I found this article that reminded me of my first visit to the USA:
http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/06/mercury-lynx.html

It's about the Mercury Lynx (the Ford Escort's twin). Those are probably the most underrated American cars. I've driven a Lynx when I was in the USA and it was nowhere near as bad as people claim. Yep, it was slow (compared to most other US cars), but not as slow as some European hatchbacks from the 80's. Its handling was better than that of the same era European Ford Escort Mk 3/4 that I've also driven. Besides, it had stronger sheet metal than the European model, known for being a rust bucket. It's true that its body looked very much like the European Escort's one but apart from that it was all-American - larger bumpers (a lot safer and stronger than the thin ones on the German Escort), a chrome grille, etc. I don't think it deserves its bad reputation. I guess it was hated by most people because their previous cars were larger and more comfortable models and they weren't used to econoboxes like we are in the EU.  ;)

While the Escort was more popular than the Lynx, I prefer the look of the Merc as it had clear turn signal lenses with orange bulb. I'm not very fond of the Escort's amber turn signals, they look too European.

When I first went to the USA those things were still common, but nowadays they're like very rare. Nowadays there are Focuses and Fiestas that are like just the same as the ones we have here. It's like most of the cars in the USA are getting like "europized" or something and I don't really like that. ::)

http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc288330133f0243509970b-400wihttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/88-90_Ford_Escort_LX_5-door.jpg/470px-88-90_Ford_Escort_LX_5-door.jpg

I'm sure you could buy one for cheap and restore it if you were so inclined.  These cars disappeared from the fleet entirely in the mid-nineties.  They tended to fall apart.
;D

I've only seen one Lynx my whole life, and it was at a collision shop in the mid 90s.

They were rare even then. They sold poorly compared to the Escort, weren't very good quality (what 80s car was?), rusted out AND had the sheesh beaten out of them by many a high school/college student.

At least it looked American unlike the crappy Fiesta. A Fiesta would look pathetic on US roads. It looks rather pathetic over here in Europe. I'm not American but I'm sad that the US Auto industry went so pathetic as to have the need to take EU models like the Focus and the Fiesta over there. If I was an American I'd be outraged. What's next - the return of crappy French cars to the US market? ::)

At least it looked American unlike the crappy Fiesta. A Fiesta would look pathetic on US roads. It looks rather pathetic over here in Europe. I'm not American but I'm sad that the US Auto industry went so pathetic as to have the need to take EU models like the Focus and the Fiesta over there. If I was an American I'd be outraged. What's next - the return of crappy French cars to the US market? ::)
No, the American Market has been moving more to more smaller/medium sized cars in the last several years. We went through the whole SUV trend in the late 90's/early 00's. I'm glad the whole SUV trend has passed. I didn't like them tailgating me and driving crazy in the snow.

I could drive a compact or a mid-size car. A subcompact like the Nissan Versa I couldn't drive something like that. I had a 1998 Mazda 626 and now a 2007 Mazda 6. Those 2 cars are sort of a tweener between mid-size and compact. I had a 2002 Acura CL in between those 2 cars that car was a little big for me.

I'm sure you could buy one for cheap and restore it if you were so inclined.  These cars disappeared from the fleet entirely in the mid-nineties.  They tended to fall apart.
;D
Yeah my late Aunt had an 86, 93 Escort and even a 2000 Escort. She said to stay away from them.

The Lynx/Escort were sort of innovative style wise at the time. The late 80's Escort Hatch had a unique look to it at the time.

I found this article that reminded me of my first visit to the USA:
http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/06/mercury-lynx.html

It's about the Mercury Lynx (the Ford Escort's twin). Those are probably the most underrated American cars. I've driven a Lynx when I was in the USA and it was nowhere near as bad as people claim. Yep, it was slow (compared to most other US cars), but not as slow as some European hatchbacks from the 80's. Its handling was better than that of the same era European Ford Escort Mk 3/4 that I've also driven. Besides, it had stronger sheet metal than the European model, known for being a rust bucket. It's true that its body looked very much like the European Escort's one but apart from that it was all-American - larger bumpers (a lot safer and stronger than the thin ones on the German Escort), a chrome grille, etc. I don't think it deserves its bad reputation. I guess it was hated by most people because their previous cars were larger and more comfortable models and they weren't used to econoboxes like we are in the EU.  ;)

While the Escort was more popular than the Lynx, I prefer the look of the Merc as it had clear turn signal lenses with orange bulb. I'm not very fond of the Escort's amber turn signals, they look too European.

