MW 1983 Ford LTD Road Test | Retro Review

[@mitch4527]

John Davis is a national treasure.

[@faznout]

He's the type of person who should be getting a Kennedy Center Honor award or something of the sort.

[@mattt198654321]

Does anyone else miss cars like this? Comfortable seats, column shifter, soft ride that doesn't rattle your fillings trying to be "sporty". I do, and I'm not even that old!

[@GeeEm1313]

No.

[@67tomcat]

I miss "cars" - the fact that most everything today is a truck or CUV.

[@new2000car]

This was a gussied up fairmont. Fortunately, the fairmont was a very good car. These were quality built cars.

[@mkshffr4936]

Yes, that is why I drive a 91 Colony Park. I used to have a Fairmont with I-6. Wish I still did.

[@Doobie1975]

I do, I just wish they came with more power, I'm 43 and seeing these cars take me back to my younger years.

[@akr01364]

"The dash looks American expensive as plastic wood abounds." Perfect.

[@georgeburns7251]

I had the Mercury version of this. I donated to the Good Will still running with 270k miles on it. Best car I ever owned and I’ve owned a lot of cars.

[@ArthurIdis-c7k]

It's a collector's item now.😅

[@glx68]

Yes it was a good reliable car. One question Sir. What an engine did it have; the 2.3 litre 4-cylinder, the 3.3 litre inline six or the 3.8 litre V6?

[@ksigurdsen034482]

I owned a 1984 model with the 3.8L V-6 a AOD transmission for 21 years. The car was 7 years old when I bought it. It was very reliable and got excellent mileage on the highway.

[@jamesfrench7299]

The quad square headlights and fuel figures sold it to me.

[@ericbritton9346]

This is the coolest Ford LTD ever. Back in 1987, Ms. Robertson had a 1985 model with a quiet running V6 under the hood. I think it was a brougham model because it was fully loaded. I was 7 years old when I see her drive up in the driveway waving at me and give me some fruit. She had it untill her passing in 2008 and her daughter possessed it. I wanted to buy it but she didn't want to sell it. That, she ran that car rugged until it gave out on her. I was sad to see it go out like that.

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Very beautiful this Ford LTD.Solid, confortable and nice car. Police cars from 1980s

[@303nitzubishi4]

Was the L6 offered after 82? I thought it was a total switch to the Essex in 83. I'm not a Ford guy at all but I think the variations of the Fox platform were great bridges between the bloated 70s designs and the Taurus. Much smoother transition than all the quality issues GM had with the X & J cars. I've never seen a 4cyl Fairmont/Granada/LTD but I'm guessing they were only sold at low elevations. Here at altitude the dealers probably all ordered the 6cyl.

[@EskieWolf]

The 3.3 I-6 was offered on the LTD (and Marquis) for 1983, which was also the final year for the Fairmont and Zephyr.

[@salazmiguel5542]

In México was sold as ford Elite with a carburated 302 V8.

[@daviddaigle2419]

Three years later the Ford Taurus came out and the Ltd was gone ,

[@brenthatesashley]

For 1986 Ford built both the Taurus and the LTD. My family had an 86 Wagon.

[@williamegler8771]

I remember our local Ford dealership running an ad in the local paper on Sunday offering sedans and wagons, fully equipped, both for an identical price. I think it was $12,500. When you drove by the dealership you would see rows of them painted red white blue or silver and they sold by the truckload!

[@b3stanga697]

I remember seeing them for $9999

[@ljmorris6496]

Man, these cars were everywhere by '85. Please Ford give us another all-around Mustang based sedan...

[@jeffbranch8072]

Careful what you wish for. 😉

[@Doobie1975]

Were the V6's far more common on these cars?

[@Liplip40]

For sure.

[@2packs4sure]

My mom had an exact clone of that car except hers had the V6,, it was a very good car..

[@weegeemike]

This LTD was the first modern Ford product to wear the Blue Oval on its grille, previously Ford vehicles had "FORD" spelled out in block letters and the Blue Oval was used exclusively as the corporate logo until this car came out.

[@Doobie1975]

Actually it was the 1982 Ford Escort that wore the modern Ford logo.

[@EskieWolf]

@@Doobie1975 don't forget the '82 Granada, Mustang, and F-150 that had the oval on the grille. The Fairmont and Thunderbird didn't have them.

