GTP Cool Wall: 1993-1997 Ford Probe
- Thread starter GranTurismo916
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- GTP_Leonidae_MFT
Wasn't Contour just a rebadged first gen Mondeo?
- 5,204
- Finland
Yes, it was.
- 34,949
- Indian Falls, NY
- slashfan7964
Yes.
I had the extreme displeasure of wrenching on a '99 Contour once and I threw the ratchet and said 🤬 this car. I didn't finish it. I let someone else do it because I was about to set it on fire.
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- Will1amC
- killvvill
Fun fact: in an article from Motor Trend about the new Miata: (paraphrasing from memory)
EDIT: Found it:
EDIT: Found it:
Definition of seriously uncool right there.
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- 34,949
- Indian Falls, NY
- slashfan7964
94-04 US Ford was probably their worst period. Easily.
Speaking to several other techs when I was working at a local shop, they all agreed that that period for Ford was some of their (sarcastically), "better designs". Most will tell you to stay away.
That being said, most American manufacturers in the 90s were producing some really true garbage, so Ford's not the only one that can take the blame. This is the period that ruined Fords reputation for reliability.
Speaking to several other techs when I was working at a local shop, they all agreed that that period for Ford was some of their (sarcastically), "better designs". Most will tell you to stay away.
That being said, most American manufacturers in the 90s were producing some really true garbage, so Ford's not the only one that can take the blame. This is the period that ruined Fords reputation for reliability.
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- GTP_Famine
That's odd, as Mazda was responsible for that bit too - which suggests that the Mazda PR team in the USA doesn't actually know what it's doing. I'd find that surprising.Fun fact: in an article from Motor Trend about the new Miata: (paraphrasing from memory)
Definition of seriously uncool right there.
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Well there aren't many left, but then they're 20 years old by now and Ford never sold many in the first place - the Mondeo came out around the same time, Ford sold vastly more of them, and there are barely any of those left either.
But from what I remember at the time, and what I can reference right now with some of the mags I have lying about, things were fairly positive.
Autocar summary from 95: "Ford's American-built answer to the [Vauxhall] Calibra is more fun but less polished*. Sweeter, cheaper and more comfortable 16v a better buy than V6".
Car summary from 94: "For: Arresting looks, silken V6. Against: Sharply embarrassing name."
Used car test in a classic mag from 2014: "The dashboard design is clean and crisp, and an unexpected air of quality pervades. The gear change is smooth and precise, and the engine revs to a heady 7700rpm with a keen yowl...the car rides smoothly, yet is taut, nimble and transparently positive through corners."
Realistically, I'm more inclined to trust the opinions of those who a) tested them new or b) has recently tested a top-notch example, than the apocryphal tales of someone who heard from someone who knew someone who bought a knackered 20-year old example and thought it was a bit crap.
The Probe only really had two significant faults - it had a ridiculous name, and it had the misfortune to be launched about a year or two before the European coupe market exploded with umpteen talented rivals - Alfa GTV, E36 3-Series, Fiat Coupe, fifth-gen Prelude, sixth-gen Celica, 406 Coupe, Hyundai Coupe, revised versions of the Calibra and Rover Tomcat, Nissan 200SX, Merc CLK etc.
I do find it amusing how poorly you rate 90s Fords though. In contrast to the States, Ford's European arm produced some of the best cars it ever made in that decade - the revised Fiesta, the Ka, the Mondeo, the Puma, the Focus - it's telling that the only real disappointing one was the Cougar, and notably that wasn't developed in Europe...
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- slashfan7964
I mostly decide my opinions on cars based on real world experiences with them and how they hold up rather than how they were when they were new. Off the showroom floor it's probably decent. The question is how long it stays that way in the hands of the average consumer, not someone who meticulously maintains it like it's a show piece.
My grandma had the last gen Cougar. That was just as junky. I know I'm not the only one in the states who looks down on 90s Fords. I hear it at mechanic shops, the tracks, hell it takes one look on a lot of FB's groups to see that many people from across the states don't like them either for all the reasons I listed. This car is one of the prime reasons I absolutely cannot stand new stuff. However it has gotten slightly better in recent years.
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- Beeblebrox_237
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All cars, if left to the devices of the average consumer, have a shelf life. Even old Mercs and Volvos that people deem indestructible will break down more often or rot away quicker if driven by an "average" person, than something that's been shown a bit of care.
A Probe is - or was - a fairly stylish, small coupe, probably bought not by people who pampered it for 20 years but by people who drove it around until the next more stylish thing came along (if I were being sexist here, I'd suggest it was probably young single women or middle-aged married women - Probe owners feel free to correct me if I've missed the demographic).
By basing your opinions of the Probe on knackered examples on their eighteenth owner, you're seeing the car in little better light than I am a supposedly indestructible F-Series owned by some people in New York state that seems to be in a permanent state of being fixed up...
I realised I forgot to finish my * on the previous post. I do slightly wonder how un-polished a Probe has to be to be less polished than a Calibra, but then European standards for such things, even in the 90s, were a bit higher than American ones...
- 31,707
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- Dennisch
There are 3 of these in my town, still chuffing around, and since my town isn't very big, less than 100k people, that says something about how these are build.
Side fact.
I went on vacation with a friend and his parents to Italy in one of these back in 1994. A dark blue metallic one.
The reaction it got from so many people. Absolutely futuristic at the time.
