The History (and Tragedy) of the Ford Pinto: Everything You Need to Know

The Ford Pinto is one of the most infamous cars in automotive history. Introduced in 1970, just prior to the first OPEC oil embargo and the gas crisis that followed, the Pinto was initially a huge success for Ford, with sales of more than 800,000 units in its first two years.

Then, on May 28, 1972, Lilly Gray was driving her six-month-old Pinto down a stretch of California’s Interstate 15 when the engine stumbled and stalled. A 1962 Ford Galaxie braked hard and rear-ended the Pinto, which suddenly burst into flames. Gray escaped the car but died of her injuries soon after; her passenger, 13-year-old Richard Grimshaw, suffered burns over 90 percent of his body. It was the first of many fiery wrecks involving the Ford Pinto—incidents that resulted in over a hundred lawsuits that would cost Ford dearly, both in money and reputation.

How did the Pinto come to be—and how did it come to be so dangerous? Read on to find out more about Ford’s first subcompact car that tragically became famous for the wrong reasons.

Roots of the Ford Pinto

Small imports, most notably the Volkswagen Beetle, had been growing in popularity in America since the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the late ’60s that Detroit started to take the threat seriously. General Motors invested heavily in the Vega, hoping to steal a technical march on Ford; strapped-for-cash AMC developed the low-cost (and largely successful) Gremlin; Chrysler decided to import cars from Mitsubishi and Hillman.

Ford, meanwhile, was stymied by infighting. Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen, late of GM and now Ford’s president, wanted to focus on larger, more profitable models, while Lee Iacocca, VP of Ford’s North American operations (and Knudsen’s boardroom rival), argued for a subcompact car. Iacocca won and initiated a rush program to build a car that would come in under 2,000 pounds and $2,000 (about $15,000 in 2024 dollars).

Ford Pinto Development: Saving Time and Weight

The Pinto was developed in just over two years, far shorter than the 43-month development cycle typical for Detroit. One way Ford engineers saved time was to use components and know-how from Ford’s European operations. The rear axle was from the German-designed Capri, already sold in the U.S. as a Mercury. The base engine came from the British Ford Anglia, and the optional engine was part of a new engine family being developed in Germany. To keep weight down, engineers simply lopped off the rear of the car, along with much of its underlying structure.

Traditionally, engineering is completed before tooling for a new vehicle is created, but as part of the Pinto’s crash schedule, tooling and engineering took place simultaneously, which made changes difficult and expensive. Iacocca was famously inflexible on anything that might delay the program. In the 1977 article “Pinto Madness,” a devastating (and, in places, exaggerated) expose of the Pinto’s dangers, an engineer told the magazine Mother Jones, “Whenever a problem was raised that meant a delay on the Pinto, Lee would chomp his cigar, look out the window, and say, ‘Read the product objectives and get back to work.’”

In the end, Iacocca met his goals: When the 1971 Pinto made its debut, it weighed 1,949 pounds with a base price of $1,919. Ford introduced the Pinto in sedan and hatchback models; body shape was the same but the trunk opening differed. Ford added a two-door wagon, the Pinto Squire, in 1972, and a more luxurious version, the Mercury Bobcat, in 1975.

What Made the Pinto Prone to Fires?

The Pinto's fuel tank was placed right behind the rear axle, with the fuel filler in the left-rear quarter panel. When the Pinto was rear-ended, even at a moderate speed, the fuel tank was driven into the rear axle, which had protruding bolts on the back of the differential housing that would puncture the tank. (This wasn’t a problem on the Capri, which had its gas tank located above the axle.) Additionally, the fuel filler neck could tear out of the tank. The resulting fuel spill could be ignited in several ways—sparks from the crash, a lit cigarette inside the car, or by the car that struck the Pinto as it drove into the spray of spilled fuel.

Potentially catching on fire wasn’t the Pinto’s only problem. Its rear-end structure wasn't designed to properly absorb hard impacts, and the buckling floorpan would separate from the rear fenders, allowing fuel and flames into the Pinto’s cabin. Furthermore, body deformity could jam the doors shut, preventing escape from the burning Pinto and making rescue more difficult.

How Many People Died from Ford Pinto Fire Crashes?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated rear-end collisions involving 1970-’76 Ford Pintos and Mercury Bobcats resulting in fuel spillage and fire. NHTSA concluded that 27 Pinto occupants had died in these crashes and a further 24 Pinto occupants sustained non-fatal burn injuries. Ford reported fatalities in other vehicles (presumably the cars that struck the Pinto), but NHTSA did not quantify fire-related deaths in other vehicles involved in the collisions.

