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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: ThomasThomas
The Pacer is the best car ever made for sighting! Almost as good as the bubble top train cars.

We were stationed in Wichita, Ks and the temps would hit 100 degrees for over 30 days during the Summer. The AC in his Pacer had a hard time keeping up with the heat due to all that glass.

61 posted on 03/29/2018 1:06:40 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: Obadiah

Excellent!


62 posted on 03/29/2018 1:06:42 PM PDT by jonno (Having an opinion is not the same as having the answer...)
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To: RegulatorCountry

hahaha awesome!


63 posted on 03/29/2018 1:07:14 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: Enchante

Hahaha...my dad had a Plymouth Cricket, which I think was somewhat related to the Dodge Colt...all six of us kids learned to drive in that car, and boy, did it die a slow death, like a cat that lives too long and its fur all falls out in clumps...


64 posted on 03/29/2018 1:10:18 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: SpinnerWebb

My first car was also a Chevy Vega. Replaced the aluminum engine twice, and had the battery stole three times. Cute car, though!


65 posted on 03/29/2018 1:13:48 PM PDT by freepertoo
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

My sister, who was a well known danger to cars, was allowed by her stupid hippie boyfriend to drive his 1971 Ford Pinto across a causeway when she was 14, and she promptly went off the road and flipped his car over. I think he was way too old to be driving around with a 14 year old girl, but he proved his stupidity by letting her drive.


66 posted on 03/29/2018 1:14:21 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: MarineBrat

My late great-uncle had a Mercury Bobcat, which was essentially the same vehicle. He was a Catholic Priest. One time when I was 16 he drove it from where he was stationed in New York City back to Pittsburgh to visit us. He threw me the keys and asked me to go get it washed for him.

I got about a block down the street and found that I had NO brakes! Just a hideous grinding sound. I rubbed up against the curb to stop the car, turned around and went back home.

I looked inside the wheel. The rotors looked like a relief map of the Rocky Mountains. I mean, they were GONE!

I said “So, you drove all the way from New York City in this car?” He answered “Yes, why?” I told him “All I can say is, God sure takes good care of his employees!”


67 posted on 03/29/2018 1:16:52 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Unsafe at any speed. Must be a riot at 100 MPH.


68 posted on 03/29/2018 1:17:23 PM PDT by McGruff (The Swamp is not just full of only democrats)
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To: Red Badger

Ah, the Vega and Pinto years of cars, when things were really going downhill.


69 posted on 03/29/2018 1:18:14 PM PDT by doorgunner69 (Give me the liberty to take care of my own security..........)
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To: circlecity

He would have been OK, but when he tried to get out the cast metal door handle snapped off.


70 posted on 03/29/2018 1:18:35 PM PDT by Revel
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To: freepertoo; SpinnerWebb

One of my best friends had a Vega (maybe 1974 model?) and they were driving down a hill when they saw a tire roll past them, and the one in the passenger seat said “Hey look! Some a**hole lost his tire!”

Then the car banged its left rear quarter into the road and ground to a halt!

I was told by someone that there was some flaw that allowed the rear wheels to back out from the differential and separate from the car, though I cannot find any mention of it on the Internet!


71 posted on 03/29/2018 1:18:59 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: doorgunner69

It was around 1973 that American cars fell off the cliff...I remember a boatload of really crappy, rusty cars driving around America in the mid-Seventies.

They finally began working their way back up in quality in the late Eighties IIRC, but it was a depressing sight on the roads in the Seventies.


72 posted on 03/29/2018 1:21:00 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: factoryrat

Oh, absolutely. If you got 80K out of those cars, that was good. 100K? Very rare. But some did make it. 120K? Nope!


73 posted on 03/29/2018 1:22:52 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
for me it was ♫ paradise by the (yellow Pintos) dashboard lights ♪ ..
74 posted on 03/29/2018 1:34:12 PM PDT by ßuddaßudd (>> M A G A << "What the hell kind of country is this if I can only hate a man if he's white?")
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To: FreeReign

Nobody likes those not telling the truth. We’d rather hear of your daring escape and how you rescued your friend from the inferno.


75 posted on 03/29/2018 1:34:40 PM PDT by Bulwyf
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To: doorgunner69
Ah, the Vega and Pinto years of cars, when things were really going downhill.

In many cases, downhill was the only way to get things going.

76 posted on 03/29/2018 1:35:51 PM PDT by Disambiguator (Keepin' it analog.)
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To: rlmorel

I remember what a joke the Corvette became for a decade............


77 posted on 03/29/2018 1:37:50 PM PDT by doorgunner69 (Give me the liberty to take care of my own security..........)
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To: V_TWIN

“Only guessing but if it was racing at a drag strip safety regs. would have required heavy mods.”

Some/many? drag strips have the equivalent of Plain Folks Nights, where anyone can bring their car and race it. I think if you do the 1/4 mile in less than 10 seconds, they then require you to have a more race-modified car plus some driver certifications. IIRC.


78 posted on 03/29/2018 1:39:31 PM PDT by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest)
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To: blueunicorn6

Excellent analogy.

I’m also a crack shot and can’t speak of the dancing.


79 posted on 03/29/2018 1:39:38 PM PDT by Bulwyf
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To: factoryrat

I knew someone who had BOTH a Chevy Vega AND a Ford Pinto. I drove a Vega GT once and it didn’t seem like a bad car.


80 posted on 03/29/2018 1:46:44 PM PDT by GunsareOK
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