Do you own (or did you own ) one of the "10 Cars That Sank Detroit"?

[jamesqf]

Never owned one on the list, but I did once have a Chevy Vega, GM's counterpart to the Pinto. Cured me of any desire to buy American. There were the holes rusted in the floor pan - this in Southern California! - but the killer was the transmission. When I was a kid, we had a '55 Chevy. A long way from new (where I grew up, "trailer trash" was considered upscale), but for its day & age fairly sound & reliable. Had just one quirk: every once in a while, the external transmission linkage would get stuck between 1st and 2nd, and you'd have to get out, open the hood, and unstick it with a big screwdriver. So twenty years later, GM builds this new Vega, and guess what? Yep, the transmission would still get stuck between 1st and 2nd :-(

[Sean T.]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY for Taurusaurus Rex!!!

[metroschultz]

I have ,for myself, owned the
Taurus (2 at different times)
Pinto (2 at once and then 1 later) (I had a few Vegas as well)
Explorer (H.O.V8 install, ?F.E.? yeah right)

and to sell I've had several Cavalier (s?)
a Sebring and an Astro (George Jetson?)

I like the Ford products. I find them easy to diagnose and repair.
The Chevy stuff I buy cause it is uasually cheaper to acquire and repair for resale. (Working a Buick now).

S.

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

What? No mention of the venerable Oldsmobile Cutlass???

I'm calling BS on that article!

[order99]

My first car was a 1976 Pinto-a radioactive Orange three-speed Automatic, $250 used and sound as a gold dollar. It was a great car for an insecure 16-year-old to develop his driving habits on, and(despite the 3-speed) got about 30 MPG.

My Dad drove it to a fire one night (volunteer Fireman) and a 15-ton truck snapped a brake cable and squished the poor thing into another truck. Not only did it not explode, Dad got it limping back home, pulled that Unkillable 4-cyl out and put it in a neighbor's Kit Car, and parted components out of the Pinto until only the frame was left for scrap. We made $700 off that Pinto and salvaged the '68 Beetle that I spent the next 12 years of my life with...

The Pinto was a GREAT car.

[guudasitgets]

Still have my Explorer, best running car I've ever owned. At 170,000 miles the motor was never apart, it runs, drives and looks almost new.

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by order99

My first car was a 1976 Pinto... got about 30 MPG... pulled that Unkillable 4-cyl out and put it in a neighbor's Kit Car... The Pinto was a GREAT car.

I'll tell you what...

The Pinto motor was GREAT!

One of my buds ran a mid-engine Pinto in his sand rail. It had (real live) Hilborn fuel injectors and ran on 100% alky. Kind of a bish to get started - but put out 300-400 HP on a dyno (can't remember the exact figure). And, yes, it WAS "Unkillable" and fast!

LoL! Gas mileage sucked in this monster - went through a 55-gallon drum of alcohol in 2 days at the dunes...

Pintos are popular motors in sand rails! The only reason more ppl don't run them is because they weigh 30 pounds more than a VW and, of course, you need a radiator.

[Johnny Mullet]

Explorer was a good vehicle except the 2002-2005 models which had multiple problems and warranty repairs. Taurus was also a good vehicle except the numerous transmission problems. Seemed like if you had a Taurus, you either had a good one that lasted or a problem child.

[guudasitgets]

Black duece we ran the same motors in Midgets and Formula Alantic cars, they really arent pintos, same block but thats all. Running straight Methanol you feul ratio is higher than gas so yes it will burn quite a bit more, but remmember the alky has some of it's own oxygen, thats the reason.

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by guudasitgets

Black duece we ran the same motors in Midgets and Formula Alantic cars, they really arent pintos, same block but thats all. Running straight Methanol you feul ratio is higher than gas so yes it will burn quite a bit more, but remmember the alky has some of it's own oxygen, thats the reason.

Yeah, well to expound...

As I said, my 'bud' always had a hard time lighting up his 'Pinto' motor on alky. He actually brought extra batteries and extra starters to the (Glamis) dunes.

OMG!!! He would crank n' grind that thing until it fired, or the battery or starter gave out, whichever came first. You gotta put it in context, you know? And, when he finally got it fired up - they made him run in the back of the pack - 'cause that alcohol smells so bad when it lights up! I thought it was cool, but everyone thought it smelled like sweet farts or something - I think they were jealous. They were running pump gas - which doesn't smell all that great either, when you think about it...

But, I'll tell you what - that motor was brutal, once it fired! And, it never failed to fire up. Sure, it might take a couple of batteries in the morning, or a new starter, but that thing was a brute!

Look, all I'm saying is the Pinto motor was a 'good' motor, if it could stand up to that sort of abuse - and *screw* the guy/gal that wrote that article!