i was just wondering out of curosity, but what defence do you guys usually have when people seem to only know the pinto as that car that would explode with the lightest touch?
dont get me wrong, thats not an opinion I have. but when ever i bring up pintos and tell people that i think there a cool car people jump right in and try to tell me what a fiery POS they are...
from what i understand only like 20 people ever dies in a pinto fire which doesnt seem like that many considering how many were on the road. im sure just as many if not more people have been burned up in other cars that were never as infamous.
anyway, i was hoping some of the gurus here could shead some light on this little misconception for me, from one blue oval fan to another.
thanks
here's a couple "legal" type documents you might find interesting...
Point of Law.com - The Myth of the Ford Pinto Case
http://www.pointoflaw.com/articles/The_Myth_of_the_Ford_Pinto_Case.pdf
and
THE FORD PINTO CASE:
THE VALUATION OF LIFE AS IT APPLIES
TO THE NEGLIGENCE-EFFICIENCY ARGUMENT
http://www.wfu.edu/~palmitar/Law&Valuation/Papers/1999/Leggett-pinto.html
Is it possible to get "Datelined" years before Dateline?
I remember my parents saying that it would blow up because it did not have a flat trunk lid.
I TOTALLY agree with it being MYTH.
When I am at the shows I just point to my fire extuinguisher and say "I'm Covered"
From Pintony
You dont keep a hammer in your car to smash the window when the doors buckle shut? :P
I know whenever someone asks me why I would want a car that would blow up when rear ended, I just mention the fact that my car was not one of the ones that blew up, and that the main bit of bac publisity came from the one that was rear ended by a full size van when the Pinto was stuck on the freeway with other issues causing it to stop running. Lets face it, if it weren't for that major accident when those people were killed in the Pinto it probably wouldn't get the bad press it did. I mean, look at the Crown Vic. It got all the bad press a few years ago, because cop cars were getting rear ended, exploding & killing cops.
Lastly, an important fact. Wherever you have gasoline vapors, metal & high rate of speed there is always a chance of explosion. EVERY gasoline car can blow up or catch fire & kill people. Pinto or not.
I'd say that's the only fact that wasn't mentioned back then, or was it?
(http://www.alanburkhart.com/TermiNader.jpg)
Non-Pinto owners are usualy the ones who bring up the fire thing........Pinto owners usualy say things like....I miss my Pinto, I loved that car...I wish I had never gotten rid of it.
Furthermore, In the last couple of years that I've had my Pinto back on the road I have gotten numerous thumbs up....Never a thumbs down.
I could only wish that I would have a different color Pinto to drive for each day of the week. ;)
High_Horse
Quote from: High_Horse on November 21, 2007, 08:31:15 PM
I could only wish that I would have a different color Pinto to drive for each day of the week. ;)
High_Horse
What R U trying to say MIKE? :P
When someone asks or mentions it, Sometimes I just pretend like I never heard anything about it, and offer to give them the car because I am afraid to drive it. Strange how they will reach out to when I attempt to give them the keys. Sometimes I tell them the truth: it is just an 'urban legend'.
Bill
i have driven a pinto for 10 year now. i have been rear ended about 6 time's. most very minor.
but one really good one buy a bran new ( at that time) just off the lot, not a day old, 2001 impala. i seen the lady stop way back. then she went to pull up closer and never touched the brakes hit me at about 25-30 mph. i think. Bent my exhaust and cracked a tail light. her car was TOTALED could dent Bellevue it. the hood was buckled, the windshield was busted the bumper was on the ground. she was balling. she had just got the car and hadn't put insurance on it and her husband had told her. "dont drive the car."
well was i happy about crumple zones!!
i felt so bad for the lady i told her i wouldn't report it. to just go put insurance on it and wait a few days the call in that she hit some one and they took off. dont know if it worked for her or not.
that accident has rid any fear's that i had driving the BBQ that seat four.
now i just use the excuse of fear of being rear ended and blown up to get out of speeding tickets. (it works)
you shoulda got a pic just so you could write OWNED at the bottom
I don't fight the "myth". What I fight, with my wife, is that I owned a nice panel wagon back in 1993 - and dumped HER money into it at the time for a restoration (I was going to school, she was working), and when we moved to Texas, I had to leave it behind. She HATES the thought of me getting another one!! She just believes it's a waste of time, a piece of junk, etc. I used to have a 1957 Chevy that I did a frame off resto on, and got it to primer before selling it. She says "get another one of those". YAH RIGHT, completely rust eaten ripped up examples command $5K - just to get one to start with!! $5K would build an AWESOME Pinto...and it gets good gas mileage...and I know where a beautiful panel wagon is for $3200 complete, new paint, etc.....
>sigh< :(
Chris
PS - I don't want to give a bad impression of my wife, she's awesome. This is just one of those things I am REALLY trying to get her through....
popbumper
My wife named my Pinto. Stupinto. She does'nt get it either.
Quote from: maverick on November 24, 2007, 06:51:22 PM
you shoulda got a pic just so you could write OWNED at the bottom
i wish i could just find a pic of my old 75. yellow with black int, black hood
that car will be the lost love of my life. all my life.
i was about 18 when that hampend. there was no camera phones. shizod it was just a 40$ car that had 32,xxx what the f*** ill just get another. lol, i wish!!! but that was my mentality at the time. my pinto 8 track racer. a 76 with 60,xxx was a free be. they were just cheap car's to me that i got teased for driving to school.
Having a Pinto is kind of like the Harley guys always say "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."
When I told my wife I bought a Pinto she said "why a Pinto" She has never said anything pro or con since. My mother's first comment was "Don't they blow up?" My reply: Aw Ma.
Tercin
Quote from: Tercin on November 25, 2007, 11:40:19 AM
Having a Pinto is kind of like the Harley guys always say "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."
When I told my wife I bought a Pinto she said "why a Pinto" She has never said anything pro or con since. My mother's first comment was "Don't they blow up?" My reply: Aw Ma.
Tercin
My mom grew up in the 70s and when I told her I planned on buying one she said she would never been seen in it :P Now that its actually in the yard she actually likes it. I got the same first reply too, except it was more like "No, Im not letting you drive something that dangerous!"
I guess the fire myth was about the hatchback models or so I was told. Since I drive a 73 wagon, I think my chances of a fireball on the highway are rather slim then :lol: Taking chances are what life is all about. I heard that life causes death, does that mean that because I drive a Pinto when I'm not riding my Harley means my odds of dying have increased? Man, I've owned a Pinto for over 30 years now and a Harley for over 40, I guess my time must be getting short. Oh Well!, I think I'll go for a cruise and think about it. ;D I'll ride the bike so I won't have to worry about the fireball.
I think you need a full size truck with a trailor hitch and leave the ball holder in. After 2 rear enders and I rear ended one, trust me, you'll be the one driving away.
what I do is list off a few other "dangerous" cars. chevy trucks and their saddle tank problem, the trunk floor in an old mustang is the top of the gas tank, and older pickups- doesn't matter what company- had the gas tank behind the seats. people are nuts!
krazi