Ford Escort: The "World Car" that kind of was.....and kind of wasnt

Welcome to Auto Chatter! Todays episode is about Fords first front wheel drive subcompact offerings in North America! Join me for a little stroll in time starting in 1978 with the Fiesta. A few years later we see the very succsessful car that replaced the Ford Pinto and Mercury Bobcat. The Escort, Lynx, EXP, and LN7 combined dominated sales charts in the 80s in North America, so lets see a little more detail about them. Later that decade, we see the new Mercury Tracer, a car that paves the way on Fords direction for their subcompacts later! I hope you enjoyed this video!

[@P_RO_]

Everyone, especially Ford, had tried to market "European Styling" through the malaise era of the mid 70's and later. Those cars were as about as un-European as you could get. This time they fixed that with incorporating real European engineering and style, and fully European cars like the Fiesta. Though that one didn't have a lot of sales here, it quickly gained a dedicated following among the younger crowd who appreciated it's rally-type handling abilities. It wasn't long before that crowd discovered the performance mods Europeans were doing for it which made the light car very quick indeed. It was America's first "Hot Hatch", a car class still very popular in Europe. What you could do with one on the mountain roads around here would make you smile till your whole face hurt. The Escort was an unqualified success where they got everything exactly right. 4 adults were comfortable in it, the ride was good as was the docile handling. An engine strong enough to alleviate fears of getting run down merging onto highways still gave respectable fuel mileage, and in the snow belt it's FWD layout made it popular. Those folks also knew that any car they bought was going to rust out quickly so it's good price made it a wise choice there too. The downside was that lots of people learned why you never let aluminum head engines overheat the hard way with it, and why you had to change the timing belt on schedule as the earlier ones had 'interference' valvetrains. Finding a good used cylinder head or them became a nightmare scenario because of that. And it lacked performance in the mundane versions but it wasn't a performance car anyway so that didn't really hurt it. Ford milked it for all they could and only dated styling caused it to go away. The EXP was something of an oddball to most people. Had they put more into performance it may have fared better, but let's face it: most of us need more than just two seats in our car or we soon will. Pricing didn't help it either. By now Mercury had lost it's separate identity, and all if had to offer was overpriced gussied-up Fords which struggled for sales. Like Oldsmobile, it would go away because it's market 'niche' had contracted to nearly nothing; people either moved up to real luxury or down to cheaper cars which offered the same amenities. All these cars gave America a taste of what Europe liked in cars, and some of that caught on here. That was lost though as US government safety and emissions requirements became more stringent with the added costs and weight precluding much influx of the common European cars anymore, and once again dividing our markets. That lack of carmakers being able to unify designs worldwide is part of the reason why our country hardly makes any cars anymore, But we once had that advantage, and these are the cars that ability to unify brought us: good, cheap, reliable, and economical cars which did what we needed them to well.

[@autochatter]

Excellent post as per usual! Thank you!

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

Always loved the GT especially after they put that A symmetrical body color grille on it👌

[@autochatter]

Yeah...The refresh helped the GT alot...The refreshed Escort EXP I thought looked nice too.

[@benclark1423]

Coming to driving age in the mid-90s, it seems like almost all of my friends had either Escorts or Rangers. It’s remarkable just how ubiquitous these things were among a certain age group back in the 80s and 90s.

[@autochatter]

Yeah..I had alot of friends with one or the other too. There was a Ford plant back then about a hour from my hometown alot of people had family that was employed there. Prob helped make them even more popular. I was rocking a Celica GT though.

[@ilovecats748]

My dad had an 87 coupe base growing up. I loved that car for one reason: as a kid I could play with my hot wheels on the passenger dash board tray!

[@autochatter]

That was a plus LOL!

[@tomc8115]

1995 Escort GT. Loved it. Pretty roomy and comfy for a small car. Owned it for almost 20 years and 200 K miles. If it weren't for those idiotic automatic seat belts, I would probably still own it.

[@autochatter]

I'm glad they were a relatively short lived feature on cars...But it was cheaper than a airbag then, so that's what you got.