I can't make up my mind about it. It doesn't look bad, it's a lot of Mazda reliability underneath, thankfully at the time the name didn't really ruin it.
I'll have to abstain for now. I'm going to drive to one tomorrow to see what my reaction at that moment is.
Side fact.
I went on vacation with a friend and his parents to Italy in one of these back in 1994. A dark blue metallic one.
The reaction it got from so many people. Absolutely futuristic at the time.
I can't make up my mind about it. It doesn't look bad, it's a lot of Mazda reliability underneath, thankfully at the time the name didn't really ruin it.
I'll have to abstain for now. I'm going to drive to one tomorrow to see what my reaction at that moment is.
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- slashfan7964
Most of the ones I've worked on only had 2-3 owners if that. I can see what your saying though.
As far as the trucks go, the body rots around the drivetrain. That's pretty well known. If your refering to mine it's due to the fact we can't afford it right now, not because there is anythign wrong with it
- 27,387
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- NewAesthetic
- SlipZtrEm
I'm thinking a large part of this disconnect - and specifically, the overall positive UK reviews - has to do with different suspension tuning. I know from 15 years of reading Car/Evo that that area alone has been the reason for quite a few cars missing the mark once shipped over the pond (or, in the case of VW's and early Focii, being built in different factories to different specs).
Of course, I'm more likely to put weight in the opinions of people who are (relatively) unbiased, that review dozens of cars a year, over those of people that refuse to appreciate 350-some-odd degrees of the automotive spectrum.
Of course, I'm more likely to put weight in the opinions of people who are (relatively) unbiased, that review dozens of cars a year, over those of people that refuse to appreciate 350-some-odd degrees of the automotive spectrum.
INEEDNAWZZZ
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I was thinking that but, curiously, the European models were still assembled in America apparently. Makes the whole issue more confusing.
The Probe, to Europeans at least, stands out since it was an American market Ford which actually got sold here, as well as getting very few changes in the process and proper dealer perks. Their other option was the Explorer, which didn't have quite as much as appeal as the Probe, but even then, there are a fair amount still on the roads.
In my neck of the woods, I do still see the odd Probe dotted around. They don't tend to be in that bad shape either. They're a damn sight more common than a good chunk of the cars HFS mentioned as well. GTVs, Preludes and Fiat Coupes are just oddities that you see crop up now and then. Celicas and E36s are everywhere, mainly due to the amount their manufacturer's stamped out and sold. Finding a somewhat road worthy Calibra or a 200SX that hasn't been bent around a tree is a miracle in itself.
I'll stand by statement in saying that its uncool, but I think that it will earn its place in history at some point. Loads of cars that had a crappy reputation have gone on to be classics in their own way, and cool (even if it is ironically) to the general pop. As mentioned by others, the Probe's only real downfalls are the unfortunate name, which makes the silhouette of a suppository rather than a sleek coupe. It just needs time for the 90s-ness of it to become more of a chintzy piece of nostalgia that's passed, rather than something that's horrifically dated right now.
McLaren
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This being the drivetrain that needed - if I've read your thread correctly and have the right order - new suspension when first bought, replacement carbs on the I6, the swapped-in V8 needed replacing itself, and a rebuilt transmission a decade ago?
I mean, I'm not entirely clued up on trucks, but that sounds like quite a bit of preventative maintenance to me. I know someone with a Honda Insight not dissimilar to mine that's done over 300k miles on its original engine and gearbox in the space of 15 years. Being aluminium it's not on its second full restoration, either. Surely if a hybrid econobox can manage it, a big burly truck must be able to survive without entire components of the drivetrain being replaced?
Alternatively, I could just be being facetious to illustrate my point
The Probe might not have been a high point in Ford's output, but perhaps judging a fairly cheap car on what it's like 20 years down the line isn't the fairest way of going about it?And of course, regardless of how good it was or how unreliable it is, it all pales into insignificance because Ford called it Probe.
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- slashfan7964
This being the drivetrain that needed - if I've read your thread correctly and have the right order - new suspension when first bought, replacement carbs on the I6, the swapped-in V8 needed replacing itself, and a rebuilt transmission a decade ago?
I mean, I'm not entirely clued up on trucks, but that sounds like quite a bit of preventative maintenance to me. I know someone with a Honda Insight not dissimilar to mine that's done over 300k miles on its original engine and gearbox in the space of 15 years. Being aluminium it's not on its second full restoration, either. Surely if a hybrid econobox can manage it, a big burly truck must be able to survive without entire components of the drivetrain being replaced?
Too keep this from going too off-topic; I'll PM you.
Alternatively, I could just be being facetious to illustrate my point
And of course, regardless of how good it was or how unreliable it is, it all pales into insignificance because Ford called it Probe.
Buttttttttttttttttttttttttt. I definitely see where you're going with this. It's definitely not a high point in my book given how beefy a lot of the older cars were (though the Fox platform gave birth to some junk too).
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- GTP_RogerTheHors
The design is dated but beautiful nonetheless.
Ford Probe.
Ford Probe.
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- ThrasherDBS
- ThrasherDBS
Knowing that Ford originally intended for this to replace the Mustang tosses this into the uncool category for me.
Shame. It would've been a meh otherwise.
Shame. It would've been a meh otherwise.
- 5,551
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- GTP_RogerTheHors
The moment they stop making South Park, this will become sub zero.
