Unsafe at Any Price: Collecting the Chevrolet Chevette and Ford Pinto

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When shaggy old cars go from the pound to the endangered-species list, they can achieve a sort of contrarian collectibility. Vehicles that disappear do so for (mostly) good reasons, but if  you've got about $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, head to Craigslist and show people that you don't care what you drive.

1976–87 CHEVROLET CHEVETTE
The rear-drive Chevette upheld the American tradition of punishing small-car buyers. In its favor, it was cheap and relatively reliable. Today, it would wear EPA numbers of 33 mpg highway for the 60-hp 1.6-liter and up to 42 mpg highway for the 51-hp, 1.8-liter Isuzu diesel. Performance? Not really. In our testing, the gas 'Vette did 0 to 60 in 13.0 seconds, and the diesel took 21.2. The best one in the world, a 16,727-mile '81, brought $4290 at auction in 2009.

ENGINES > SOHC 1.4-liter inline-4, 52 hp, 70 lb-ft (1976); SOHC 1.6-liter inline-4, 60 hp, 82 lb-ft (1976); 1.8-liter diesel inline-4, 51 hp, 72 lb-ft (1982)
TOP SPEED > 80–88 mph  •  UNITS MADE > 2.75 million (including 26,681 diesels)  • PRICE > free–$4290

1971–80 FORD PINTO
In 1971, Ford launched the subcompact, no-frills Pinto. Initially available as a coupe, eventually as a hatchback and a wagon, the Pinto became infamous for igniting when rear-ended. Engines grew from a 75-hp, 1.6-liter pushrod four-cylinder to a short-lived 2.0-liter, then a 2.3-liter SOHC and even a 2.8-liter V-6. Light and almost elegantly simple for the first few years, by the late '70s, the Pinto wore hideous 5-mph bumpers. Low-mileage examples command surprising money ($12,000 for a 7000-mile '76 model), but $1500 buys most survivors.

ENGINES > pushrod 1.6-liter inline-4, 75 hp, 96 lb-ft (1971); SOHC 2.0-liter inline-4, 100 hp, 120 lb-ft (1971); SOHC 2.3-liter inline-4, 88 hp, 118 lb-ft (1974); pushrod 2.8-liter V-6, 102 hp, 138 lb-ft (1975)
TOP SPEED > 88–110 mph (est)  •  UNITS MADE > more than 2 million  •  PRICE > $1–$12,000

Paul Duchene 22 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://blog.caranddriver.com/unsafe-at-any-price-collecting-the-chevrolet-chevette-and-ford-pinto/
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