How Dangerous Was the Ford Pinto?

 The Ford Pinto has long been derided as a death trap, primarily for its tendency to explode in rear impacts, but also for its generally cheap and light build. But how much of a death trap was it, really? Was it courting death every time you drove one, or was it no worse than average for a small car of its time, as its defenders claim? 

First, let’s discuss rear-impact safety. In 1973, IIHS did a series of rear-impact crash tests on six 1973-model cars – the Pinto as well as the Chevy Vega, AMC Ambassador, Plymouth Fury, Opel 1900, and Toyota Corona were all rear-ended by other cars at 36-40 mph. All six vehicles leaked fuel when they were rear ended, and the Corona spontaneously caught fire. 

A statistical death rate analysis showed that the death rates in Pinto rear end crashes were average for a compact car of its era. 

So, it would seem, the Pinto was average on safety in regards to rear impact safety. The real problem wasn’t the Pinto; it was the dismal state of rear impact safety at the time. Before 1977, cars weren’t required to have any amount of protection from fuel leakage, and subsequent possible fires, in rear impacts. The dangerous Pintos were built from the 1971 to 1976 model years – before the standard went into effect.

When Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 went into effect for the 1977 model year, Ford fixed the Pinto. Although the fix was done on the cheap – a $1 plastic shield – the Pinto passed a 30-mph rear crash test with no fuel leakage. 

What about for other types of crashes? Again, the Pinto comes up as pretty normal for its era. NHTSA tested a 1979-model Mercury Bobcat (the Pinto’s twin, so results apply to both) in a 35-mph frontal crash test. 

Its performance was bad, but it outperformed several competitors such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Dodge Colt, Datsun 210 and even Ford’s own Fiesta. Of nine subcompact 1979 cars tested by NHTSA, the Pinto was 4th best, albeit a distant 4th, and its 58% average risk of severe injury is just a hair worse than the group’s 55% average. Here are the risks of severe injury in this test, formatted as driver percent / passenger percent and sorted by average risk: 

Dodge Omni/Horizon – 18% / 14% (average: 16%)

Chevy Chevette- 19% / 18% (average: 18%)

VW Rabbit- 38% / 6% (average: 22%)

Ford Pinto – 31% / 85% (average: 58%)

Toyota Corolla – 39% / 79% (average: 59%)

Datsun 210 – 59% / 85% (average: 72%)

Dodge Colt – 64% / 89% (average: 77%)

Ford Fiesta – 76% / 87% (average: 82%)

Honda Civic – 97% / 92% (average: 95%)