GTP Cool Wall: 1993-1997 Ford Probe

[Tornado]

At least it isn't a Beretta.

, first gen Taurus and a few others just make me wanna bitch slap Ford in the face for being straight up dumb.

That's interesting, because if it wasn't for the first (and fundamentally identical second) generation Taurus Ford would have gone out of business a decade before you were born.

Wasn't Contour just a rebadged first gen Mondeo?

Yes, and other than being hopelessly mismatched for the American market there wasn't much of anything wrong with it.

 

[Slash]

At least it isn't a Beretta.


That's interesting, because if it wasn't for the first (and fundamentally identical second) generation Taurus Ford would have gone out of business a decade before you were born.


Yes, and other than being hopelessly mismatched for the American market there wasn't much of anything wrong with it.

I was refering the 90s ones; I got confused. The second gen was what I was getting at.

 

[Tornado]

The second generation was the first generation with a new interior and smoother bodywork.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Huh, I recalled right.. It's GT variant *did* come with a Mazda F2T 2.2l turbo motor that put out (don't hold your breath) 145bhp. Wow..

 

[Slash]

The second generation was the first generation with a new interior and smoother bodywork.

That don't make it any better.

 

[Tyger]

Two points that aren't likely to sway the votes either way:

1. In the UK some Capri owners clubs inexplicably also welcome Probe owners

2. I also think the Cougar is a future classic. In Europe anyway. It's all about the context.

 

[Dennisch]

2. I also think the Cougar is a future classic. In Europe anyway. It's all about the context.

This?

 

[Slash]

This?

I remember riding in my Grandmas.

And breaking down.

A lot.

 

[Famine]

The Cougar V6 is a fantastic car... so long as you stop looking at it when you get to the back of the doors.

And if you don't mind the Duratec V6 in that particular application (Mondeo X too) being significantly worse than the Mazda KL it replaced despite papering the same headline power and torque figures.

And if you're not particularly a fan of the fact it really is a Mondeo underneath with a nasty-ass solid axle. And weighs 1.4 tons.

 

[Dennisch]

And it rots twice as hard as the Mondeo they butchered for it.

 

[Danny]

The Cougar V6 is a fantastic car... so long as you stop looking at it when you get to the back of the doors.

It's aged very nicely, but the Puma always made it look incredibly bloated.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Puma over Cougar, definitely.

 

[Tornado]

That don't make it any better.

The second generation also sold hundreds of thousands of copies every year and was immediately held up as the superior car when Ford botched the oval Taurus in 1996.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

One thing the Cougar has going for it is that it came out in 1998.

This?

When you think about it, the styling on those was at least 5 years ahead of its time (it came out in 1998). It sadly has Ford's ovoid design language but it's surprisingly chiseled in a way that foreshadowed the next trend in automotive styling.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Looks OK, but the performance is average. Uncool

 

[GTRacer22]

Not even the purple paint saves the car from its name. Uncool.

 

[mustang fanatic]

Yeaaaah, no.

Uncool.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Uncool just from the name alone but these actually make for decent buying as used cars. I'm pretty sure these didn't come with Mazda's four-wheel-steering system so you're already saving yourself a lot of reliability hassles from the get-go. And the engines got along decently as well.

The Probe would have looked more interesting back when it was released but I reckon the MX-6 has aged a bit more gracefully.

 

[Kent]

Only uncool to car guys.

Maybe to Europeans but I assure you, no one besides the biggest Ford fan boys actually like this car in the US. I know that's hard to believe coming from someone like me but I kid you not, this car is seriously a laughing stock for pretty much all Americans, not just the car guys.

Though I will admit I'm confused as to how you'd assume car people say it is uncool when most of the GTP (who are pretty much all car people) think everyday fwd fords are cool.

Either you let bias slip in far too much or America got a horrible deal with Fords in the 90s/00s, because that was a pretty good time for Ford in Europe.

Indeed, we did get a bad deal with Ford in the '90s.

Truth be told, I can't blame most people here. The cool wall is very often a place where we judge how cool a car is even though most of us have never driven it... This is the very same case (I hope) in that I hope the "cool" votes are coming from people who never had the chance to deal with a run of the mill probe (not some fixed up special edition either).

I for one, am speaking from experience... The Probe was not cool.

 

[niky]

The transmissions are horrible, slow shifting, slushy, and extremely unreliable (I've seen one slip 1st and 2nd under 27k miles with light driving)

If you're talking the automatics, yes. The manuals were pretty good. At least better than the "upgraded" one in later Proteges that ate synchros.

as are the engines (had one come into the school shop with a spun main bearing at 78k).

Which engine? The KL, not likely. If it's the FS, it's possible... but only if the owner absolutely refused to check his oil.

