1984 Tempo Vs. Competition

This was digitized from Volume 4VC003 of the Ford Video Communications Network series of LaserDiscs. It compares the 1984 Ford Tempo to some of its competition, namely the Citation, Cavalier, Reliant, and Accord. The audio at the start is code intended for the computer that would control the LaserDisc player to offer not only a choice of sections but to provide quizzes. This is followed by a section intended for salespeople only and then sections to be shown to car buyers.
Please forgive the audio and video issues. This LaserDisc is suffering from "laser rot" and only includes analog audio without CX noise reduction.

[@epa316]

My first car, an ‘85 Tempo light blue 2 door. I think they still look decent today.

[@timbuktug3321]

I miss the 80s cars. Escorts, Tempos and Taurus.

[@kpb96m]

My father bought a Tempo in 1985. I was 15. I thought we had the coolest car in our area. The Tempo had rounded lines while everyone else had box cars. I was so proud. I still have fond memories of that car. I remember the speedometer only went up to 80mph.

[@xargos]

Your loss. The Tempo is an excellent vehicle.

[@kpb96m]

@@xargos You're right. It is an excellent vehicle.

[@sneakerfreak2002]

This how Tim the Toolman Taylor started out? As Jim, the disgruntled cavalier driver?

[@knowbodiesfull5768]

He was surely more Cavalier than disgruntled, but as for me, I keep my livelihood up to TEMPO and prefer to move on my own ACCORD and be self-RELIANT.

[@arthurhu2290]

salesman didn't show up when I wanted to test drive a tempo, I bought a 84 Honda Accord LX and it was a great car.

[@xargos]

That's a pity. Nothing against the Accord, but I've always loved the way the Tempo handles.

[@zythr9999]

lol

[@Beth9228]

My mother used to have a 1985 Ford Tempo in white with blue interior. When my sister gotten her license and she took over the car for a year and half for driving to school and back. My sister had gotten into an accident in that car. Luckily she didn’t get hurt but, she was a little bit scared after it. I even practiced driving in it. I didn’t get my license right away in my teens. In driver’s education in high school my 1st time of driving was in a 1986 Ford Tempo in red with red interior. I did pretty good in driving the car. I was nervous in driving at first.

[@xargos]

Thanks for sharing! The Tempo has to be a good car to learn with. They're relatively safe and don't have enough power to get into too much trouble. They also handle slippery conditions well enough that beginners can learn to handle them properly.

[@davidpetersen5570]

Omg! Young Tim Allen!

[@therealjayseh]

These were very popular. Priced right and provided adequate transportation. Styling looks very German also. Like Mercedes was doing at the time. Rounded off edges.

[@the_kombinator]

10:40 - I remember that distinctly from my 89 Topaz - I have no idea why I recall it, perhaps I used it as a jacking point?

[@SundudeCAN]

My first car was a five-year-old used 1985 Tempo GL coupe with 5-speed manual. It was a total lemon. A very sour lemon. My car loan on it was $150/month, but it cost another $400/month in repairs. I couldn't sell that turd fast enough.

[@JasonSheppard-uy9ij]

Same

[@franzchong5889]

Thank Goodness Ford Australia switched to Cloning the second generation Mazda 626 for a mid size family car and called it a Telstar.we got the best out of everything when it was time to move on from Cortina a few years earlier with the Meteor as a stop gap.We could have had the Sierra XR4i coupes as a niche as the 626 coupe was not offered in Ford's range.

[@sutherlandA1]

Saying the engine was "all new" was a stretch of the truth considering it was based off a cut down 1959 vintage thriftmaster straight 6, the platform was also a stretched Escort floorpan

[@Ccyawn123]

My mom had a white 4 door 84, I had a red 4 door 88 and my brother had a blue 4 door 90 model. The 84 had many issues. Mine and my brothers were fairly trouble free. I traded mine for a 93 Corsica with a 3.1 V6.

[@Richard-u1c7r]

My first car was a 84 2 door gray with red interior Tempo. It was a piece of shit but it got me back and forth to school as well as my co-op job in college.

[@xargos]

It's a shame you didn't like it. As long as they're not abused they're reliable and comfortable cars. I've got a white 1984 two door and absolutely love it.

[@billgund4532]

Had a 92 & 94 Mercury Topaz Good little cars, but that Gawdawful 3 speed auto trans!! At 70, it sounded like a blender on cocaine!!!😅

[@the_kombinator]

18:35 - hah the Hyundai Pony came with the exact same tread pattern on a 155/80R13

[@dexx600]

My father had an '85 Mercury Topaz

[@the_kombinator]

10:53 - so you mean to tell me that the Citation did not have a brake booster? I've worked on these, and they certainly have power brakes.

[@kyleirving7747]

Love this!

[@khaliddeifallah8304]

Looks like Jim is being played by Tim Allen.

