Pinto Car Club of America

I have just finished reading a book titled "Ford's Pinto Trial: Reckless Homicide?" by Lee Patrick Strobel. The book had an affect on me. I want to tell anyone who may be interested in reading it that it is very educational with regards to the whole pinto's explosive gas tank issue. At first I thought it would be boring because it is about the trial. But I was wrong. I bought the book off ebay for $12 or so and just saw it on Amason.com for $100!! I couldn't belive it! Good reading for us pinto fanatics because what do people always ask me about my pinto? "Is yours one of the years that tended to blow up?" So I educate people on the issue. Then they are sorry they asked. :D

Has anyone else read this book?

Yes, I have read that book & you are right, it really focuses you on what really happened.

I actually questioned my affinity for the Pinto after reading this book. I was even a little concerned about the dangers of the rear end collisions as I have never been.

Sobers you & redefines what you really enjoy about this hobby...

The third goal of FordPinto.com is always a good quote on this subject:

Understand the Ford Motor Company's shortfalls with respect to the Pinto and in no way diminish the importance, the tragedies & the lessons of history & its impact on the present.

I'm really glad you brought this book up, I have not had a chance to discuss it with any other Pinto geeks as of yet...

Thanks for your reply, Scott. I guess the book touched me because for one, I was involved in a similar accident where my pinto actually protected me. There were many things differrent, mainly that I was hit by a car the size of my pinto vs. a large van. And there were many things the same. But, one thing I kept thinking as I read the book was that I can look at a car and reasonably judge the crush safety by it's size. Nowadays, with so many HUGE SUV's on the road, I am extra careful-always watching the rearview. I pull over whenever there is a large or too close vehicle behind me. I never take it for granted and never think "it won't happen to me" cause it did. The SUV's sit so high up that they probably don't even see my pinto's brake lights. I KNOW my pinto is tiny and it wouldn't take much to damage it. Not pointing any blame at anyone, just seeing it from Ford's side that it is not as safe as a big Lincoln Continental and that the consumer does have a choice when buying a car. Do you want a little vehicle (be killed in) or a big vehicle (kill someone in) :o? Do you want to spend a lot in gas for a big car, or spend almost as much for gas in a little car! ;) How well would a VW bug (older model) sustain a rear-end collision with a 2 ton van at 50 MPH? I just didn't think it was the pinto's fault. But an excellent book for all of you readers out there, and a very horrible story involving 3 young girls and their 1973 pinto sedan.

I too was more conscientious of large vehicles following too close if I had a full gas tank. I remember pulling over to let one pass just after I read this book. The really neat thing about reading this book was not what the author intended, to show Fords arrogance & how they poured lots of $$ into the case manipulating the court system to the best of their ability (Ford did unforgivable things during the trail), what I gained was all the technical information from Ford itself & all the cool stuff I never knew about the car.

Did you know Ford Engineers purchased Pintos (employee discount) for their children?

It's been a while since I read this, what else struck you as intresting?

Yes, I recall reading that Ford employees purchased the pintos for their kids. One of the members of the jury drove a pinto. I thought it was odd that Judy Ulrich, the driver of the exploded pinto, was ejected out of the vehicle somehow, yet her foot was caught in the door and the door was closed. Weird. There was no side of the road for them to pull off onto in order to retrieve the gas cap, which they apparently saw roll off of the roof of the car while driving the other direction on the freeway so they turned around to retrieve it. The explosion changed our roads-now we have a shoulder so a disabled vehicle can pull off of the freeway. All of the lawyers involved were very childish, that is for sure! I didn't think Ford was the bad guy in this book, even if that was the intention of the author. There were a lot of gray areas in vehicle safety that this trial changed that, which is good if safety is your number one concern in a vehicle. It is not very important to me. I have a '51 Willys Jeep that I drive on occasion and I KNOW I'd die if I was ever in a wreck so I am extra cautious. I imagine motorcycle riders are not on their bikes cause the bike is safe. Safety, to be honest, is the farthest thing from my mind when I buy a car...well....I would probably think differently if I had children.  :-\