Ford · 1971–present

Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed in three body styles across its production: a two-door fastback sedan with a trunk, a three-door hatchback, and a two-door station wagon. Mercury offered rebadged versions of the Pinto as the Mercury Bobcat from 1975 until 1980 (1974–1980 in Canada). Over three million Pintos were manufactured over its ten-year production run, outproducing the combined totals of its domestic rivals, the Chevrolet Vega and the AMC Gremlin. Along with the Pinto, approximately 224,000 Bobcats were manufactured from 1975 until 1980, at Edison Assembly in Edison, New Jersey, St. Thomas Assembly in Southwold, Ontario, and San Jose Assembly in Milpitas, California. In the 1970s, the safety reputation of the Pinto became a point of controversy. The design of the car's fuel tank attracted intense media and government scrutiny after several deadly fires following fuel tank ruptures associated with rear-end collisions. Subsequent analysis of the design's overall safety suggested it was comparable to other 1970s subcompact cars. The safety issues surrounding the Pinto and the subsequent response by Ford have been cited widely as business ethics and tort reform case studies.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Ford Cortina · Successor: Ford Escort

All Ford Pinto data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years → + Compare

Background

American 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. 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. 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. Named after a type of horse with a distinctive coat, the Pinto was introduced on September 11, 1970, using a completely new platform along with a powertrain from the European-specification Escort. Ford Chairman Henry Ford II himself purchased a 1971 Runabout (hatchback) as one of his personal cars.

Product development

Initial planning for the Pinto began in the summer of 1967, it was recommended by Ford's Product Planning Committee in December 1968, and was approved by Ford's board of directors in January 1969. Ford President Lee Iacocca wanted a 1971 model that weighed under 2,000 lb (900 kg) and that would be priced at less than US$2,000 ($17,559 in 2025 dollars). 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. Some development processes usually conducted sequentially were conducted in parallel. Machine tooling overlapped with product development, which froze the basic design. Decisions that threatened the schedule were discouraged; the attitude of Ford management was to develop the Pinto as quickly as possible. Iacocca ordered a rush project to build the car, and the Pinto became known internally as "Lee's car". The Pinto's bodywork was styled by Robert Eidschun. 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 suspension was by unequal-length control arms with front coil springs while the live rear axle was mounted on leaf springs. The rack and pinion steering optionally had power assist, as did the brakes. Ford had not offered a four-cylinder engine in North America since the cancellation of the Ford Model A engine in 1934 when the Ford Model B was discontinued. The Kent engine was sourced from Ford of England.

Production history

On September 11, 1970, Ford introduced the Pinto under the tagline The Little Carefree Car. After 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. 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. 1971–1973. The Ford Pinto went on sale on September 11, 1970, in one body style, a fastback sedan with an enclosed trunk. A hatchback became available on February 20, 1971, debuting at the Chicago Auto Show. In 1971, the Pinto brochure came with a paper cutout Pinto that one could fold to make a 3D model. Marketed as the Runabout, the hatchback went on sale five days later, priced at $2,062 ($16,393 in 2025 dollars ). The hatch itself featured exposed chrome hinges for the liftgate and five decorative chrome strips, sprung scissor struts to assist in opening the hatch, a rear window approximately as large as the sedan's, and a fold-down seat – a feature which concurrently became optional on the sedan. The hatchback model matched the sedan in all other dimensions and offered 38.1 cubic feet (1,080 L) of cargo space with its seat folded. By 1972, Ford redesigned the hatch itself, with the glass portion of the hatch enlarged to almost the entire size of the hatch itself, ultimately to be followed by an optional rear hatch that was entirely glass, for model years1977–1980. On October 30, 1970, less than two months after introduction, 26,000 Pintos were recall

Powertrain

Except for 1980, the Pinto was available with a choice of two engines. For the first five years of production, only four-cylinder inline engines were offered. Ford changed the power ratings almost every year. Initial Pinto deliveries in the early years used the English 1.6 L (98 cu in) and German 2.0 L (120 cu in) engines tuned for performance (see below). The 2.0 L (120 cu in) engine used a two-barrel carburetor where just one bore was bigger than that used on the Maverick. With the low weight (not much above 2,000 lb (900 kg)) and the SOHC engine it accelerated from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 10.8 seconds. With the advent of emission control requirements, Ford moved from European-sourced to domestically sourced engines, using new or modified designs. New safety legislation affected bumpers and other parts, adding to the weight of the car and reduced performance. Revised SAE standards in 1972 dropped the Pinto's 1.6 L (98 cu in) engine to 54 bhp (40 kW) – and the 2.0 L (120 cu in) engine to 86 hp (64 kW). In 1974, the 2.3 litres (140 cu in) OHC I4 engine was introduced. This engine was updated and modified several times, allowing it to remain in production into 1997. Among other Ford vehicles, a turbocharged version of this engine later powered the performance-based Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, Mustang SVO, and the European-built Merkur XR4Ti. Ford introduced the Cologne-built 2.8 litre V-6 engine as an option in 1975.

