actually honk, wave and give thumbs up to each other when they pass on the road. Guess what? We as Pinto owners still get that today from people driving anything! Haha! Can you tell that l like Pintos?