What do we have here? A cute little runabout, a Pinto in drag, or a fiery deathtrap? Whatever it may be, Hemming’s Motor News is reporting a very “schweet” 1978 Mercury Bobcat Hatchback for sale.

Introduced in 1975 with production lasting until 1980, the Bobcat was Mercury’s first entry ever into the sub-compact car segment that was all the rage in the ‘70’s. A thinly disguised Pinto, it shared sheet metal and mechanicals and was differentiated only by its “formal” grille and odd tail lights that looked like the Pinto’s only flipped flopped.

The Pinto and the Bobcat were the brainchild of Lee Iaccoca and styled by a guy named Robert Eidschun. What a claim to fame, (or shame) to be the designer of the Pinto! (Insert late night wiseguy joke here.)  A reputation for exploding proved to be a bugaboo as well, although after extensive investigation, the Pinto was deemed as safe as any other car in it’s class.

The lovely Bobcat you see here has traveled just 54K miles since new. It’s equipped with a 2.3 liter 4-cylinder engine kicking out a whopping 88 horsepower. The car is finished in “Chamois” beige with one hell of a gold vinyl and plaid fabric interior. Other options include power steering, power brakes and a 3-speed automatic transmission.

The Pinto/Bobcat was replaced by the Escort/Lynx in 1981 and a entirely new era of malaise began. At least with the Pinto (or Bobcat) you could stuff in a V-8 and go drag racing,