silvrsvt Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 http://autoweek.com/article/classic-cars/9-ford-sedans-america-never-got?utm_source=DailyDrive20150728&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=headline-center&utm_content=body&utm_campaign=awdailydrive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 That was kind of fun. Who knew that Ford bought the rights to the Jeep in Brazil a few decades before buying the rights to build a Jeep type vehicle in Brazil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredvon4 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 That was fun thanks I was stationed with the Army in Germany in the mid 70s I bought a GI special (under $500) a used Taunus with a V4 engine and column shift. I always thought they screwed up the rear end gearing because going 70mph she was screaming high RPM...I did not know better as was my first European car and I was a very young ignorant GI My wife finally came to Germany a month later and one day she shifted it into a gear that bogged down the car... I thought she did something wrong It was then that I learned there was such a thing as 4 on the tree.... every column shift I drove in the USA was "3 on the tree" Once I found high gear she drove at a much more reasonable RPM Autobahn speeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) Fun article but I would say that they were too focused on the 70s and early 80s. I would have included a few other Ford sedans from later 80s and 1990s. They choose the TC Taunus but real European Ford fans all know the next 2 generation (Mk4 and Mk5 Cortina) were the "archetype" of the Taunus/Cortina line. It was also sold in a lot more countries around the world. The choice of XD-XF Fairmont was ok but Fairmont is really just an upper trim level of the Falcon. I would have gone with the late 1980s/early 1990s EA-ED series Falcon. Much better looking car in my opinion. The Mk1 Meteor/Laser sedan was a just an ok car. The model did not hit its stride until the 2nd gen in 1985. The US did get this car as Mazda 323, and the hatchback and wagon version were sold as Mercury Tracer; although sadly, we never got the 3 door TX3 and TX3 Turbo version. And I think the article was rendered worthless by omitting the best Ford sedan not sold in the US... Sierra Cosworth 4x4. The follow up to the whale-tail Sierra Cosworth (which was a hatchback), the 4WD sedan was the ultimate Ford performance sedan. Edited July 28, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Yes, it's a coupe, not a sedan, but I think the Taunus GT was pretty sharp looking: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Here are my nominations for "I'm glad Ford left this one overseas" category: 1981-1991 Ford Del Rey (Brazil) - A quick and dirty facelift of the Corcel, which was based on Renault 12 from the early 1970s. Ford inherited the Corcel when it took over the Wilys operation in Brazil (which had sold a number of Renault based cars as the article in the OP noted). Brazil was stuck in a parallel universe throughout the 1980s due to military rule and isolationist Govt policies and Ford was barely interested in the market. By 1991, the Del Rey was badly out of date. ~1988(?)~1993 Ford Festiva (Japan/Taiwan) - The Festiva hatchback was kind of goofy looking but not half bad car. Mazda had designed it for Ford to sell in Japan as a Ford "exclusive" model during that time when Ford Japan was basically a subsidiary of Mazda. (That generation of Mazda 121 was in fact not sold in Japan - but was available overseas). The sedan, which was sold in Japan and Taiwan only, is... ugh... homely looking. Mazda affiliate Kia took the Festiva even further with a wagon and pickup version. In fact, the car is still in production in Iran. 1994-98 Ford Scorpio (Europe) - The Mk2 Scorpio ditched its sleek hatchback and gained some weird retro looks. It's kind of a disaster... and the last RWD sedan Ford will sell in Europe for a while. 1989-92 Ford Corsair - The Button Plan wrecked havoc with Ford and GM in Australia forcing them to sell rebadged Nissan and Toyota models. This Govt sponsored plan was intended to boost the production volume locally assembled cars to achieve economy of scale by artificially limiting the number of models allowed to be manufactured (yes, please roll your eye...). So in effect, Ford was forced into a shotgun marriage with Nissan (and GM with Toyota) and thus, the Corsair... a rebadged Nissan Bluebird (GM sold Holden Nova and Apollo, rebadged Corolla and Camry, respectively). Corsair not a terrible car per se but if Ford had any say, it probably would have continued with Mazda 626-based Telstar, which had sold much better. It's on my list of terrible Ford sedans because of the politics and misguided Govt policy. The Button Plan end up decimating Ford and GM's ability to compete with Toyota in small and midsize cars in the remainder of 1990 and into the 2000s. Edited July 29, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I picked this little baby up two weeks ago for a small price, it's a 1992 5.0 v8 Fairmont (Falcon) For the price and age it's in pretty good shape and sounds great with a 2 1/2 " sports exhaust.. I know a lot of you will ess some similarity to Taurus of that era, not surprising since Ford likes divisions to share styling cues... Edited July 29, 2015 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 1994-98 Ford Scorpio (Europe) - The Mk2 Scorpio ditched