@meltedcheese @newsguyusa Most small cars of that era had similar issues, as almost all front engine/rear drive cars put the gas tank behind the axle in that era. On medium and larger cars, it often went ahead of the spare tire well, but on the smallest cars with short rear overhangs it had to go just ahead of the rear bumper.

What was unique about the Pinto wasn't the fires, it was Ford's decision that it being cheaper NOT to fix it, they would do nothing about it.

A Pinto driven today could be made much safer by replacing the probably rusted out old gas tank with a "fuel cell" racing gas tank that uses a very tough rubber bladder inside a metal tank and is designed to tolerate being smashed without bursting and dumping the fuel.

They are not cheap but they are a lot cheaper than a stay in the burn unit.