Ford Pinto
Offered with an inline-4 engine and bucket seats the Pinto's mechanical design was conventional, with unibody construction, a longitudinally mounted engine in front driving the rear wheels through either a manual or automatic transmission and live axle rear end. Suspension was by unequal-length control arms with front coil springs; the live rear axle was suspended on leaf springs. The rack and pinion steering had optional power assist, as did the brakes.
Steering
BMW began to use rack and pinion steering systems in the 1930s, and many other European manufacturers adopted the technology. American automakers adopted rack and pinion steering beginning with the 1974 Ford Pinto.