Exploding Pintos were a myth. The one that grabbed all the headlines? Six year old Pinto died in the fast lane of a freeway - subcompacts getting rear ended at ~50 mph never fare well. With more than three million built, there were only 27 fatalities. And several of those had rags for gas caps. Even a larger vehicle, like a 79 Malibu, caught fire after being rear-ended by a drunk driver. Again, 50+ mph. The square body Chevy/GMC pickups also weren't bursting into flames. There was a concerted effort to demonize the automobile back then.