When I first went to the USA those things were still common, but nowadays they're like very rare. Nowadays there are Focuses and Fiestas that are like just the same as the ones we have here. It's like most of the cars in the USA are getting like "europized" or something and I don't really like that. ::)

http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc288330133f0243509970b-400wihttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/88-90_Ford_Escort_LX_5-door.jpg/470px-88-90_Ford_Escort_LX_5-door.jpg


Going to really have to disagree with you on this.
The Ford Escort, the North American version anyway was less than stellar.  Ford was trying, somewhat half heartedly to bring to the US a "Global" front-drive car platform. I.E. bring the European Escort to the US with changes to suit the American market.

Even so, looking back at it, they did a half-hearted job, not completely their fault, it was just that that Ford U.S. really had their hands tied. The car they ended up giving us was a pale comparison to the European Escort and could have been SOOO much better. The fact that you didn't see any first gen Escort/Lynx around after the first 10yrs after their introduction (by the early 90's) says a lot of how "good" these cars were.

The European Ford Escort was known for being well built, spritely handling and fun to drive, but, after Ford had softened, added weight, widened and generally Chevy Malibuized (Americanized) the Euro version of what they perceived what the US market wanted (not what they needed), we got the 1981 Escort/Lynx. A sloppy handling, slow, poorly assembled, recall plagued econobox, that was built & priced to the lowest common denominator. Which, admittingly was a huge step up from the Pinto it was replacing. And, at least they were a league better than what GM's awful X and J-cars turned out to be.

Most of 1st gen Escorts/Lynx's were off the road within the first 5-7 years. Usually something more expensive than a weekly paycheck or car payment broke (cv-joints, transmission, head gasket) and off to the junkyard they went.

Could you keep them running? Sure you could, as long as there was parts cars left at Joe's Pick-A Part, but when those were gone, it wasn't worth the $$ to buy new parts to keep these running. They were not made for longevity, but just to get to and from work/school/grocery store for a few years and through to the end of the warranty and the car payment coupon book. That is not the hallmark of a "good" car. This is why the Big Three lost half their market to the Japanese.

Ford learned their lesson from this and did a much better job with the Taurus later on.

Believe me, it’s a GOOD thing the Focuses and Fiestas are (close to, but not) just like what they have in Europe, they are better made and better equipped for the job they are bought for.

At least it looked American unlike the crappy Fiesta. A Fiesta would look pathetic on US roads. It looks rather pathetic over here in Europe. I'm not American but I'm sad that the US Auto industry went so pathetic as to have the need to take EU models like the Focus and the Fiesta over there. If I was an American I'd be outraged. What's next - the return of crappy French cars to the US market? ::)


Pretty much all cars, domestic or foreign, were crap between 1975-1985. Honda engines had the same reputation for bulletproof reliability that they have now but back in the 1980's they were also notorious rustbuckets. Still, they (and most of the Japanese compacts) were far better than their American counterparts.

As much as I am a supporter of the American auto industry, the Big Three have repeatedly failed to design and build a reliable compact car that could compete successfully those made by the foreign automakers. And I think  that it a lot of it came down to a difference of philosophy.

In Europe and Japan, gasoline has always been much more expensive than here in the US, plus they are much more densely populated and the streets are much narrower, so more people there bought compact cars as their main family cars. Therefore, the European and Japanese automakers made more of an effort to make their compacts well-built and reliable. (They were also a little more expensive than their US-made counterparts.)

Whereas the US automakers made their compacts as basically disposable transportation. They'd last about 5-7 years (as gumbypiz stated) and then they'd turd out completely. This goes back to the Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega (and AMC Gremlin) from around 1970 all the way up through the 1980's and 90's with more Escorts and Cavaliers and (especially) Neons. American compact cars have always had a reputation for being, for lack of a better term, sh!tboxes.

