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75-year-old man killed in Ford Pinto crash at Sonoma Raceway identified
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | March 29, 2018 | By Sarah Ravani

Posted on 03/29/2018 11:36:30 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

The man who died after hitting a wall at more than 100 mph at Sonoma Raceway was identified Thursday as 75-year-old James Kenneth Rambo, authorities said.

Rambo, a Napa resident, was racing his 1976 Ford Pinto in the Wednesday Night Drags program when the crash occurred.

He crossed the finish line of the race and appeared to slam on his brakes, but the vehicle pulled to the left and forced him to hit a K-rail at more than 100 mph, said Sgt. Spencer Crum.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: automotive; california; pinto
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To: PGR88

Fugly then, fuglier now.


41 posted on 03/29/2018 12:35:42 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
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To: OldMissileer

The Pacer is the best car ever made for sighting! Almost as good as the bubble top train cars. It had lots of room being a two seater. And it was my brother cars so none of the problems bother me.


42 posted on 03/29/2018 12:36:47 PM PDT by ThomasThomas (Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.)
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To: Riley

I dare not mock the Pinto, really... the first car I drove much, growing up in the 70s, was a little Dodge Colt made by Mitsubishi with what was practically a motorcycle engine. 82 hp for those original Dodge Colts!! If you had passengers in the car you were straining to do highway speeds.


43 posted on 03/29/2018 12:40:07 PM PDT by Enchante (FusionGPS "dirty dossier" scandal links Hillary, FBI, CIA, Dept of Justice... "Deep State" is real)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

A Pinto,
At more than 100 mph?
Didn’t think that could happen unless ya threw it out the back of a C-130.


44 posted on 03/29/2018 12:40:48 PM PDT by Joe Boucher
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To: RedStateRocker; blueunicorn6

As a former skydiving instructor with hundreds of jumps, I always thought the same thing: go out enjoying yourself in the fast lane, instead of watching days go by while horizontal and timing out.


45 posted on 03/29/2018 12:41:01 PM PDT by Loud Mime (Liberalism: Intolerance masquerading as tolerance)
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To: Loud Mime

Well said, but I’d still like to find a more exciting car in which to die ....


46 posted on 03/29/2018 12:42:50 PM PDT by Enchante (FusionGPS "dirty dossier" scandal links Hillary, FBI, CIA, Dept of Justice... "Deep State" is real)
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To: Enchante
the first car I drove much, growing up in the 70s, was a little Dodge Colt made by Mitsubishi with what was practically a motorcycle engine.

I had a friend who had one. He followed me over a rural road with a steep hill in it to my place one day. He was always talking about how surprisingly peppy it was to him.

I was driving a '67 Cougar. He got spanked that day. :-)

47 posted on 03/29/2018 12:43:33 PM PDT by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: Joe Boucher

According to people familiar with the car, it was extensively modified for drag racing. I read the track’s rules and all cars and bikes need to have mufflers and pass NHRA safety inspections. Definitely not your daily driver street car. I’d bet it had a small block Chevy like 95% of the rest of the privateers.


48 posted on 03/29/2018 12:43:52 PM PDT by VietVet876
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To: Obadiah

Better was about a 2 minute short that I saw in the early ‘80s of a guy in a pickup truck who sees a car stopped on the road in the distance. He applies the brakes, softly, and then notices that it is a Pinto. He then goes wide-eyed, jams on the brakes and down-shifts. The scene goes back and forth between showing the truck closing the distance to the Pinto and the guy’s horrified face. Naturally, he dings the Pinto at about 0.01 MPH...and the scene cuts away to a nuclear blast from some test.

I’ll be damned if I can find that clip anywhere on the web...I’m sure it is there, I just cannot find it.


49 posted on 03/29/2018 12:45:31 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
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To: SpinnerWebb

That engine design was a complete disaster for GM. The idea was good, but the execution was horrible.

I liked the early Vegas, because the front end looked like a baby camaro.


50 posted on 03/29/2018 12:46:01 PM PDT by factoryrat (We are the producers, the creators. Grow it, mine it, build it. MAGA!)
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To: dirtboy

Nice! I never drove my mom’s Pinto. I learned on a 1980 red Monte Carlo!... was like boating!


51 posted on 03/29/2018 12:47:12 PM PDT by longfellowsmuse (last of the living nomads)
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To: factoryrat

Ha! My mother had a Vega before her Pinto! It was some green color and had a terrible rust problem ( to be fair it was ungaraged and we lived in coastal MA)


52 posted on 03/29/2018 12:49:59 PM PDT by longfellowsmuse (last of the living nomads)
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To: VietVet876

i can see that.
I was just imagining my best friend and his fat girlfriend in her Pinto.
A cringe worthy thought.
Her blue Pinto was a dog.


53 posted on 03/29/2018 12:50:02 PM PDT by Joe Boucher
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To: OldMissileer

Back in the early 80’s, I owned a Pacer, a Pinto , and a Chevy Vega. I paid $200-$250 each for them. I once had 7 cars and none of them cost more than $300.

That way, I knew at least one of them would be working. I never had a car note in my life till I turned 45 and bought a new truck.


54 posted on 03/29/2018 12:52:44 PM PDT by packrat35 (Pelosi is only on loan to the world from Satan. Hopefully he will soon want his baby killer back)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

A Pinto won’t GO 100 mph ... unless it’s in freefall.


55 posted on 03/29/2018 12:54:18 PM PDT by IronJack (A)
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To: Enten
The Pinto, the car everyone hated and everyone bought.

They weren't bad looking, especially compared to a Gremlin.

56 posted on 03/29/2018 12:55:35 PM PDT by Disambiguator (Keepin' it analog.)
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To: Ancesthntr

Try post # 4 from this very thread that you’re on!

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3643452/posts?page=4#4


57 posted on 03/29/2018 12:59:13 PM PDT by Disambiguator (Keepin' it analog.)
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To: longfellowsmuse

Those cars, like most of the cars built in the late 60’s to 70’s, would start rusting away on the showroom floor.

Recycled steel that wasn’t “cleaned” or “killed” to remove heavy metals was the cause.

Most people don’t realize that the engineered lifespan of those cars was four, maybe five years, and 80,000 miles max.


58 posted on 03/29/2018 1:02:25 PM PDT by factoryrat (We are the producers, the creators. Grow it, mine it, build it. MAGA!)
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To: PGR88

Those were kind of silly looking cars, and so underpowered you would swear they really were gerbil-powered.

But when I drove one, I was amazed at the visibility. One of the best visibilities in a non-convertible car I ever drove.

Acceleration sure did suck, and people laughing at you for driving such a silly car was kind of a bummer too!


59 posted on 03/29/2018 1:06:00 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: Disambiguator

Well these what low cost busget cars were like then.

Pacer. Chevelle. Gremlin. Fiesta. Basic models were severely no frills. Some debateably looked better tricked out than others.


60 posted on 03/29/2018 1:06:27 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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