its sleek hatchback and gained some weird retro looks. It's kind of a disaster... and the last RWD sedan Ford will sell in Europe for a while. I forgot how much of a mess the mid to late 1990s styling wise Ford was in...till I saw this. I think Ford screwed up nearly everything post 1994 that it styled till the early 2000s. The New Edge cars haven't aged that well either. Even the F-150 at the time was derided for being too rounded, even though IMO it didn't look too bad. The 2002 Explorer and 2005 Mustang was the start of a styling Renaissance at Ford..even though they had a couple balks after that (500/Taurus styling and the 2008 Focus restyle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think the first Focus has aged quite well--and I'd also suggest that it launched the trend of side sculpting that is still current. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 jpd80..........mmmmmmmmmmmm.....sheepskins...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think the first Focus has aged quite well--and I'd also suggest that it launched the trend of side sculpting that is still current. Out of all the New Edge cars (Mustang, Capri, lesser extent Taurus and Contour) it was the best looking out of the bunch, but it "looks" old now IMO to me, esp from the front. The side is ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think it didn't help that the jump to the MK3 Focus was so dramatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 jpd80..........mmmmmmmmmmmm.....sheepskins...... Uh-oh.....Dean's having flashbacks........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 memories of old girlfriends.....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 memories of old girlfriends.....lol Ewe are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy................ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think it didn't help that the jump to the MK3 Focus was so dramatic. The US Focus? Or the 2012 model? The 2005 restyle was a snoozefest though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 The US Focus? Or the 2012 model? The 2005 restyle was a snoozefest though US...but then again the ROW MK2 wasn't anything to write home about in the looks dept either (IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) No it wasn't... the ROW MK2 was of a piece with the Mondeo (which the Fusion was designed to resemble), and the Five Hundred: And it would've gotten the same bland-tastic front end if Ford hadn't 1) done the 427 concept and 2) applied the 427 concept face to the Fusion when there was widespread apathy to the Fusion's first face. Edited July 29, 2015 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 memories of old girlfriends.....lol Don't give away the secret! What we do in New Zealand stays in New Zealand I picked this little baby up two weeks ago for a small price, it's a 1992 5.0 v8 Fairmont (Falcon) For the price and age it's in pretty good shape and sounds great with a 2 1/2 " sports exhaust.. I know a lot of you will ess some similarity to Taurus of that era, not surprising since Ford likes divisions to share styling cues... Nice! My dad had an EA-II with 3.9 I6... still one of my favorite car from that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StangBang Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) It was always interesting to me why the domestic manufacturers in the 1970's chose sawed off two door cars to market as entry level subcompacts when there were roomy and practical sedans like the Cortina and Taunus offered in Europe which looked like handsome scaled down versions of larger Ford sedans. It always seemed ridiculous to me young families would buy the 2-door subcompacts and struggle with getting the kids in the back seat. It was not even until the late 70's when the Dodge Omni, Plymouth Horizon and Chevy Chevette 4-door that there were family oriented subcompact cars. It took Ford until the 1981 Escort to catch up with rear doors for the hatchback and wagon models. Thanks to the success of the VW Rabbit, Honda Civic and Accord, and Toyota Corollas the domestic manufacturers finally did start offering subcompacts in popular import bodystyles. Of course in the early 70's gas was cheap and you could make do with a Maverick four door which was not really that much more in price than a Pinto. Edited July 30, 2015 by StangBang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 That was my bestfriends excuse when the husband wanted to buy a Mustang, "Well where will the kids go" I'm like "Uh, in the back seat?". "But how will they get back there, its uncomfortable to get back in there"... I'm like "OH I remember the 80s, when my parents had a Benz Coupe, Tbird, Bmw coupe and I had no issues getting in and out, get over it, not like your children are tall in any way". So the oldest one was at war because she didnt want to ride in the back, so one day we left her in the driveway....hilarious to see her running behind the Mustang, "Don't leave me !!" She quickly crawled into the Mustang... LOL I sssoooo wished Ford would make a Lincoln Stang, that way I can do the same thing I did back in school...put the seat all the way back, "OH I'm sorry, no one can fit in the back seat, buh bye" Tired of having people jump into my car then critisize my driving which they say is suicidal...I call it "Passionate' driving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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