[@manthony225]

​@@EskieWolfThe Mustang didn't get the Ford oval until 83

[@RaymondHaley-lv2mo]

The baby Ltd's were cute and fun to drive ❤😅

[@BigjohnZ06]

The 1983 Ford LTD had a open door dinger that sounds similar to some early 2000’s- 2020 General Motors vehicles.

[@jeffbranch8072]

Ford was a head of GM again. Even the current GM HQ was built by Ford. 😆

[@Andrew-bb3lc]

@@jeffbranch8072GM has been ahead of Ford since the late 20s/early 30s. Get real.

[@Pisti846]

Of all the Fairmont sedan/wagon variants I think the 81/82 Mercury Cougar versions were the nicest looking with the nicest interiors. Too bad the reviewers hates chrome. He must love todays blob-mobiles.

[@emeyer6963]

We had a 1982 Cougar in my family from new and I liked the look of it with it's woodgrain vinyl and cream color paint.My Dad hated it and went with a Camry V6 LE in 1989.Never went back to an American car again.

[@5610winston]

i call my 2023 Crosstrek The Easter Egg, though to be honest, it looks more like a jelly bean. I do like the car and the looks, though.

[@trainglen22]

I would love to have a Ford LTD LX.

[@dalewilliams2063]

That was the best combination. Power and handling in the practice 4 door Sedan.

[@sutherlandA1]

I assume the Ltd has the same suspension as the earlier Granada station wagon if that nosedive and wallowing in the brake test is anything to go by

[@LOGICNREALITY]

It's a fox body

[@emeyer6963]

Full marshmallow at every corner.

[@ramonlevine8012]

In 1984 and 1985 Ford also offered the LTD with the 302 H.O. engine from the Mustang G.T. It also had suspension and interior enhancements. Not too many Ford people knew about it. I had a 1984. It was a nice car.

[@ArthurIdis-c7k]

Who put the banana in the tailpipe? Yep....this was the car it happened to in "Beverly Hills Cop".

[@NewEraChi]

😂

[@ericbritton9346]

Classic!

[@ArthurIdis-c7k]

@@ericbritton9346 40 years man. Where does the time go...???

[@ericbritton9346]

@@ArthurIdis-c7k We're getting old.

[@socalltd]

LOOK MAN, WE AINT FALLING FOR NO BANANANA IN THE TAILPIPE!

[@drewpeters-f6u]

mom & dad had 83 3.3 inline 6 gd car. me had 86 3.8 V6 gd auto.great memories in both.

[@Rayrard]

I thought he was going to go with the "this car is no sportscar but certainly more nimble than some of it's buyers" for a second

[@tivodvr7276]

Ahhh that Ford warning chime still hasn't changed much since 1985!

[@donberry7657]

I had one. It was a nice ride.

[@paulyokoyama7162]

The suspension had no anti dive or anti squat properties whatsoever.

[@mikep.5517]

...or damping either. That front- and rear-end oscillation after the braking test tho...

[@Trance88]

@@mikep.5517 Yeah, it looked like the body was sitting on a waterbed.

[@glx68]

What's the point? I think this was 'car enough' back in the 80's for most of us. Quiet, roomy, safe combined with a good mileage!🎉

[@jeffbranch8072]

The Fox ***platform*** ("body" was a GM term, NEVER used at Ford) was used on so many cars like the Falcon platform it replaced: Fairmont/Zephyr, LTD/Marquis, Thunderbird/Cougar, stretched for Mark VI/Mark VII, shortened for Mustang/Capri. Today maybe the "C2" platform is used as much.

[@lanceadcox2376]

It irritates me to no end when people refer to it as the “Fox body”….. always Fox platform. GM had the “(alphabet) body”.

[@jeffbranch8072]

@@lanceadcox2376 and Chrysler also used the (letter)-body scheme similar to GM, but that was not an industry standard. Now even GM uses platform names (with Greek letters). Combined with the platform (i.e. Fox, Panther) Ford also had "tophat" referring to the upper body going back to Model T days, so technically it was a "Mustang tophat mounted on a shortened Fox platform". Ford still uses platform and tophat to this day.

[@twomustangs]

I inherited an '83 Crown Victoria from my grandfather. Big RWD V8 sedan. I didn't even know they made this little guy.

