Welcome to Pixel Car Art

[civicfan14]

Time to update this again...
2. Ford Pinto
(IMG:http://img.timeinc.net/time/2007/50_cars/ford_pinto.jpg)
The Pinto wasn't too bad of a car, but the business decisions behind it caused the Pinto to become a prime candidate for the "worst cars ever" list. The car was small, cute, and fuel efficient...just what commuters needed. Too bad that it had a fatal flaw that Ford knew about but didn't bother to fix. Because of the car's configuration, the Pinto's fuel tank was pushed forward when rear-ended-which meant the Pinto was prone to fire easily. Ford was aware of the flaw, but the cost would be $121 million while the estimated payout for lawsuits from the fires would be close $50 million. Solution? Leave it as it is, since money is worth more than human lives (aka the Ford Pinto memo). Too bad, since the lawsuits cost more than estimated and they also destroyed Ford's reputation as a brand for many years.

[Andrew.]

money> people every day

[civicfan14]

1. Chevrolet Vega
(IMG:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/71_Chevy_Vega_Hatchback.jpg)
When Chevrolet Division Manager John DeLorean went and took a look at the Vega prototype, legends has it that the entire front end fell onto the ground. That didn't stop the car from going to production, however. To defend Chevrolet against the surge of import compacts that were selling better and better every year, GM rushed the new H-Body cars (Chevy Vega and Pontiac Astre.) They were pretty conventional, with the car's 4 cylinder block sending power to the rear wheels. However the Vega's aluminum engine was pretty innovative at the time. And at $2000.00, the car was pretty cheap.

Too bad the car was a total disaster.

The Elpo rustproofing process was considered to be perfect in theory. The assembled Vega body was dipped in a vat containing reddish-brown paint-primer particles in 65,000 gallons of water. The body had a positive charge and the primer particles had a negative charge, and by leaving the car in the vat for 2 minutes, every part of the car would have been covered in theory. The car was then dried, wet-sanded, sealer-coated and finally sprayed with acrylic lacquer and baked at 300 degrees. However, the front end design caused air to be trapped in the fenders, and since there were no fender liners for most cars sold until late 1974, the fenders quickly rusted. Rust damage also affected the rocker panels, the door bottoms, the area beneath the windshield, and the primary body structure above the rockers. If the horrible rust wasn't enough, then the engine was even worse. The two-barrel carburetor backfired, causing a recall early on in the Vega's life. The engine mounts easily broke and the engine then shook hard. The top cover would then jump up and down, which activated the accelerator pump, which shot raw gasoline through the cylinders and into the exhaust system. The Vega's cooling system was barely adequate, and since most owners didn't have time to check the coolant as often as it required, the engines easily overheated. Antifreeze to seep past the head gasket, causing piston scuffing inside the cylinders. Damaged cylinder walls were common, caused by brittle valve stem seals and thin piston plating. The Vega engine was improved in 1975 to solve overheating problems, but by then it was too little, too late. In the 80's, Vega owners junked their cars so aggressively that many scrapyards were no longer accepting them. Many of them moved onto the Japanese makes, never even looking at an American product again, leaving the Big Three to the horrible financial condition that they are in today.

However, the Vega did have some benefits-it was light, small, RWD and the engine bay accepted a much more reliable and powerful engine-the Chevy Small-Block. The car also outhandled most American cars of the time-in fact its handling was on par to more expensive sports cars. Due to this, Vegas were and still are common for drag and circuit racing, and thanks to the growing Vega hot-rodding scene, the little car is now gaining respect from people that once hated it. Just don't expect to find one with the original aluminum block anytime soon.

This post has been edited by civicfan14: Jun 5 2011, 01:47 AM

[J.red]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5P6zVSD8O4

They can fit more than a small block. This one I know personally, and it's got a fully build big block sitting in it.

And blaming the vega for the "big three financial condition of today" is bull.