These numbers are much lower than were commonly reported. In “Pinto Madness,” Mother Jones estimated that at least 500 people had been killed in Pinto crashes and speculated that the number could be as high as 900. Author Peter Wyden, in his book The Unknown Iacocca, repeated the claim of Jim Musselman (an attorney who worked with Ralph Nader) that “almost 900” people had been killed in Pinto crashes resulting in fire.

Was Ford to Blame in the Pinto Case?

Ford was aware of the Pinto’s propensity to catch fire. Early crash tests, performed in anticipation of a proposed safety standard regarding rear-end collisions and fuel leakage, showed the Pinto was prone to fuel leakage and fire in low-speed, rear-end impacts. Ford considered several fixes, including a shield behind the axle and a rubberized bladder for the fuel tank, but rejected these as they would have added cost and put the program behind schedule.

According to The Unknown Iacocca, 117 lawsuits were brought against Ford for Pinto-related injuries or deaths. There is no record of how much Ford paid out, though in the case of Richard Grimshaw, Lilly Gray’s 13-year-old passenger, in 1978 the jury awarded him $2.8 million in compensatory damages ($13.3 million in 2024 dollars) and $125 million ($595 million in 2024) in punitive damages, the latter reduced to $3.5 million ($16.7 million) by the judge. After that verdict, Ford settled most of the rest of the Pinto cases out of court.

In 1979, the state of Indiana indicted Ford on three counts of reckless homicide after a fiery Pinto wreck killed three teenagers. This was the first time a corporation faced criminal charges for a defective product. Ford was acquitted.

It wasn’t until the 1977 model year that federal standards required cars to withstand a 30-mph rear-end impact with no fuel leakage. New Pintos were modified with a strengthened fuel filler neck and plastic shielding to protect the fuel tank from damage. In mid-1978, Ford finally agreed to recall all 1971–1976 Pinto and 1975-’76 Mercury Bobcat sedans and hatchbacks (wagons did not have the same vulnerability), approximately 1.5 million cars in total, to apply the same fixes. It has been reported that six people died in Pinto fires in the time between Ford issuing of the recall and availability of parts at the dealerships.

The Myth of the “Pinto Memo”

The “Pinto Memo” was a cost-benefit analysis that Ford prepared for NHTSA in 1973 as part of its objection to proposed regulations to prevent fuel leakage in rollover crashes. The memo compared the cost of installing such rollover protection ($11 per car times 12.5 million, the number of light vehicles sold in the U.S. each year) to the costs assigned by NHTSA to deaths, injuries, and vehicle loss ($200,000, $67,000, and $700, respectively) times 180 deaths, 180 injuries, and 2,100 burned vehicles each year. The memo found the new devices would cost automakers $137 million, while the benefit would be $49 million.

The plaintiffs in Grimshaw obtained a copy of the memo and sent it to Mark Dowie, author of the Mother Jones article, who used it as evidence of Ford’s callous attitude towards safety. Ford was known to be aware of the propensity of the Pinto to burn in rear-end collisions, and the myth soon arose that Ford, in developing the Pinto, found that making the fuel tank safe would cost $140 million while lawsuits would only cost $50 million. In truth, the “Pinto Memo” had nothing to do with the Pinto, or even with fires in rear-end collisions, and the values assigned to death and injury were calculated by NHTSA, not Ford.

Does Ford Still Make the Pinto?

The Pinto was initially a strong seller, with over 350,000 built for the 1971 model year and nearly half a million in 1972 and again in 1973. Thanks in no small part to the OPEC oil embargo of 1973–74, the Pinto had its best-ever year in 1974 with 544,209 sales. But this was around the time that news of the fires started hitting the headlines, and in 1975 sales tumbled by more than 50 percent to just under 224,000. Bad publicity dogged the Pinto, particularly the aforementioned Motor Jones article, and sales never recovered. In 1981, when Ford introduced the Pinto’s front-wheel-drive successor, it had a new name: Escort.

In recent years, Ford has brought back some of its older nameplates, most notably the Maverick, first applied to a strong-selling 1970s-era compact sedan introduced a year before the Pinto. However, given the Pinto’s tarnished reputation, it’s highly unlikely Ford will ever revive the Pinto name.

How Much Did Ford Pintos Cost When New?

Lee Iacocca promised to bring the Pinto to market for less than $2,000, and in 1970 the ’71 Ford Pinto sedan did indeed arrive with a base price of $1,919 (about $15,000 in 2024 dollars), with the Pinto Runabout hatchback listed for $2,062 (about $16,000). Keep in mind, though, that in the early ’70s, cars offered many more options than today; on the Pinto, even items like power steering and disc brakes cost extra. A 1971 Pinto Runabout with the bigger 2.0-liter engine, air conditioning, an automatic transmission, an AM radio, chrome window moldings, and whitewall tires listed for $2,442, about $19,000 in 2024 dollars.

