The one who should apologize for the Pinto is Nader, not Ford! They did the gastank conversions for free; I know because we had one. That 2300cc engine is the same one they used in the Mustang, and just as good as the 351 Cleveland.
On the local dealer marquee: “Owned by Americans, not American owned.” I will buy them again.
We had a Pinto. And the fact that they didn’t charge us to fix THEIR design problem (remember the true problem was the bolt near the tank, not technically the tank itself) does not impress me in the least. They never had the cajones to say “yes, we made bad decisions and a bad car”, it was all “it’s not that bad, it’s not that dangerous”, downplay downplay downplay.
Putting your logo on a car is easy, it’s putting your logo on a mistake that’s hard, and shows real corporate character. Toyota apparently has it, Ford has never stepped up to that plate.