Mercury Bobcat (1974–1980)

Lincoln-Mercury dealers introduced a rebadged variant of the Pinto as the Mercury Bobcat, for model year 1974, beginning with the Canadian market. Offered in the same body styles as the Pinto, the Bobcat was distinguished by an egg-crate grille and chrome headlamp bezels. The rear featured modified double-width tail lamps for the sedan and Runabout models. For 1975, the Bobcat was added to the U.S. market and sold initially in upgraded levels of trim as the Runabout hatchback and Villager wagon. Lesser-trimmed versions were offered in subsequent model years. The Bobcat was never offered as a two-door sedan with an enclosed trunk for the U.S. market. The Bobcat was offered as a two-door sedan for a limited number of years in Canada. All Bobcats were restyled with a raised hood and a taller vertical bar grille. Across all model years, Bobcats offered various appearance options, similar to the Pinto's. For 1979, the Bobcat received a major restyling shared with the Pinto featuring a slanted back front end with rectangular headlamps and inboard vertical parking lamps but distinguished with a large vertical bar grille. Except for the wagons, the tail lamps were revised. The base instrument cluster received a new rectangular design with a modified dash pad. Production of the Bobcat ended in 1980, superseded by the Mercury Lynx. In total, 224,026 Bobcats were manufactured from 1975 until 1980.

Reception and criticism

Upon release, the Pinto was received with both positive and negative reviews. Consumer Reports listed the Pinto as one of the "runners up" in a test of six subcompact cars—better in overall quality than the AMC Gremlin and about on a par with the Volkswagen Beetle, but inferior to the "three winners" — Datsun 510, Toyota Corona and Chevrolet Vega. Road & Track faulted the suspension and standard drum brakes, calling the latter a "serious deficiency", but praised the proven 1.6 L Kent engine, adapted from European Fords. Super Stock Magazine found the fit and finish to be "superior" and were impressed with the car overall. Car and Driver found the Pinto, when equipped with the larger 2.0L engine and front disc brakes, to be a nimble and powerful commuter car with good visibility and sports-car feel. A review of the 1974 Pinto with an automatic transmission by Car and Driver was not as favorable noting significant decreases in mileage and acceleration. The later controversy surrounding the Pinto resulted in a negative legacy associated with the car and Ford's handling of the controversies. In 2004, Forbes included the Pinto among its fourteen Worst Cars of All Time, noting that its problems helped create an opening in the US market for small cars from Japan. Time magazine included the Pinto on lists of The Fifty Worst Cars of All Time. Time, Popular Mechanics, and NBC News have included the car in lists of most significant recalls. The controversy also resulted in movies referencing the vehicle.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Ford Pinto

Manufacturer

Ford

aka

Mercury Bobcat

Production

September 1970 – July 1980

Model years

1971–1980 (Pinto), 1974–1980 (Bobcat)

Assembly

United States: Edison, New Jersey (Edison Assembly), Milpitas, California (San Jose Assembly)Canada: Southwold, Ontario (St. Thomas Assembly)

Designer

Robert Eidschun (1968)

Class

Subcompact car

Body style

2-door sedan, 2-door sedan delivery, 2-door station wagon, 3-door hatchback

Related

Mercury Bobcat, Ford Mustang II

Layout

FR layout

Engine

1.6 L Kent I4, 2.0 L EAO I4, 2.3 L L23 I4, 2.8 L Cologne V6

Transmission

4-speed manual, 3-speed C3/"Selectshift/Cruise-O-Matic" automatic

Wheelbase

94.0 in

Length

163 in

Width

69.4 in

Height

50 in

Kerb weight

2015 – (1971)

Predecessor

Ford Cortina (captive import)

Successor

Ford Escort / Mercury Lynx

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1059377CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_PintoCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1368938595 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_Pinto.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: User Morven on en.wikipedia · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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