[@RajaReign78]

As a collector of diecast cars while growing up I wrote the Ford company about wondering why I never saw an Escort XR3i cabriolet in the USA; they wrote me back and explained that was a European model and not available in the USA. This was when I first learned that different models were available in different countries.

[@autochatter]

That's actually kinda cool someone at Ford went through the effort to write you back about that!

[@kwaza8574]

For a Ford product, the first generation ran for a long time. Another great video!

[@autochatter]

Thank you! Hope it does well so I can make a sequel!

[@user-et6yw9jr7k]

The Escort and Lynx cousins were great cars, easy to maintain and very easy on the wallet as well! Most cars of today cant say that!

[@autochatter]

Yeah..They used to be everywhere on the roads.

[@h.paulsprojects3061]

Bought a 1994 Escort brand new. Was really a nice comfortable good riding car.

[@autochatter]

Yeah...They had a good ride for the class.

[@petestaint8312]

Never had one but they looked awesome. 👍

[@shadmiller7282]

I had a 93 and I wouldn’t use any of those adjectives to describe it.

[@petestaint8312]

@@shadmiller7282 😄😄😄

[@DD-dj4jr]

Because that was really a Mazda 323 - especially if it was a GT or LX-E with the 1.8L engine versus the Ford 1.9

[@emeyer6963]

Had an 81 Escort an 82 and 83 EXP followed by an 86 Escort Pony and finished the decade with an 89 Escort GT.All good cars with great fuel economy for the time.

[@autochatter]

Wow...Id say you were a fan!

[@Bentsi2002]

I wish the MK1 escort was sold here, I owned a 1968 Escort when I lived in Israel almost 20 years ago, it was such a fantastic little car.

[@autochatter]

I've never been around the original Escorts, but they seemed pretty cool.

[@Bentsi2002]

@autochatter I was thinking about importing one but the prices are so high now, 2 door MK1 in original condition is rare.

[@autochatter]

@@Bentsi2002 I'm sure they are.

[@RajaReign78]

OMG my dad had that exact orange 1980 Ford Fiesta that he drove daily to the steel mill. It was a great little car. Years later he sold it to our neighbor who drove it another decade at least. When we sold the Fiesta the next vehicle my parents bought was a 1986 Dodge Omni GLH which was a great car too.

[@autochatter]

Sounds like your Dad had a "type" LOL. I like small hatchbacks too. I did a Omni vid a little while back if you haven't seen it.

[@sodiebergh]

Great video! Keep 'em coming! You have a terrific voice for this. One of my sister's best friends bought an EXP in red-orange/black new in '82, even as a kid I knew the automatic transmission was a turd 😂

[@autochatter]

Thank you! OMG...A slushbox on a 82 EXP...Would probably still beat a Camaro with a Iron Duke 4 cylinder then!

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Great video as always! LN7 is definitely an oddball😂

[@autochatter]

Thanks Hawk! Just watched your new one a few minutes ago!

[@Ccyawn123]

I watched them both 😊

[@jeromebreeding3302]

I drove an 87 Escort GT for twenty-five years . Old age and frequent repairs, which I had to farm out caused me to junk it. It was a sad parting to a faithfull companion.

[@autochatter]

A quarter century is a long time with one horse. Awesome.

[@timbit72]

Not a word of a lie the best car I ever owned was an 87 tracer...paid a 1000 bucks because it was missing its hood in 93 and it ran great for another 5 years problem free and sold it for 1800 when I moved lol...ease do an episode on the tracer & keep up the great work, I really enjoy your channel! Greetings from Canada 🤘🇨🇦🤘

[@autochatter]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MotorMaster_Stunticon]

Another great chatter! Looking forward to seeing a documentary on the following generations as well! Especially the 1997 and sporty ZX2.

[@autochatter]

Thank Rob! Already started on it.

