I had a '76 Pinto as my first car. The 2.3L was bullet proof. A drunk pulled out in front of me and wrote it off (it thankfully didn't catch fire) and his insurance settled for $35 less than I paid for it.
I heard the AMC Gremlins, Mustangs, and GM pick ups were also notorious for catching fire.
The mid '70s were pretty much the low water mark for car manufacturing.
Brian