Ford Pinto Facts for Kids

The Ford Pinto, a small car from the 1970s.

The Ford Pinto was a small car built by Ford Motor Company in the 1970s. It was sold in the United States and Canada from 1971 to 1980. The Pinto was the smallest American Ford car made since 1907. It was also Ford's very first small car in North America.

The Pinto came in three main styles: a two-door sedan, a three-door hatchback, and a two-door station wagon. Another car company, Mercury, also sold a version of the Pinto called the Mercury Bobcat from 1974 to 1980. Over three million Pintos were made during its ten years of production.

Pinto Safety Concerns
Special Pinto Models
Government Investigation and Recall
Images for kids
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Pinto Safety Concerns

Since the 1970s, the Ford Pinto has been known for some safety problems. There were concerns about its fuel tank. In some rear-end crashes, the fuel tanks could break open. This led to serious safety discussions.

To make the car safer, Ford added stronger bumpers in 1974. These bumpers were designed to protect the car better in crashes up to five miles per hour.

Special Pinto Models

In 1977, Ford offered a special version of the Pinto station wagon. Some of these wagons were called the Pinto Cruising Wagon. This car looked like a small conversion van. It had cool round windows on the sides and you could choose different designs for the outside.

Government Investigation and Recall

In 1977, a government agency called the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started looking into the Ford Pinto. The next year, in 1978, the NHTSA told Ford that they believed the Pinto's fuel system had a problem.

In June 1978, Ford decided to recall over 1.5 million Ford Pintos and Mercury Bobcats. This was a very large car industry recall at the time. Even though they recalled the cars, Ford did not agree with the NHTSA that there was a defect.