Reception and Criticism
Road & Track faulted the suspension and standard drum brakes, calling the latter a "serious deficiency," but praised the proven 1.6 L Kent engine, adapted from European Fords. The larger 2300 inline-4 found in the Chevrolet Vega was an innovative, brand new design using an aluminum alloy block and iron head, but needed more development work as initially released. Consumer Reports rated the 1971 Pinto below the Vega but above the Gremlin.
In 2004, Forbes named the Pinto in its list of Worst Cars of All Time.
Citing the Pinto's alleged engineering and safety problems, Time magazine and Dan Neil named the Pinto in their 2008 list of the Fifty Worst Cars of All Time.
In 2009, Business Week named the Pinto in their list of the Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years.
In the 1983 film Cujo, the protagonist is trapped inside a Ford Pinto with a failed alternator.
Read more about this topic: Ford Pinto
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