[@chrismunro3624]

Great review! I remember all of these models and features, even the horn button on the turn signal stalk. The Escort came out right around the time that I got my drivers license and I remember going to Ford dealerships on the weekends and drooling over the lot full of brand new Escorts. As the 80’s progressed I was working for a company that had a whole bunch of Escort wagons and one 4 door Lynx that I got to drive all over the state. I even got to drive an Escort diesel. That was a frightening experience because it was so underpowered. I haven’t been to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn in many years but they used to have one of the first Escorts that was ever built on display there. Your video even contains a shot of a long time Metro Detroit Ford dealership, Tom Holzer Ford (now Serra Ford). Excellent job! Thanks.

[@autochatter]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it, and have a sequel I'm working on for a weekend launch.

[@RajaReign78]

Had a white 1989 2 door Ford Escort GT. I loved that little hatchback. Almost bought a Ford EXP. Bought 2 Ford Focus’s which I think is the car that replaced the Ford Escort. I really wish Ford still made the Escort and Focus.

[@autochatter]

That's pretty cool! I'm actually working on this weekends vid now, and it's going to cover the rest of the Escorts,Tracers,ZX2, and Focus models (which did replace the Escort).

[@MidKid61]

In it's first few years the Escort/Lynx's domestic competitors were not the outdated, rear-drive Chevy Chevette and AMC Spirit but the front-drive Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon.

[@autochatter]

That's true...and the GM J bodies.

[@theprinceofsnj]

I never had a first generation Escort. Having bought Chevettes at that time. I did have 2 Second generations. So I'm looking forward to you doing another chapter.

[@autochatter]

Thank you! The response in this one seems to be positive....and I can't leave a story unfinished!

[@michaelcox9855]

An Escort was my sister's first car. I would occasionally use it when my first vehicle, a Mazda B2200 pickup, was in the shop till she got her liscense. I like the Escort, my sister hated it.

[@autochatter]

I liked the pre Ford Ranger Mazda trucks..seen a bunch with serious miles

[@michaelcox9855]

@@autochatter When I sold mine it had around 351,000 miles and continued to be driven around town another 5 years through 2 owners. I've always regretted letting my step-dad talk me into selling it.

[@autochatter]

@michaelcox9855 seen many with 250k plus miles. I actually saw one on the road about 2 weeks ago coming home from work. Couldn't have been newer than a 90 model.

[@KayakTN]

As much as I like the early Euro Escorts, I would love a left-hand-drive mk3 Cortina.

[@OLDS98]

You did a good job. I liked the fact you discussed how it was supposed to be "world car" and it was not. Ford has no problem with world or global models now as they do it completely. It is interesting how that has all converged because of globalization. I recall when Escort was on the sales chart list consistently in the 1980's. It was so interesting how the European Ford Escort was so different from the American one and Australian one. The European one had more features too. I liked your footage and how you told the story in detail. Excellent job. As far as future videos, there are many cars I would like to see and global cars from American companies. There is GM in Brazil, and GM in Mexico, Australia(Holden) and Europe too. There are so many GM and Lincoln/Mercury videos that could be done. I do thank you for this video. Excellent job.

[@autochatter]

Thanks as always Olds! There's plenty of tales left to be told that's for sure! I didn't even mention it was the first car I (legally) drove on public roads. My Drivers Ed car was a 87 Escort.

[@OLDS98]

@@autochatter You started out with an Escort. Hey...it was a car and you were driving. When I was in high school they had drivers ed in the summer. I did not get to go. My friend did. They drove downsized 1986 or 1987 Oldsmobile Eighty Eights.

[@autochatter]

​@OLDS98 You must have been devastated missing out on piloting a Oldsmobile at such a young age 😂

[@OLDS98]

@@autochatter That was funny. I finally did drive. I drove a 1986 Oldsmobile Calais 4 door sedan. It was gray.

[@CTuna-uo3pq]

My first car was an 85 escort 4 door auto, with a solid audiovox system. Got me to where i was going. I would fill it with friends and do donuts in reverse when it snowed. Goodtimes

[@autochatter]

I bet! I think my first car..(truck), I put a Audiovox in it

[@user-yw9gj7ns6t]

I always think of cars like this and the Cavalier as "throw away" cars because you use em up and then scrap em

[@autochatter]

Most were used as such as they were inexpensive.

