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Some of us remember that news of the Mazda based car intended to become the New Mustang caused an outrage so great Ford released the vehicle as the Ford Probe and continued the Fox body Mustang for far longer than they intended until they had a Ford America developed RWD platform for the Mustang.
But what if no one had found out and the MX6 based Mustang had been released with the Fox body model completely discontinued? Mustang purist would surely turn away from such a Mustang but could they have gained a different generation and type of buyers? Would it have gone the way of other Japanese sports coupes of the 90s and slowly died away from reduced sales? It didn’t work for Dodge/Chrysler when they released a Mitsubishi based Challenger in the 80s so why did Ford think it would work for them with the Mustang and Mazda? The MX6/Probe wasn’t a bad car for what it was but no one outside of Ford thought it was worthy of the Mustang name. Perhaps sales could have been better if it were called a Maverick instead of a Probe. We’re those executives snorting too much cocaine when they came up with this idea? Did anyone lose their job over this?
I thought they should have stayed with the Mustang name, instead of the Probe, but purists demanded RWD and a V-8.
The Probe was a very in demand car when it appeared in the spring of 1988, with waiting lists for delivery. It fell from grace in the succeeding years, until it was cancelled in 1997. I never liked the redesign in 1993, and thought the original was better. I owned both, and the first generation is my favorite car of all the cars I've owned, although my current 2016 Fusion is vastly superior in every way. But coming out of owning a series of junk from the 70's until the mid-80's, for me the 89 Probe set a new standard for reliability. It was the first car I owned that wasn't junk after 50,000 miles.
ford probe didn't generate much interest and I think it would have been essentially the same level of mediocrity as the 4 cyl mustangs that preceded the fox body that no one really talks about from the mid-late 70s.
There was no comparison between the quality and reliability of the 4 cyl Mustangs, and that of the Probe. Basically all U.S. brand 4 cyl engines of that era were junk. Anything with a Japanese 4 cyl was vastly superior.
Some of us remember that news of the Mazda based car intended to become the New Mustang caused an outrage so great Ford released the vehicle as the Ford Probe and continued the Fox body Mustang for far longer than they intended until they had a Ford America developed RWD platform for the Mustang.
But what if no one had found out and the MX6 based Mustang had been released with the Fox body model completely discontinued? Mustang purist would surely turn away from such a Mustang but could they have gained a different generation and type of buyers? Would it have gone the way of other Japanese sports coupes of the 90s and slowly died away from reduced sales? It didn’t work for Dodge/Chrysler when they released a Mitsubishi based Challenger in the 80s so why did Ford think it would work for them with the Mustang and Mazda? The MX6/Probe wasn’t a bad car for what it was but no one outside of Ford thought it was worthy of the Mustang name. Perhaps sales could have been better if it were called a Maverick instead of a Probe. We’re those executives snorting too much cocaine when they came up with this idea? Did anyone lose their job over this?
Doubt it. A buddy of mine and a neighbor both bought Ford Probes. They were ok cars. Nothing out of this world. Mediocre handling, mediocre performance. Basically a mediocre car. I remember the dash gauge cluster section dropped down with the steering wheel. They had 4 cyl, 4 cyl turbo and V6s. Prretty futuristc looking. Too bad it was a pos front drive. I don’t see many Ford Probes. Probably a good reason. Any company that takes a former pony/muscle car and puts that name on a FWD car is moronic. I remember when dodge/Plymouth had this Charger based off the L-body. But so did Chevy off a Impala.
At least Ford has a lot of customers speak up. I was one of them. I would of stopped buying Mustangs. I had a 91 LX (firmer CHO car with a blown motor which I got cheap, and a 89 GT. Chevy on the other hand....killed the Camaro and nobody cared.
There was no comparison between the quality and reliability of the 4 cyl Mustangs, and that of the Probe. Basically all U.S. brand 4 cyl engines of that era were junk. Anything with a Japanese 4 cyl was vastly superior.
Umm, the SOHC 2.3 was actually pretty reliable. Doggish? Sure. Unreliable? It sure wasn’t in my old ‘94 Ranger.
I test dove a 1995 Probe GT (V6/manual) and I was very impressed. That thing handled and drove great! I can’t remember why I didn’t buy it but it certainly was a fun car.
Something like that could be a Torino, a competitor to the Charger.
Bingo! There actually was a concept Torino a couple of years ago. It was a 2 door, but the 4 door version would work well and I do believe it would sway a few Charger fans.
Bingo! There actually was a concept Torino a couple of years ago. It was a 2 door, but the 4 door version would work well and I do believe it would sway a few Charger fans.
But now Ford is getting rid of sedans except for the Mustang.
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