Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto is one of those quirky American cars that was doomed from the start – but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an oddly cool car. Sure, the Pinto was basically designed to explode in minor rear-end collisions thanks to a terrible fuel tank design, and at one point, the accelerator was said to stick, risking fatal crashes. The car was also offensive to South Americans because its name is Brazilian slang for male genitals. But the Pinto was quite popular: Over 3,000,000 units were produced during its 10-year production.
There were some positives that came with the Pinto, though. It was the first mass-produced American car with rack-and-pinion steering, and it’s feather 2,015-pound curb weight made it great on gas at a time when Americans were lining up at the pumps in a panic. It’s ugly, unsafe, and yet it still finds love among eccentric collectors. We think it’s so bad that it’s actually quite good.
