That's a questionable price for a vehicle of questionable demand of which the milage isn't even listed
I like the stereo in the glove box. Being such a small car it’s probably easy to get to while driving. I had a coupe de ville that I hooked up a CD player to the ash tray brackets so it could be tucked under the dash. Dang I miss that car
There is a man local to me who deals in classic Fords and claims to get $8K for Pintos at Carlisle. And I've seen higher asking prices on ebay. For a rust-free Pinto Squire that's totally presentable as-is, I would think that $5K is a very fair price. If I were in the market for a '73 and had the money to spend, I wouldn't hesitate to pay that much if the car was as good as it appears in the pics. Of course, the 4 speed is a deal breaker for me. Evan if I were any good with a stick, I doubt if I could even get my foot on the clutch pedal in a Pinto. Doubtless, it's better overall for performance with the 2000cc engine, though. Note that there are Pinto aficionados. See the "Pinto Stampede" at Ford Carlisle and the online Pinto Car Club of America. By the way, power windows were never offered on a Pinto. It does have AC, though.
These little ponies are growing on me. I never had the negative connotation that many attached to the Pinto, but I just didn't think much of them. My Grandfather had a Pinto for as long as I can remember. It was brown and pretty unremarkable. About ten years ago he sold it to my Aunt. She still uses it as a run around car. It's been an unbelievably reliable car. I think these cars fall into the same vein as the Granada that was on here a month or so ago. They are old, and to a large segment of the population are therefore classics. The younger folks that are into "old" cars don't know or even care about the image they used to have. They are affordable compared to other classic vehicles and because of that right there they have a value that the rest of us find hard to believe. Someone will pay close to 5 grand for this car. It just won't be me.
I think you may be selling Pintos short, here. I've owned Pintoids (1 Bobcat included) for more than 30 years, and I don't think their affordability is their only or even their most important virtue. I bought my first one for the gas mileage and became very impressed with its handling. And, of course, I love the looks of pretty much and woodgrained wagon (all my Pintoids have been Squire or Villager wagons). To some of us nowadays they're the Edsels of the '70s (check how much an Edsel is worth these days). They appeal to contrarians like me. And aren't all long time fans of wagons contrarians? We actually relish its firebomb reputation (way exaggerated, of course, and never applicable to the wagons). As for any negative "image", I think that's an after-the-fact invention. I was in my teens and twenties in the '70s, and I don't recall any particular "image" that was supposedly attached to them. At least no more than to any other subcompact of the era -- Vega, Monza, Astre, Sunbird, Colt, Cricket, Mustang II, etc. They just weren't Mercedes 280 SLs -- the darlings of the image set. You didn't drive a Pinto to impress anyone, but then you didn't impress anyone with a Vega, either. They weren't chic at the time. Today, I suspect they've acquired an aura of counter-chic. Their other appeal is that you don't see too many at the cruise-ins and car shows that are dominated by tri-five Chevys, Mustangs, and muscle cars. Anything different seems to garner quite a bit of attention there.
Not at all. I am just drawing from my own personal experience, much like you are. I agree with your sentiment that they were economy cars and weren't chic at the time. Much like the early Falcon or Chevy II, both of which are very popular these days with hot roders, customizers drag racers etc. I grew up in a different era than you did. Pinto's were the but of jokes constantly. I don't know if it had to do with the "death trap" reputation they gained at one point, or if it was rather the fact that they were just an old car at the time and somehow made a mark in popular culture as a dud or the type of car a loser would drive. Regardless there was a time when they certainly were looked upon as the punchline to many a joke or insult. I'm not trying to pontificate, it's just the reality of the situation. I actually stood up for the Pinto regularly (much to the gleeful ridicule of those making fun of them) because my Grandfather drove one. Of course it didn't matter to me since the same types made fun of the fact that I drove a 1964 station wagon. I didn't think the Pinto was an amazing car, as I mentioned before, but I knew they were a good car and didn't deserve their reputation. I agree wholeheartedly that they are similar in many ways to the Edsel. What one generation thought of as a failure another generation thinks of as a fantastic example of an automobile from the time period. That's why I'm not surprised to see the asking prices for these continuing to climb. Again, I couldn't agree more. It's similar to when I take out the 63 Falcon Ranchero. Folks will walk right past the 55 chivy and 69 Camaro to check out the Ranchero. It's a car that was everywhere at one point, but considered unremarkable to many so a great number of them were crushed leaving very few examples surviving today. Cars like the Falcon and Pinto will continue to grow in popularity as time goes on because of their uniqueness and rarity.
If you think the '73 Squire is priced high, check out this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-Other...24641dfd:g:tbIAAOSwj81byF7A:rk:1:pf:0&vxp=mtr I'm sure someone will start a thread on this car; I just wanted to offer it for comparison.
