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Selects: SYSK Live: Back When Ford Pintos Were Flaming Deathtraps

Stuff You Should Know

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The Problem With the Pinto

If you ran into a Pinto over 30 miles an hour, the rear end of the car would buckle like an accordion right up to the back seat. The gas tank would be jammed up against the differential housing, which contained four sharp protruding bolts likely to gas holes in the tank and spill still more gas. Now all you need is a spark from a cigarette, and this is me interjecting here. This is the 70s. Every single person in every single car was smoking every single second of every moment they were driving. There were four lit cigarettes in every car at all times with the windows up. Barring that, you could also get it from the ignition or scraping

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