Pinto's that got 34 mpg highway in 1975
 

Those were tough little cars. One of my friends had a 75 pinto in the late 70's.I wasn't crazy about going over 100mph in it,as we frequently did. I preferred by 71 Cougar for that sort of thing.
I'm not sure it ever got 34mpg. I think car companies had more flexibility to make claims than now.On the other hand, in more sensible hands ( not teenagers) and less traffic to deal with then,it's possible.

Would you drive one?
https://www.motherjones.com/news/feat.../09/dowie.html
https://www.motherjones.com/news/feat...9/compress.mov
And this is also the old EPA test so reality is more like 28 or 29 highway. Big deal.

Death trap.

Sure I would; once the recall repair steel plate blocking the gas tank was installed.I'm not so sure anything colliding with one these days would do as much damage. There were actual steel bumpers back then. Being hit by a larger vehicle is always a danger; SUV's can be crushed by 18 wheelers or dump trucks.If you want a danger proof car,just take the wheels off.

Most old cars with "steel bumpers" are death traps in comparison to a modern plastic bumpered small car.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qBDyeWofcLY

The Pinto was worse than most.

Agreed. It took some time for me to come around, but I can't argue with hard science and hard data. Cars that absorb front/rear collisions and cars that don't crush in side collisions protect the occupants better.

Too bad all this safety weighs so much. My 1980 Buick LeSabre, which is more than twice as long as my 2008 VW Rabbit, has a curb weight of 3500 pounds, compared to the Rabbit's 3000 pounds.

Think about that: You can park two '08 Rabbits in the same space as one '80 LeSabre and they don't even have to touch bumpers, but the big car only weighs 17% more.

my 1980 chevette on average id say 30-35, ive gotten 40 before tho.

steel body and bumpered car that handles suprisingly well, traction is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2NV1DfIme4

in a crash id still want to be in the 1980's boat.

all they did nowadays is increase the mass density of the cars, they weigh about the same but in a smaller package

They gad 1600 and 2000 engines. I think the 1600 was english ford-pushrods. pretty sure the 2 litre was a German Engine, same as the Mercury Capri buth the Capri was a German Body.

My 2 litre ran like a scalded ape and got maybe 30 if you babied it. They were part of a group of Ford cars that used the gas tank as the trunk floor, and got a lot of flack for that.

Later on they put a German 2.8 liter V6 in them which was partially for the increased weight of the bumpers and detuning for emissions. Gas mileage fell off, but I'll bet you could take a 1600 with the right gear and get 40.

regards
gary

Had a friend that bought a '74 Pinto wagon, new. When timing was adjusted per factory spec, it got about 9 mpg. When it was adjusted by ear, it jumped to about 18. That was, IIRC, with a 2 or 2.3 liter OHC 4 and an automatic.

On the other hand, it was an impressively tough car. Took about 8 years, a couple major accidents, and two owners who were nearly as good mechanics as my cat to kill it. Example: I borrowed it one day, noticed the oil gauge was sitting on zero. (It had an aftermarket oil gauge installed). Put in 3 quarts of oil then did my errands. Asked later, the owner had been driving the car with the gauge had been sitting on zero for days.