1971 Ford Pinto Commercial - The National American Introduction of the Pinto on TV

[@theperimeter1026]

This was aired on Aug. 28, 1970

[@OsbornTramain]

Yep, a preseason game....and a few weeks before September 11th. I don't recall ever seeing a launch of a car so early in the season, in August for September in terms of TV advertising.

[@danielboone72]

those cars probably came right off the assembly line and used as a promotional car only, Kind of like watching episodes of The FBI with Ford being the major sponsor of their program

[@horseathalt7308]

@@OsbornTramain Do you have the cool ad for this model where they had a group of American Airlines stewardesses take apart and put the car back together, to show ease of servicing it!?!? Thanks. That was also a very cool and unique ad.

[@tholmes2169]

My Uncle had a Bobcat. He liked it fine. No real issues that I can remember him mentioning.

[@DSP1968]

Thank you so much for capturing these Pinto ads and putting them online! I've owned both a '77 Bobcat V-6 wagon and an '80 Pinto Pony. Both were great little cars.

[@OsbornTramain]

My Pleasure, I get so tired of Gremlin and Pinto Jokes or snide remarks, they were both good cars......now the Vega, that's a different story.

[@chryslerelectronicleanburn1676]

Thank you for posting! I grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and I Saw Three Rivers Stadium get blown up in order to build Heinz Field and PNC Park. I enjoyed watching this very much it brought back some childhood memories when we used to go to Pittsburgh Pirates games there Three Rivers Stadium I'm also a fan of the Ford Pinto

[@unitedcity_mc4421]

I don’t understand why people call this car "ugly". I think it’s a cool-looking little car.

[@Scalihoo]

They were nice but things went south fast when those big impact bumpers were mandated '74 maybe around there

[@CRUISOMATIC]

@unitedcity_mc4421 Agreed! Especially with the vinyl roof ...

[@unitedcity_mc4421]

@@Scalihoo I don’t think those bumpers looked so bad.

[@Ford17x]

Love these little cars

[@hdrangers]

I had a '71 Pinto sedan. No issues. My brother got it next. We both ran the hell out of it. 2.0, 4-speed. Very fast for a 70s subcompact.

[@nlpnt]

Ford intended the Pinto to have a 5-year production run and ended up building it for 10.

[@nlpnt]

Only the trunked coupe (always called "2-Door Sedan" by Ford, making it at 50" OAH probably the lowest sedan ever) was available at launch. The "Runabout" hatchback followed in early calendar 1971 and was part of the original design program. Wagons weren't avaiable until spring of 1972, likely the result of a crash development program when self-proclaimed "Wagonmaster" Ford was caught flat-footed by the popularity of the Chevy Vega Kammback.

[@joeseeking3572]

On the wagon - they may indeed have been caught flat, but if you look at the sales of the Pinto wagon, especially 73 & 74, Ford sure cleaned up. And a lot of them were Squires too.

[@tonychavez2083]

We had a 76’ , very solid and heavy little car

[@marko7843]

Aside from that little fuel problem, these were very nice cars to drive in the sub-2300cc market... The transmissions were BUTTERY, and before the smog-years the 2000 & 2300cc engines were just fine. On the other hand, it just kills me that EVERY car below a Lincoln also had to have a vinyl top... Sorta' stupid.

[@19553129]

Thanks!

[@alangee79010]

Outside of the bad press over the fuel tank. It was a decent car. Had the pinto made a cosworth model like the Vega could of made history. What about the Bobcat by mercury.

[@horseathalt7308]

*Anyone here have the manual transmission version of this car?* I heard they were not only peppy but fun to drive as well!

[@NickLeeds]

what type of animal is that running along the car?

[@manthony225]

They should have spelled out "General Manager". Odd to see "GM" beside "Ford"😂

[@OsbornTramain]

"They" had nothing to do with it. I added the captions and names in editing, to give more information for people. GM is the standard abbreviation for General Manager. I don't think anyone is going to be confused with General Motors? Everyone knows the Pinto was made by Ford. I post names in editing and in the descriptions for family members who might be searching for their relatives. I'm sure Mr Naughton has family members that have survived.

[@marko7843]

The Vega was a better looking car by any measure, but the Pinto had mechanicals (except the gas-filler) that were FARRRRR more long-lasting...

[@OsbornTramain]

same with the Gremlin, a much better car mechanically and quality wise. The Pinto and Gremlin were the better choice, but the Vega looked the best

[@marko7843]

@@OsbornTramain I agree about the Gremlin & Hornet first - but I must assume that they never got the fuel economy of the the other two because they only had 6 & 8 cylinder engines...

[@JohnShinn1960]

🤠👍

[@petestaint8312]

Never needs waxing??? 🤔