AT Tires R Pod 171

Funny you mentioned the Civic. After the accident, we used a Ford Falcon that my Dad drove down for us. In 1977, we purchased a Honda Civic CVCC wagon. It was called a wagon because it had the squared off back of a wagon, not because it was a land yacht like the ones my parents had. It was a standard (like the Pinto was), and was fun to drive. I agree it sat rather low. Then again, so did the MGB I had the opportunity to drive once and it was a convertible at that. I think I could have driven under a semitrailer, but it is something I will leave for stunt men.

Indeed, StephenH, you and your wife were very fortunate.  Someone was watching out for you two.

It was a 1971 Pinto. Yes, the silica coating on the cylinder walls was the issue. It was an idea to save weight of a cast iron block, but the technology was just not there for it to succeed.

Come on now. Pintos did not spontaneously explode. I had one. I even had a rear-end collision of a sort. I stopped for a red light because the signal was changing and I hit the brakes instead of trying to get through the yellow light. A Volkswagen Beetle behind me did not stop quite so quickly. His bumper hit my tailpipe. It broke the muffler hanger and I could see where the exhaust pipe hit the brake line. I think it wasn't flattened because of the pressure it was under. He had a bent bumper to show for it. I took a piece of an old tire to make a replacement muffler hanger and drove it until the exhaust system needed replacing when the muffler rusted out.

Some companies try to push design while some try to maximize profit and some try to do both. From my time in the motorcycle industry, mechanics loved to work on Hondas because they were easy. We hated to ride Hondas because it was like kissing your sister. The design by committee approach Honda used refined all of the character out of the bikes. On the other hand, mechanics did not like working on Yamahas because they were hard, but we loved riding them because they were exciting.