I'm still not convinced that the 1981 to 1985 Escorts fall into this ex-owner's comments, but he really got stung with a bad 1987 Escort: http://www.tgrigsby.com/views/mystory.htm
Wow, sorry to hear of his misfortune. Back in the late 1980s, my aunt (my uncles wife) had a 1986 1/2 Ford Escort 2dr. It was red and was a nice looking little car. It was the first one with the "big" headlights. I remember that hers was a very tough little car, but I think she did eventually have that head issue. The only other thing is that she had to have her windshield replaced in 1992 when her brother punched it with his fist when he got angry at her. I think she ended up getting a 1985 Cutlass Supreme that belonged to a old school teacher.. it had 70K, but started falling apart around 90K. Now she has a 2002 GMC Yukon and a 1993 Toyota Camry with 300K. I have a co-worker that will ONLY drive 1980s Escorts. She will admit that she has had countless problems with them, but thats all she will drive. She loves them! She had a 1987 Escort GT 3-dr hatchback that developed a headgasket problem. Now she has a 1988 Escort 5-dr hatchback. I remember back in early 1989 we had a neighbor that bought a BRAND new 1989 Escort 5-dr hatchback. It was the top of the line model. It was black with gray. I remember that it was a very nice looking car for its time. I still think they have nice styling, despite that style being around for years. I think that 1981 was the first year and that same basic style went until 1990? We had a neighbor in 1988 that had a 1984 Escort wagon! I em pretty sure it had the Squire option. I remember it was white w/woodgrain and loaded! Can anyone verify if the Escort had the Squire option? I am thinking it did, because hers had it, unless she had it added on there. Ironically, she also had a 1981 Escort 3-dr hatchback! PLAIN, PLAIN, PLAIN! No A/C, 4-speed, NO RADIO, etc!
Rev found this 1981 car: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/car/459556182.html And another member found one from Texas (1983) And this is a pretty complete history: http://libraryoflibrary.com/E_n_c_p_d_Ford_Escort_%28North_America%29.html
As a 1984 escort survivor, I definitely can commiserate with that guy - I bought it in 1990 with around 50k miles on the clock, and had problem after problem with it (mostly things like the radiator, water pump, rear main seal was leaking, etc. - it also had a valve guide issue and smoked like crazy at times) - no fun! (esp. for a poor college student - I was making enough to drive it and save for school, but not enough to constantly be repairing things!) Definitely soured me towards Fords in general, though...
I was thinking of the 120 HP 1983 model. I might take a better look at the Mercury Lynx models, now. Thanks for the info.
They(Ford) must have listened,the '91-96 escorts have a really good reputation among repair shops.Most shops agree that they are one of Fords better built cars and my '94(so far)has been a good little car.Those early cars were bad though,my girlfriend in HS had an 87 GT and sure enough,we blew the head gasket,cracked the head 2 days after we bought it.
I helped out a neighbour yesterday with her Chevy Lumina (1994) van Front Wheel Drive. It reminded me of my oath to never own an FWD car. I never thought that the Escort was an FWD, until your offer reminded me of my mental note to check if it was. I really thought it was RWD, for some reason. Anyway, many thanks, but I'll keep looking for another Fairmont.
Not yet, I want to hang a minty candy cane on my rear view mirror before Christmas, THIS YEAR!!! But I'll probably be asking you next summer.