Inflation ran rampant in the 1970s, and the Pinto’s price rose accordingly. By 1974, as the OPEC oil crisis helped vault the Pinto to its best sales year, prices were up to $2,527 for the sedan ($15,300 in 2024), $2,631 ($16,500) for the hatchback, and $2,771 ($17,500) for the three-door wagon, which was introduced for the 1972 model year. Even as sales skidded, prices continued to rise. In 1980, Pinto’s last year, inflation swelled the base model’s price to $4,117, more than double the Pinto’s original price, but still just $15,500 in 2024 dollars.

What Engines Did the Pinto Come With, and What Other Cars Used the Pinto Engine?

The Pinto originally offered two four-cylinder engines. The base engine was a 75-hp 1.6-liter pushrod “Kent” engine, developed by Ford’s European division for the U.K.-market Ford Anglia. (This engine was re-rated to 54 hp in 1972 when the manufacturers switched from gross to net horsepower ratings.) The second engine was a 100-hp (86-hp in 1972) overhead-cam 2.0-liter, the largest of an engine family newly developed by Ford of Europe. Although it was used in several European models, the engine family became (informally) known as the Pinto engine. The 2.0-liter was considered necessary for air conditioning or an automatic transmission.

In 1974, Ford dropped the 1.6 and introduced a new 90-hp, 2.3-liter version of the OHC engine. The 2.0 disappeared in 1975, and a 97-hp 2.8-liter V-6—the European-designed “Cologne” engine—was added as an option. The V-6 was dropped in 1979, leaving the 2.3 as the only engine for 1980, the Pinto’s last year.

The Pinto’s 2.3-liter engine went on to live a long life at Ford, powering several rear-drive Ford models including the Aerostar, LTD, Mustang, and Ranger. Ford turbocharged the 2.3 and used it in several 1980s performance models, including the Mustang SVO, Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and the short-lived Merkur XR4ti. In 1998, the Pinto engine was stroked to 2.5 liters for use in the Ford Ranger and Mazda B2500, and this was the final variant of the Pinto engine. (Note that front-drive Fords including the Tempo and Taurus used a 2.3-/2.5-liter four-cylinder, but this was an overhead-valve unit unrelated to the Pinto engine.)

Is a Ford Pinto a Mustang?

No, but for a while, the Mustang was largely a Pinto. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, younger buyers were becoming more ecologically conscious and shifting away from powerful muscle cars. It didn’t help that the Mustang, like Elvis Presley, had steadily gained weight and lost agility. Ford’s plan for the second-generation Mustang was to turn it into a compact coupe, a scaled-down version of the “personal luxury” cars that were making good money for the company. The 1974 Mustang II was based on the Pinto platform and used many of the same components. You can read more about the history of the Ford Mustang II here.

What Is the Fastest Ford Pinto?

Ford Pintos were never known for speed—at least not from the showroom. However, Pintos were popular in drag racing and road racing circles, largely due to their small size and light weight. Jack Roush, Wayne Gapp, and Bob Glidden ran successful Pro Stock campaigns in Ford Pinto drag cars.

More important—and unexpected—is the Pinto’s racing legacy. The Ford Mustang II was developed from the Pinto, and the Mustang II’s independent front suspension (IFS) is ubiquitous in performance circles. According to Hot Rod senior staff editor Johnny Hunkins: “Practically every aftermarket IFS system or suspension kit for street rods, restomods, and sportsman circle track racing is based on the Mustang II's IFS. In fact, most of the aftermarket suspension systems sold today use the same parts and suspension geometry as the Mustang II. It was one of the first computer-aided suspension designs, which makes it predictable in its handling and easy, simple, and cheap to buy replacement parts. You can walk into any auto parts store today and buy (in-stock!) suspension rebuild parts for the Pinto—yet there are hardly any on the road today. This also extends to the spindles and disc brake assemblies.”

Are Ford Pintos Rare? How Much Is a Pinto Worth Today?

The Pinto certainly wasn’t rare in its day: Ford built over 3.1 million Pintos over a 10-year span, and most of them went to the crusher. Pintos weren’t particularly fast or fun, they were prone to rust and mechanical maladies, and they weren’t particularly well loved.

That said, what few Pintos are left are just now starting to be appreciated, as bits of ’70s kitsch if not for their own merits, and prices are starting to climb. Survivors can reach mid-to-high four-figure territory, and we’ve seen a few nicely preserved Pintos with asking prices north of $10,000. We can’t imagine prices going much higher, but then again, we never imagined anyone would pay more than five hundred bucks for a used Pinto.

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