[@FlashTimberwolf]

My earliest memories as a kid in the 80s was riding around in my mom's Ford Escort 3-door. I think it was an '81 year model.

[@autochatter]

Cool!

[@donaldwilson2620]

The 1st generation Escort GT, especially the face lifted later models, were pretty cool hot hatches. Too bad they were overshadowed by the other hot hatches that have since become icons: the Volkswagen GTI and the Honda Civic/CRX Si.

[@autochatter]

I'd argue both of those was a better hot hatch experience, but they did cost more and had less dealer networks than the Escort.

[@jasonsobol32]

Im a GM fan, but even I enjoy the Ford and Chrysler videos from the 80s and 90s. Bring on part 2. Plus, I have a brother that had a 98 Escort ZX2, so send a 3rd gen video as well

[@autochatter]

Thank you! I might be able to get the rest in a part 2.

[@JONMPG]

I loved Mercury if I ever get my hands on another one I will do anything to keep it running and I will keep it until I die. I buy Ford now just because they don't sell Mercury anymore.

[@autochatter]

Mercury had some interesting vehicles over the years.

[@georgeh6856]

4:06 No center air vents, although there was plenty of space for them. That had to be rough.

[@autochatter]

Just noticed that myself!

[@alifloydtv]

My folks got an '87 Escort estate when I was wee, a very slow 1.4 with 4-speeds and a manual choke! Still think that generation is a much nicer car than the Vauxhall Astra it was up against here. That said, the next gen of Escort must be one of the few times the North American market got a vastly superior car than what we got here in Yurp, as the 1990 Euro mk 5 was infamously terrible.

[@autochatter]

Yeah from what I read, that gen Escort over your way lost to Opel and VW then.....Untill the Focus launched.

[@nolahahnshouse3389]

I only came here because I knew the Miata would be brought up at some point 😊

[@autochatter]

Lol! I still haven't done dedicated MX5 vids yet!

[@969thewhip]

I passed my road test in an 88 1/2 wagon with 5 speed.

[@autochatter]

My Mom couldn't drive a stick, so Mom and Dad had autos :( 😞 Friend tought me to drive a stick after I had my license for a few years.

[@pattyjay9999]

The 88 Escort GT was sweet back in the day I couldn’t afford it you know $3.35 an hour and all. I eventually bought a 94 escort GT, the pink one just for nostalgia sake In the early 2000s.

[@autochatter]

I remember that color!

[@pattyjay9999]

@@autochatter yep I called her pinky😜

[@autochatter]

@@pattyjay9999 I think Ford called it Coral 🪸

[@user-gw4rz7mk7q]

Mom had the 95? wagon. Only car I ever got a speeding in.😅

[@autochatter]

Makes the story more interesting when it happened in a Escort wagon!

[@darrenfox5883]

Bought, new, an ‘89 Escort GT 5 speed manual as my first new car. The car was relatively quick and fun to drive. It was the perfect first new car for a 25 year old kid!

[@autochatter]

That's cool. I was driving a 10 year old automatic Toyota truck then that was not even close to being relatively quick.

[@darrenfox5883]

Perhaps not quick; but the 20R motor you would have had in your truck was absolutely bulletproof!

[@autochatter]

@@darrenfox5883 Yes...What a overbuilt hunk of metal that was! The 22RE I had later in a 84 Celica was too.

[@darrenfox5883]

Both of those engines are part of the reason why today’s Toyota/Lexus GR V6 engines are arguably the best gasoline engines on the planet!

[@autochatter]

@@darrenfox5883 Preaching to the quior....I work at a Lexus Dealer!

[@tomtbi]

I built 1/32 scale model kit of an 82 Escort and 82 EXP.. both came out quite decently I think...

[@autochatter]

Prob worth somthing now as models of those haven't been made in years.

[@tomtbi]

@@autochatter Nope... I was lucky to locate these 2 kits since I don't believe they made too many Escort or EXP kits... I do believe I have seen a kit of the Probe though..

[@scottyg7284]

That fiesta xr2 pictured used a completely different to the one the narrative was talking about .

[@autochatter]

That wasn't a XR2? If so, I apologize. as we never got those over here....But I wouldn't mind having one.