Finally the Big Three got wise and gave up. The new Chevy Cruze and Sonic, while being built in US plants, were actually designed in South Korea, and they have been well-received and have been strong sellers. The new Dodge Dart was actually designed by Chrysler's new parent company, Fiat, and the results remain to be seen but certainly it has to be better than that lame-ass Caliber of the last few years.

And yes, Ford has finally started selling its European-model compacts in the US with almost no alteration. As gumpypiz also mentioned, throughout the 80's and 90's Ford has been selling several of its European models here in the US but they more or less dumbed them down for the US market, thinking that's what we wanted. But now Ford has started selling its European Focus (as opposed to the lame US version) and all I can say is that it's about damn time. (Although I wouldn't want to be caught dead in a Fiesta...)

Pretty much all cars, domestic or foreign, were crap between 1975-1985. Honda engines had the same reputation for bulletproof reliability that they have now but back in the 1980's they were also notorious rustbuckets.


Especially up here in New England where they dump salt all over the roads.  I had a '92 Acura Integra with 180K miles on it.  The engine ran like a top but I had to pop rivet hunks of sheet metal over the rust so it could pass inspection.  Finally the undercarriage started to go and I had to kiss that car goodbye.
:\'(

I'll tell you what I like about the (early) Mercury Lynx. I generally prefer the early-mid 80's to the late 80's as an era. The Lynx screams early 80's while still looking better than other American cars from that era. It's boxy, but not as boxy as most US cars from the same era. It has chrome and I like that, I hate the overuse of plastic on mid-late 80's and 90's cars. It also has sealed beams and I don't find the aero cars with the flush headlights of the mid-late 80's good looking.

Especially up here in New England where they dump salt all over the roads.  I had a '92 Acura Integra with 180K miles on it.  The engine ran like a top but I had to pop rivet hunks of sheet metal over the rust so it could pass inspection.  Finally the undercarriage started to go and I had to kiss that car goodbye.
:\'(


Just curious, Max, did you have any issues with the exhaust system in your Integra? When I got out of the Army in 1992 I bought a 1984 Honda Accord and within 2-3 years it had began to rust severely, to the point where I decided to sell it. Also during that time, my Accord shed 2 or 3 mufflers, although in one instance it was my fault, as I was trying to do a bad impression of Colin McRae on this gravel road east of Greenwood, Nebraska that had two 90 degree turns. I hit the first turn at about 40 mph, yanked the handbrake, and slid right through it. The second one I hit at 45 mph and yanked the handbrake again but I slid sideways out of control, and then the ass end of the car slid into the ditch and bounced back out again. I managed to regain control but once I was on my way again I noticed that the quiet hum of its four-cylinder engine was replaced by a loud angry buzz, like that of a woodchipper or something.

The dumb things we do when we're young... ::)


I'll tell you what I like about the (early) Mercury Lynx. I generally prefer the early-mid 80's to the late 80's as an era. The Lynx screams early 80's while still looking better than other American cars from that era. It's boxy, but not as boxy as most US cars from the same era. It has chrome and I like that, I hate the overuse of plastic on mid-late 80's and 90's cars. It also has sealed beams and I don't find the aero cars with the flush headlights of the mid-late 80's good looking.


Those cars did not have chrome. They had cheap plastic that was covered with a thin layer of fake chrome that would peel and flake off after about two years, and then the rest of it would lose its sheen and fade in the sunlight until it had a pale milky-white color.  :P

Just curious, Max, did you have any issues with the exhaust system in your Integra? When I got out of the Army in 1992 I bought a 1984 Honda Accord and within 2-3 years it had began to rust severely, to the point where I decided to sell it. Also during that time, my Accord shed 2 or 3 mufflers,



I had some issues with the exhaust of my Honda Civic back in the 90s. I think I replaced the muffler every 2 years. Of course the car sits low and the muffler & exhaust seem closer to the ground than other cars (but not the Corvette) so maybe that’s why it broke easier?  (or got holes in it easier)

Having said that, I never had any other difficulties with the car other than a fuel injection problem once.

