Mike Christensen had no idea when he helped his wife Jude track down and buy her little 1972 Ford Pinto that his own pride and joy — a stellar 1966 Mustang — would wind up suffering through an identity crisis.
“When we started showing it, and even to this day, I’ll park it next to my ’66 and I might get a look from people, but then they all just gravitate to the Pinto and she can just spend hours talking to the people and everyone who’s had one at some point in their life,” Christensen says. “And I’m over here thinking, ‘Hey dude, I got a really nice ’66 over here!’ … I feel like a second-class citizen!”
Such is life living in the tiny shadow of the Christensens’ sparkling orange Pinto. It was a bit of a surprise purchase for the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., couple, and aside from the Mustang getting a little less attention, they haven’t regretted the acquisition for a second.
“I just like that era — you know, disco and everything. I love the ‘70s,” Jude says. “To me, driving it is just nostalgia. It takes you back to a time when we were younger. I never owned a Pinto in the past, but it just gives me a good feeling.”
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