[@ohger1]

My wife had an 84 Tempo. That car was begging for a four speed auto, not a three speed. On minor hills, it would upshift to third, lose speed, downshift to second, build speed and upshift to third, lose speed and downshift to second... Otherwise quiet, nice ride, cheap, and it ran for 8 years with no trouble.

[@butchbr73]

oh lord, my first car as a 16 yr old was a hand down from my parents, an 84 ford tempo. baby blue in color. I could literally ride my bike faster than that car would accelerate. but it did have power windows. I don't miss it.

[@xargos]

To each their own. I happen to love the Tempo. Speed isn't everything.

[@tiadaid]

The host, is that the turbo encabulator guy?

[@glennvernes8305]

My mother had an '86 Tempo GL sedan, white with red interior. It looked futuristic for the time, and the interior quality was good, but it was dangerously slow and got poor mileage considering its lack of power. The 2.3 made 88hp that year and the trans was a 3-speed auto.

[@xargos]

"Dangerously slow" 🤣 There's nothing dangerous about its speed. I've driven several model years including the '84 I have now and the slow acceleration has never been an issue. That includes highway driving.

[@jessebrook1688]

Shoulda got the high-output 2.3. That made 98 horsepower. You really notice those extra horses.

[@bobsmithinson2050]

Why were they comparing the ‘84 Tempo with all ‘83 model competitors? Is it because the competitors were only midway in their production run? Either way they still could’ve used ‘84 models, as it’s off putting as a potential buyer to see Ford try to take a seemingly unfair advantage testing a newer car against an older one, changes or not.

[@TheHelado36]

The Citation was indeed an old looking car even when it was new.

[@blackericdenice]

2:10 the engine would have been better if Ford had not designed the torque converter to lockup shifting to 2nd gear.

[@nlpnt]

They're talking smack about the Accord's automatic transmission service intervals, but really in those days and for some years after, buying an automatic on a Honda was like ordering the chicken at a seafood restaurant. It's not the house specialty, it's only on the menu because people insist and it'll be meh at best.

[@briq4409]

My aunt had a tempo… While you might have to change the accord transmission fluid, she had to change the tempo transmission twice while it was still under warranty. Some sort of plastic ring gear in the transmission melted on two occasions, and she was stuck in first gear… Also when they talk about the entire life of the tempo… We’re talking maybe 70 or 80,000 miles. If you could keep the Honda from rusting, it would easily go over 200,000 miles.

[@joemoorman9103]

You're not wrong. Honda always makes wonderful engines, but they have had periods of horrible automatic transmissions. My grandma's 2000 Accord had a failed transmission at 50k miles.

[@the_kombinator]

They didn't compare to the Corolla of the time?

[@knowbodiesfull5768]

It's now approaching 2024, and today the only Ford car left (in North America) is the Mustang. Everything else that has a Ford badge today is a truck, SUV, or crossover. Mercury, Ford's sister division, ended production after 72 years in early 2011. And Lincoln, the luxury division, offers only SUV's.

[@nlpnt]

I had an '85 Mercury Topaz which was the same car as this, it was a one-owner little old lady car that had been babied over 40,000 miles for 10 years and went from nice to junk in one. Sure I was young but it shoudn't have fallen apart that fast. Horrible seats, too, they forced you to slouch whether you wanted to or not.

[@jessebrook1688]

I think they just sprayed foam in a plastic bucket-like frame. That's the way they did it for the Escort's rear seats. You either slouch, or the hard edges force you into a prone position. The front seats are just made with thin side rails, meaning they break, and then your seating position starts to twist.

[@SterlingPrice-e3g]

10:20 Even Ford had to admit the Iron Duke 2.5 was a "good engine"...

[@jefferysmith3930]

“Jim” Tim Allen bought a Cavalier?!. I guess he wasn’t yet a Ford guy in ‘83.

[@JasonSheppard-uy9ij]

Bought a 93 with 48.000 in 95 Trainy went out at 51000 Total Lemon 😡😡😡

[@raygv1]

Was that Tim Allen?

[@kyleirving7747]

If these cars only had a more modern 4 cylinder design, with a little more power, they would of been excellent vehicle.

[@xargos]

I actually own one of them, and even as it stands it's an excellent car. The slow acceleration is a downside these days, but back when it came out it wasn't such a big deal.

[@kyleirving7747]

I own 2 , an 85 and 86. One is diesel.

[@youtoobe169]

@@kyleirving7747 Can you post some videos about your diesel?

[@kyleirving7747]

I can when its completed, right now its all apart. On my Facebook, I'm pretty sure I have some pictures, maybe a video of my escort diesel with same engine.

[@margaritareyes4600]

True

[@nlpnt]

Some of these features are down to branding. The Citation's F41 handling package was better than the Tempo's one because it wasn't infected with Michelin TRX wheels and tires locking you into a limited selection of an odd size of tires unless you spent more money on standard inch-size wheels.