I don't recall having systemic issues with the exhaust, but I think I had to have some of the piping replaced because it rusted out. 

I also had an '84 Toyota Camry which made it to 215K before it sh*t the bed.  I replaced the entire transmission on the thing at around 170K miles, which was ill-advised.  My dad paid for it because it seemed easier than getting another car.  The Camry burned oil like a sonofabitch.  I nicknamed it Smokey Joe.  I regularly dumped four quarts into the thing.  Sometimes I'd leave a plume of blue smoke at traffic stops.  It was embarrassing like public flatulence!
:-[

Just curious, Max, did you have any issues with the exhaust system in your Integra? When I got out of the Army in 1992 I bought a 1984 Honda Accord and within 2-3 years it had began to rust severely, to the point where I decided to sell it. Also during that time, my Accord shed 2 or 3 mufflers, although in one instance it was my fault, as I was trying to do a bad impression of Colin McRae on this gravel road east of Greenwood, Nebraska that had two 90 degree turns. I hit the first turn at about 40 mph, yanked the handbrake, and slid right through it. The second one I hit at 45 mph and yanked the handbrake again but I slid sideways out of control, and then the ass end of the car slid into the ditch and bounced back out again. I managed to regain control but once I was on my way again I noticed that the quiet hum of its four-cylinder engine was replaced by a loud angry buzz, like that of a woodchipper or something.

The dumb things we do when we're young... ::)

Those cars did not have chrome. They had cheap plastic that was covered with a thin layer of fake chrome that would peel and flake off after about two years, and then the rest of it would lose its sheen and fade in the sunlight until it had a pale milky-white color.  :P
My aunt had an 84 Accord. I liked that car thinking back on it. She sold it in 1991 or 1992. Yes she bought it new. I remember she told me she had it waxed sometimes while I was at a car wash with her once. The car had to have the clutch replaced on it once as it had manual transmission.

Yes 1980's Honda's model were notorious for rusting around the tire area. I think even the 1990-1993 Accord(US Model) still had that problem with rusting but after 1993 not really at all did Honda's have that problem.

It's about the Mercury Lynx (the Ford Escort's twin). Those are probably the most underrated American cars. I've driven a Lynx when I was in the USA and it was nowhere near as bad as people claim. Yep, it was slow (compared to most other US cars), but not as slow as some European hatchbacks from the 80's. Its handling was better than that of the same era European Ford Escort Mk 3/4 that I've also driven. Besides, it had stronger sheet metal than the European model, known for being a rust bucket. It's true that its body looked very much like the European Escort's one but apart from that it was all-American - larger bumpers (a lot safer and stronger than the thin ones on the German Escort), a chrome grille, etc. I don't think it deserves its bad reputation. I guess it was hated by most people because their previous cars were larger and more comfortable models and they weren't used to econoboxes like we are in the EU.  ;)


Swing by The Truth About Cars.  You might get raked over the coals for a bit, but any place that has a blogger who regularly trawls the junkyards (and his local community) for specimens of long-forgotten metal that's still on the road, probably has a place in its heart for you.

(I, too, have a soft spot for "disposable" commuter cars.  Ferraris and Corvettes will be handed down from generation to generation, but when's the last time you saw a Datsun 510?  A Honda CVCC?  A Yugo?  The Datsun 510 was actually a pretty awesome car.)

Talking about disposable cars, I think the E21 3-series is an example of a not-so-disposable car that has all but disappeared. It's easier to find a 1980's Escort or the E30 in Europe than the E21. That makes me sad, because I've always preferred the E21 to the E30 styling-wise. I hope that by the time I have the money for maintaining a classic/vintage/youngtimer car, the Lynx-es and the E21s won't be all gone.  ::)

Yes 1980's Honda's model were notorious for rusting around the tire area. I think even the 1990-1993 Accord(US Model) still had that problem with rusting but after 1993 not really at all did Honda's have that problem.

My Honda had rusting around the tire area. Living in Canada (with lots of snow) didn't help much, with all the salt they put on the roads. Nevertheless, I had the car for almost 20 years. Good little car.