Fuel pump and filter issues galore

That's quite believable.

As for the rest... are you looking at these cars brand new, or as third- or fourth-owner cars that haven't particularly been cared for?

-

Also:

Seriously Uncool. Just a rebadged MX6.

 

[homeforsummer]

When you think about it, the styling on those was at least 5 years ahead of its time (it came out in 1998). It sadly has Ford's ovoid design language but it's surprisingly chiseled in a way that foreshadowed the next trend in automotive styling.

I'd say five years ahead of its time was being generous.

What it really looks like is that Ford in America wanted to design a Probe replacement and did so along the lines of other, curvier Fords from that decade. Then they got wind of the new Focus coming out (in I believe the same year, in Europe) and hastily decided to apply the edgier look to the coupe.

As such, it doesn't really gel. There's a lot there for no other reason than styling - where lines on a Puma flow around the car and into each other, the Cougar has weird details like that pointless V-crease in the bonnet or all the slashes in the sills. The Probe was probably the more successful design; it wasn't anything other than a 1990s Ford coupe.

Probably worth noting that the Fiat Coupe had already beaten them to the "chiselled" look in 1995. That was penned by... Chris Bangle.

Tell you what the Cougar does have going for it though: You can find V6 ones for under £500.

 

[TheCracker]

Two words: Gareth. Cheeseman. SU.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

I'd say cool as they're getting quite rare now, they'll have a following from enthusiasts and they'll probably become classics in the future. And pop up headlights.

 

[Stotty]

It's called 'Probe'... uncool

 

[axletramp]

A name to make your eyes water and the styling from a bad period of Ford design. Had a brief period at launch when ex-Capri owners were interested, but other than that they've never been cool in an way. SU.

Gareth Cheeseman owned one. Says it all really (mild language warning)...



EDIT: Tree'd

Two words: Gareth. Cheeseman. SU.

 

[Liquid]

Car summary from 94: "For: Arresting looks, silken V6. Against: Sharply embarrassing name."

Sums it up for me. And as Famine mentioned, the ire this car has only bothers car guys.

Cool

 

[Famine]

Maybe to Europeans but I assure you, no one besides the biggest Ford fan boys actually like this car in the US. I know that's hard to believe coming from someone like me but I kid you not, this car is seriously a laughing stock for pretty much all Americans, not just the car guys.

I trust that you see the inherent flaw of when I say only car guys find this uncool you, as a car guy, are telling me why this is uncool...

Regular people care so little about cars that they're actively ignorant of them. One of my ex-girlfriends saw a Probe and I nearly crashed with laughter when she said "What kind of Ferrari is that?". Now, you or I might think that's absolutely ridiculous and also think that anyone who buys or owns a Ford Probe thinking at any point that it looks like a Ferrari is thoroughly deluded - but we're car guys. Ordinary people are that clueless about cars that they might think a car they've never seen before or heard of is actually a type of car that they have heard of - in this instance a Ford Probe and a Ferrari.

She followed that up with "Oh, is it one of those Toyota MR things?".

Though I will admit I'm confused as to how you'd assume car people say it is uncool when most of the GTP (who are pretty much all car people) think everyday fwd fords are cool.

Amongst other things, the Probe is very much not an everyday FWD Ford. Even when they were actually on sale, you never saw them.

As for thinking that everyday FWD Fords are cool... some might say that the Focus ST/RS, Fiesta ST, Mondeo ST, XR2/i, XR4/i and SportKa are cool, but the sea of regular Fords - Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo, EcoSport, B-Max, C-Max, S-Max, Galaxy? Nah. More competent and enjoyable than most similarly-priced rivals, certainly - and even many higher-priced ones - but cool? Nah.

 

[synchromesh]

Wow, Slash really hates this thing.

It's not cool. However, at least the five speed is available, unlike most Murcurys.
Uncool at best.

 

[Cano]

I actually like the styling, but they aren't cool in the slightest.

This.

 

[Slash]

If you're talking the automatics, yes. The manuals were pretty good. At least better than the "upgraded" one in later Proteges that ate synchros.



Which engine? The KL, not likely. If it's the FS, it's possible... but only if the owner absolutely refused to check his oil.



That's quite believable.

As for the rest... are you looking at these cars brand new, or as third- or fourth-owner cars that haven't particularly been cared for?

-

Also:

Seriously Uncool. Just a rebadged MX6.

Yeah I was referring to the autos. I don't really have any experience with the manuals to comment on one, but finding a manual is kinda rare anyways. As far as the engine, not sure what it was. Kid ended up scrapping the car.

None are brand new now, most were at least on their second owners. So I kinda see what your saying but even still with that low miles it's kinda making me raise an eyebrow.