Tag Archives: Pinto
More Retro than Deluxe
For those interested in loser cars, everyday cars or just non-supercars, there isn’t a car that’s much more of all of those than the much venerated (or is that reviled? ) Ford Pinto. This most basic of cars offered by Ford during the ’70s is a true nadir in so many ways, and its reputation […]
Wheezing off into the Sunset
The end of the ’70s saw the final nails driven into the coffin of automotive excitement and performance. The Gas Crisis and government-mandated emissions standards choked all the fun out of driving. However, as the sun set on what had been a glorious chapter in the history of the car, a few car makers were […]
Pinto Update 3: Inside, Underside… TNT
Because the outside of a car is the part of the car that everyone else sees, it’s part that designers work at making the most visually interesting. Colour, shape, profile; these all combine to give a first impression of a vehicle. However, if you think about it, the part of a car the driver most […]
Pinto Update 2: Body Issues
I’m sure that the words “Pinto” and “Fundamentally Flawed” are already permanently linked in the psyches of anyone who follows automotive history or grew up in the ‘70s. Ford’s “explosive” issues with the Pinto runabout/hatchback/Pacer-wannabe-whatever-it-was are well known and oft-mocked, even today. Thankfully, the wagon versions of Ford’s desperate econobeater were a bit better, at […]
MPC Ford Pinto Update 1: Not-So-Wild Horses
Let’s face it: by the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, engine performance had pretty much reached a new low. It was the height (depth, is more like it) of the Automotive Dark Ages and performance was not only a memory, but almost a four-letter-word to the government-overseen pollution control watchdogs. This is reflected in the […]
Return of the Sweaty Man-Horse!
They say you can’t put lipstick on a pig, but it seems that putting stripes on a horse is a totally different thing! To cash in on cash-strapped would-be Vanners in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ford did just that, and created the Pinto Cruising Wagon! Not surprisingly, MPC kitted the 1980 version, but […]
Strombecker’s Classic Flying Pony!
Strombecker is not a name that has been seen in the modelling world for some time. In fact, there are likely a lot of younger modellers who’ve never even heard of them. I was among that crowd until I stumbled upon the 1/42 Temco TT-1 Pinto at a local show and swap meet! This half-century […]
The Sprue Lagoon 