[@xargos]

Thankfully most Tempos didn't have the TRX wheels. They were an "upgrade" over the basic wheels. I wish they had offered standard wheels with the same design as the TRX ones, though.

[@onekoneb]

84 horsepower in the Tempo, less than the Reliant. BBBBut it's a High Swirl Combustion engine! Way to divert, Ford. Still, out of all those I'd choose the Honda - I bet it's still on the road today.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Cool😀

[@richardkarl879]

Is that Tim Allen???????? In the Cavilear

[@youtoobe169]

Thank you for posting this, but why didn't you cut out the god awful noise at the beginning of the video?

[@xargos]

That "noise" is actually code that would load into the computer used to control the LaserDisc player. I left it there just in case anyone wants to decode it and see what it contains.

[@falcon664]

I had an 84 Tempo 2 door with the 5-speed manual transmission. It was a good car; comfortable, but not exactly memorable. I probably should have kept it a few more years it was inexpensive to maintain and didn't give me any problems.

[@margaritareyes4600]

I wish it would have had 25 hp more ...unfortunately, it didn't...

[@davidhibbs6989]

Just hurt the crap out of my ears 👺

[@mattmaverick703]

The original Fusion.

[@operator91210]

I would say the fusion was more like the original taurus. I would compare the tempo to a focus or fiesta

[@mattmaverick703]

@@operator91210 far as dimensions yeah you're probably right! I own a 1st gen 2010 Fusion SPORT AKA "Baby SHO" and the 1989 SHO id say is very similar far as size and even looks. The original 1983 Tempos weren't bad looking very modern for that time compared to offerings from other auto makers then.

[@prius.killer]

@@operator91210 i would compare the fiesta to the fiesta since it was around almost a decade longer

[@operator91210]

@@prius.killer except we didn't have the fiesta in North America during the mid 1980s' so yeah I'd compare it to a fiesta.

[@operator91210]

@@mattmaverick703 excellent car, I knew someone who had a 2008 fusion in highschool it was the talk of the town at the time because it was just a year or two old. Had the 3.0 v6 as well.

[@manhoot]

State of the art design.......yet the 2.3 is a pushrod 4 banger created by cutting 2 cylinders off am existing 6 cylinder.

[@brettcannon74]

Accord vs Tempo. What a joke!

[@Greg-ly2rz]

I had an ‘85 Tempo for several years. It was good, not great, but far superior to my wife’s ‘85 Celebrity. I hated that thing!

[@n300zx931]

Growing up we had an 84 tempo powder blue. Lol thing was junk

[@xargos]

Either it was a lemon or it was badly mistreated at some point. They were quite reliable.

[@sponk2112]

3:10. Umm...do you and the car need some time alone, lady? 🤔

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

Most Fords in the 1980s were so much better than anything GM had to offer. Although I was more of a foreign car guy I drove several Fords from the 80s when they were new and was pretty impressed

[@SeumasSiosal]

Yet none survive 🤣

[@xargos]

Ummm... I have one that I drive when the weather is nice. They're pretty solid cars mechanically.

[@SeumasSiosal]

@@xargos Sounds like you have a decent model then. From my experience it's difficult to get more than 100,000 miles out of one without serious mechanical repairs.

[@Stressless2023]

@@SeumasSiosal These were slow and crude little cars but they weren't unreliable at all, the 2.3L 4cyls were as durable as GM's Iron Duke in the Citation. Not many 1984 basic transportation models of anything still survive today.

[@xargos]

@@Stressless2023 The one I have now is my third Tempo. My first was a 1987 that I'm pretty sure had over 100k and was still running great when I got a 1994 Tempo with a nice accessory package. Never had any real issues with it either. I always regretted trading it in.

[@mikepdx7255]

Probably due to their worthless sales hyped suggested maintenance schedule. Don’t worry about all of that preventative maintenance, however if you need to change the exhaust manifold or wiper motor, it’s easy… wtf why are we talking about forgoing regular maintenance and discussing major repairs for???

[@Butchcub75]

NO FLUID CHANGES LOL no wonder the ATC blew up. LOL.

[@xargos]

Can't say I've seen that happen with a Tempo, and I've been around a lot of them.

[@mel19071976]

This car possessed a terrible defect...green câble fuse burn by the tension regulator for the alternator defect put all your engine fire and your car. Not really better as a Pinto with the bad position of the gaz tank. Not good era but 1988 is better.

[@Scot-ve2kd]

Am I the only one that is weirded out by these ole sales films,,,,yikes.

[@tinaturner3624]

Those were horrible! I had one for 5 months in 1985 I hated that thing !

[@xargos]

You may not like them, but they were not horrible. They were actually pretty reliable. I own a 1984 Tempo as a second car, and it's actually the 3rd Tempo I've owned. None of them ever broke down on me.

[@tinaturner3624]

@@xargos glad you had a good experience