I have to admit really falling for the looks of the Vega - neat in all variations of sedan, hatch, wagon and van. Motor Trend gave it their COTY, devoting 12 pages of their February 1971 issue to the Vega. Car & Driver also ran a comparison with five other cars including the Pinto - Vega first, Pinto fourth. This must have been before all the woes of both cars became apparent. They took it upon themselves five years later to try and prove the reliability in a stunt in Death Valley. Ford introduced the Pinto with fair bit of the 1971 brochure devoted to safety and how important it was. They even showed in a diagram how close the tank was to the rear bumper - all this must have come back to haunt them. They sold a few in the UK when I was there - as a rubbish photographer, I managed to catch a Vega in front of Buck House.