May 27, 2008
In defense of the Ford Pinto
When we were in high school, my older brother and I shared a 1972 bright blue Ford Pinto. It had ferns growing in the backseat, and you could see the road through the rusted out holes in the passenger side floor.
My brother was extremely popular… One girl fanted when he graduated (I kid you not) and other girls pretended to befriend me just to be near him “Hi Rachael. I want to come over and hang out. Is your brother there?” His powerful beauty and charisma spilled over to the Blue Pinto so this car became cool by association.
I was a band-nerd who didn’t talk to boys until I was 19 unless it was about God, and unfortunately hanging out with my beloved (if at times indifferent) older brother did not have the same cool-by-association effect on me.
But the Pinto was different. It was an automatic and it could go zero to 35mph in under 30 minutes. It was a love machine.
I have a warm place in my heart for junkie cars that you can pay for with cash. I was raised in a series of beaters each given names like “The Blue Bomber,” “Mystic Sea,” and “Gloria.” These were cars you could really connect with… The kind you could talk to when they failed to roll their windows down properly. The kind even 12 year old younger brothers were allowed to drive around neighborhood parking lots.
The days of driving cars with more character than safety are long-gone… but the love lives on…
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My brother and I shared a Ford Maverick! Those were even worse than the Pinto. We’re in our forties now, and we still tell Maverick stories.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:50 pmDid we have the same car! I had the bright blue 1970 Pinto w/ the black vinyl (?) roof when I was in college. Good times.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:20 pmWait a minute. You mean brothers and sisters can actually SHARE cars? Please, tell me more. I need my 17-year old son and 16-year old daughter to read up on it. (The website link for this comment goes to a recent relevant episode…)
May 27th, 2008 at 10:28 pmAh, memories.
I never had a beater. But my husband had a series of them as a teenager.
How I miss the times shared in the back seat, making out, looking at the stars and planning our future.
Heh.
Good times.
And congrats on the book deal, my friend. I’m ridiculously happy for you and only a eensie weensie bit jealous.
Wink, wink.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:49 pmI always wanted a bright yellow Carmen Ghia…sigh.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:51 pm” it could go zero to 35mph in under 30 minutes. It was a love machine.”
LOL! I remember those cars. One of my girlfriends had one. My first car was a Dodge Dart that I literally bought from a little old lady that took it grocery shopping and to play bingo.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:34 amI inherited my uncle’s 73 Pinto Riunabout 20 years ago in mint condition.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:11 pmLove this car. It’s starting to get some respect on the car show scene.
Great to see other people still appreciate the little pony car.