[@davidallen5776]

...And at this time the biggest Ford became the Crown Vic!

[@joelakers410]

my favorite ford

[@MrHeem94]

The last thing you wanted in one of these was the 4cyl. Yuck.

[@Tennesseestorm76]

The inline 6 was the engine to have.

[@glx68]

Okay same HP but more torque beginning at low rpm. Also quiet and VERY reliable!😊

[@nicholasrice6933]

Never knew you could get a 4 cylinder...

[@arthurcrunden6107]

16 seconds 0-60 wow!

[@Josh-kx1vv]

I certainly do and in some cases simple to work on for some people.

[@allenkranawetter9482]

Back in the 1990s I had one it was a white wagon

[@nicholasrice6933]

Imagine 5 passenger acceleration.

[@FitzArias]

These were nice but not well liked, as you don't see any on the road today. The 4 cylinder engine was only there to make the mpg requirements. To me the car was a bit large for such a tiny engine. It was an attractive machine.

[@exxusdrugstore300]

1:30 "...combines a soft, boulevard ride with competent handling" as it leans over like a bass boat and rebounds 5 times lol.

[@deltaboy767]

Ah yes, only American car makers of the early 80s would put a 4 cylinder in a 3,500lb car. And expect it to perform well.

[@06emglobal]

That was a very good car …

[@johnnymason2460]

For me, the 1983-1986 Ford LTD/Mercury Marquis was a better family car than the 1981-1982 Granada/Cougar predecessors. I would love to have an LTD LX sedan. Otherwise, a wagon would be preferable.

[@b3stanga697]

I had one. Not a bad car, not a great car. Paint sucked, the heat sucked, and occasionally the engine ran like shit for no reason. A lot of luxury for short $$$

[@jasoncarpp7742]

I remember this version of the Ford LTD.

[@noelmcclintock2825]

hated that sqeaky dash. how could they not know

[@NoName-ik2du]

3:21 - I've never been in one of these small LTDs, but I can't possibly imagine this car having room for _any_ big adults. I owned a 1990 LTD Crown Victoria, and it was infuriatingly tiny inside. I owned that car for about five months and was ecstatic when it blew a head gasket and went to the junkyard. Went back to driving my 1977 LTD with fabulous interior room.

[@twoeightythreez]

Its too bad they didn't test a manual transmission version

[@ryanhowell4492]

cool

[@AaronGranda-g5r]

Duh john its a fox body fairmont! Say it!

[@Trance88]

16 second 0-60mph is hilariously slow by todays standards. You'd be driven off to the shoulder trying to get on the freeway with everyone doing 80-90mph in a 70.

[@ljmorris6496]

I've driven many cars from that time period , many that were slow but did cruise at 70-90 mph once going..

[@manthony225]

It was slow then.

[@althunder4269]

The pre-downsized ones were far better. I never cared for these ones.

[@BlueShift3D]

The tires on this LTD are way too thin. The handling looks like crap and the acceleration is a joke. C'mon Ford.

[@P00katube]

This was a poorly planned downgrade for a legendary Ford nameplate, nothing more than a rebadged Fairmont.

[@ironinquisitor3656]

It was pretty much just a placeholder until the Taurus and Sable came out.

[@maxr4448]

3,100 pounds LOL

[@paulpark1170]

The malaise years. Ugly duckling at its height. Almost as bad as the K cars.

[@jameshammond680]

This review was a joke, right? What a peice of crap.

[@mattmaverick703]

Most definitely. The Taurus from the same year was much much better plus it was brand new in 83 alongside the Thunderbirds and Tempos which all made this old looking box look a decade older

[@tyo8223]

The Taurus didn't come out until 1986

[@mattmaverick703]

@@tyo8223 actually 1985 my bad

[@carlochapelle9331]

Also 16 seconds to get to 60 mph? That’s like “Any Day Now”.

[@Paul1958R]

@@mattmaverick703 This Fox chassis LTD/Marquis came out in the fall of 82 as an 83 model. The new FWD Tempo/Topaz came out in the fall of 83 as an 84 model. The new Taurus/Sable went on sale the day after Christmas 1985 (originally targeted for Oct 1985) as a 1986 model.

[@X69x69oooo]

Trump 24 Make Americans cars great again Just skip 10s, 00s 90s, 80s and 70s