Editing Ford Pinto (section)

==Background==
[[File:Gremlin-Pinto-Vega in 2010.JPG|thumb|left|First-generation American subcompacts, left to right: AMC Gremlin, Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega]]

American automakers had first countered imports such as the [[Volkswagen Beetle]] with [[compact car]]s including the [[Ford Falcon (North America)|Ford Falcon]], [[Ford Maverick (Americas)|Ford Maverick]], [[Chevrolet Corvair]] and [[Plymouth Valiant]], although these cars featured six-cylinder engines and comprised a larger vehicle class. As the popularity of smaller Japanese imports [[Toyota Corolla (E10)|Toyota Corolla]] and [[Datsun 510]] increased throughout the 1960s, Ford North America responded by introducing the [[Ford Cortina|Cortina]] from [[Ford of Europe]] as a [[captive import]]. American automakers introduced their subcompacts,{{sfn|Sherefkin|2003}} led by the [[AMC Gremlin]] that arrived six months before the Pinto, and the [[Chevrolet Vega]], introduced the day before the Pinto.

Named after a type of [[Pinto horse|horse with a distinctive coat]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Why Ford keeps using horse names for cars|url= https://www.jenningsforddirect.co.uk/car-guides/history-of-ford-cars/why-ford-keeps-using-horse-names-for-cars/5099/ |website=jenningsforddirect.co.uk |access-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191116233808/https://www.lookers.co.uk/new-cars }}</ref> the Pinto was introduced on September 11, 1970, using a completely new platform along with a powertrain from the European-specification [[Ford Escort (Europe)|Escort]]. Ford Chairman [[Henry Ford II]] himself purchased a 1971 Runabout (hatchback) as one of his personal cars.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=262–231}}