Here's That Affordable RWD Stick-Shift Ford You've Been Wanting

by Jack Baruth

Published: July 15th, 2014

here s that affordable rwd stick shift ford you ve been wanting

For about half the price of a new base Fiesta, you can roll in a right-wheel-drive, manny-tranny (OH STOP IT) not-so-fast Ford.

$6500 for a Pinto with under 20,000 miles? It seems ridiculous, but as one eminent BMW expert pointed out on Facebook, that’s “100hp in a package lighter than a 2002.”

This appears to be a “sedan”, which is to say, a Pinto with a trunk, as opposed to a “Runabout”, which was the hatch. True story: During a Civil Air Patrol exercise in 1982, your humble author was transported sixty or so miles in the hatchback area of a Pinto. I still haven’t told my parents this.

The interior looks good. Remember when you could get actual colors for an automotive interior? Hell, remember when you could get actual colors for an automotive exterior?

Nowadays, they’d call it “Ford-Tex!”

It’s funny how low and wide the Pinto was. No wonder it was easy to turn into a Mustang.

If you’ve got the money, this fellow has the car. Just make sure you watch your you-know-what in traffic.

Jack Baruth

More by Jack Baruth

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 83 comments

Flipper35 on Jul 16, 2014

I am waiting for one in Screamin' Yellow.

Like Reply
SteveRenwick on Jul 16, 2014

Jack, were you a CAP cadet? Seems hard to picture that.

Like Reply
- Jack Baruth on Jul 16, 2014
  
  Yes I was, there's photographic evidence somewhere
  
  Like

Recent Comments

MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh [h3]Wake me up when it is a 1989 635Csi with a M88/3[/h3]
BrandX "I can charge using the 240V outlets, sure, but it’s slow."No it's not. That's what all home chargers use - 240V.
Jalop1991 does the odometer represent itself in an analog fashion? Will the numbers roll slowly and stop wherever, or do they just blink to the next number like any old boring modern car?