[@ADF-fe7fv]

Sequels please!

[@autochatter]

Already started on it!

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

when Mercury used Capri as a name in the US it was recycled from a previous Lincoln model and cars being named after cities countries wasn't uncommon either for instance you have Chevy Malibu Cadillac Eldorado Seville Coupe and Bairritz convertible the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Chevrolet Monte Carlo Cadillac Seville Mercury Monterey Chrysler Newport Chrysler Sebring Dodge Daytona etc. though Malibu dates back to 1964 as a trim on the Chevelle

[@autochatter]

Interesting!

[@weegeemike]

One of the first truly disposable cars. Buy it, drive it, put gas in it, scrap it. You're doing too much if you start changing the oil and tires 😂 the Escort doesn't deserve it 😂😂

[@lelandbacon2731]

This guy should work for NPR or C-SPAN

[@autochatter]

I dont know if that's a compliment or not LOL. Both of those are great sleep aids to me!

[@anthonyrivera4735]

I think ford could've used the Mercury lynx to compete with European imports.

[@autochatter]

The marketing for Lynx seemed like Ford was trying to do that to a extent.

[@TheChill001]

sadly no, lol...that would've gone just as bad as the attempt of trying to sell ford of europe imports as a way to face off against BMW and Mercedes... the only european imports even comparable in size were I think the VW Jetta, a few peugeots, the BMW 3 series and I guess the renaults delivered by AMC... so only one of these was to be considered a higher end european import...

[@autochatter]

@TheChill001 You speak of Merkur? Did a vid on that attempt to woo BMW buyers. I don't think the Lynx had any better chance than Cadillac did with the Cimmeron...But the early commercials with the music by Vangelis (Blade Runner)....Seems to imply they were going for some kind of sophisticated buyer LOL.

[@GeeEm1313]

A friend of mine had a diesel, and it was junk.

[@autochatter]

I've never seen one or a Tempo with it. The take rate on diesel ones was so tiny.

[@Modeltnick]

I bought a 1982 3 door new. It was a terrible car that blew timing belts and cylinder heads about 30K miles. The flaw was in the distributor that was mounted on the end of the camshaft. It would seize and stop the cam from turning and would literally strip the teeth off if the timing belt. Then you would bend valves and require the head pulled. I had a rear coil spring break in two places, for no reason. Just poor quality.

[@autochatter]

Oh wow...I know later Fords had non interference engines in case the t belt broke, but I guess they didn't then.

[@Modeltnick]

@@autochatter It was a disappointing experience to own that car. I sold the car for $500.00 to a young couple with a newborn and the timing belt blew out a second time. I ended up paying for a rebuilt cylinder head and timing belt. There was a place near here who literally had Escort cylinder heads on the shelf ready to go. He would sell them on an exchange basis. I also had alternator and voltage regulator issues with that car. I was glad to see that car out of my life. I bought a Mazda 323 and it was great.

[@autochatter]

@Modeltnick The early 323s were great..The automatics were kind of weak but otherwise was a nice car.

[@Modeltnick]

@@autochatter Thanks for your response! Totally agree!

[@autochatter]

@Modeltnick No problem! Thanks for giving my little vid a view and commenting!

[@truebras]

The Ford Escort sold in North America was the furthest of European version possible. It was ugly compared to European version. It had a very outdated interior that looked back to 1970’s interior style. Also it was overweighted despite having a 1.9 L engine that made less power than 1.6 L European model. I was horrified because I used to own 1984 XR3 back in my country. Once I came to US, I was disappointed how Ford managed to make the GT so dull compared to European version.

[@csj9619]

65 HP is abysmal. You definately won't win any races driving one of those puppies. Not bad cars though.

[@autochatter]

It's true...But in their defense, all the other econoboxes then were not really any better.

[@averyparticularsetofskills]

Great to watch! 2nd Gen Vid Out Yet ⏱?! 😆

[@autochatter]

I'll start writing it this weekend. Thank You!

[@shaindaman13]

My first brand new car was a white 1990 Escort GT. Kindve a POS.