Racine, Wis. -- Before the Ford Pinto, AMC Pacer and Chevy Chevette, there was the Edsel. It was a vision of Detroit at its mid-20th century worst, an overhyped, overpriced automotive monstrosity produced by the Ford Motor Co. But in this country, there are many people who love the unloved, especially when the object of their desire packs eight cylinders under the hood.
After reports that the Jeep Grand Cherokees may be three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsized SUVs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has agreed to open an investigation. Based on NHTSA data, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) determined that the Grand Cherokee has a higher fatality rate than the Ford Pinto, which became infamous...
We've already honored the Ford "Pinto" OHC engine here , but what about the pushrod four that served as the early Pinto's base engine? Those of you on the other side of the Atlantic might note that the Kent was installed in plenty of beloved British Ford machinery, including the Anglia and Cortina. In fact, the Kent qualifies for our upcoming Longest-Lived Vehicle Engines Of All Freakin'...
Filed under: Emerging Technologies , Etc. , Green Daily , Lightweight Automakers and consumers alike all want lighter cars . "Adding lightness" has a lot of desirable effects, most notably in overall fuel efficiency and performance. While numerous efforts have been made to reduce the weight of automobiles - including downsizing, subtracting unnecessary components and using lightweight alloys...
Here’s something I didn’t know. There’s a compnay that’s been around for several years, and it makes plastic internal combustion engines. The New York Times reports on Matti Holtzberg, an engineer in New Jersey, whose been building these things for quite a while. Apparently, back in 1984 and 1985, he even raced a Ford Pinto with [...]
Filed under: Classics , Coupe , Budget , Etc. , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Dodge 1977 Dodge Colt Mileage Maker Coupe - click above image to watch the video The year was 1977 and the world wasn't as bright a place as it could have been. The Sixties were officially long dead and buried, the national speed limit had the cruise control set at 55 mph, the Son of Sam was on the loose, Elvis died,...
I know the Toyota FT-EV is just an electric car prototype, but that doesn't make me want it any less. It makes my previously favorite car cockpit look like a Ford Pinto. Zoom in. [ El Mundo —Thanks Eduardo González]
I know the Toyota FT-EV is just an electric car prototype, but that doesn’t make me want it any less. It makes my previously favourite car cockpit look like a Ford Pinto. Zoom in. [ El Mundo —Thanks Eduardo González]
Jeep Grand Cherokees built between 1993 and 2004 are three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsized SUVs, according to a petition (download pdf) filed by the Center for Auto Safety. The document asks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall the as many as 2.3 million of these Grand Cherokees still on the road. “The fuel system...
A surprisingly high number of my fellow citizens of Raider Nation apparently were too busy buying the hype of the mainstream media today to actually watch the game. That’s right, the same sinister mainstream media whose intelligence we all revel in assaulting. Screams, shouts, and CAPITOLIZED captions professing cures to the Oakland Raiders are everywhere. Bench Jamarcus Russell! Start Gradkowski,...
New theory: Neon Indian has a rickety old time machine built from ancient Ford Pinto parts. Rather than using it to send himself to, say, the Mesozoic or the beginning of America so he can get all the money, he loads his remixes into the time machine on cassette, sets it to “1982 version of [...]
The warring obsessions of Phillip Garrido's life. As Phillip Garrido maneuvered the Ford Pinto toward the storage unit he had equipped as a hidden lair for raping women, he talked about his sexual fantasies, said Katherine Callaway, who was handcuffed and bound in the back seat.
Stories: 1) E.O. Wilson And Will Wright: Ant Lovers Unite! 2) Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Shine In Tests 3) Google's Book Scanning Has Authors On Edge 4) Video Highlights Danger Of Texting While Driving 5) Scalding A Quarter-Mile In An Electric Ford Pinto 6) Now Fortune May Follow YouTube Fame
Katie Callaway was going to stop for just a minute to pick up some coffee for her boyfriend. She had already made a pot of cioppino (a fish stew) in her Tahoe City home and had it in a crock-pot when she pulled her blue 1975 Ford Pinto off Highway 50 into the parking lot of Ink's Al Tahoe Market. | read more
Phillip Garrido That cold November night in 1976 when Phillip Garrido kidnapped Katherine Calloway, he took four hits of LSD, handcuffed her and covered her in the backseat of her Ford Pinto as he drove away from the South Lake Tahoe market she had stopped at. He drove her through the mountains, and when she managed to ask where they were heading, he replied, "Don't worry, I've got it all planned."...