5 digit odometer, back when car makers didn't expect the vehicle to hit 100,000 miles

My first new car was a 1984 Escort GT. It was black with orange pinstripes and had a factory flip-up sunroof. Until this video I'd never seen those opening rear, side windows. I'd have loved to have those on my car, but I don't think they actually went into production. Despite this review it was a fun car to drive and surprised plenty of people with how quick it was... at least at that time. Unfortunately, at about 45k miles that car was destroyed by thieves who stole the custom Alpine stereo system I'd installed, and then set the car on fire to cover their tracks. Its replacement was a new, white 1988 model Escort GT which I still own and which is still a blast to drive. Some folks will no doubt scoff, but that's been the best car I've ever owned. It went back to the dealer ONCE for a warranty repair and never needed more than routine maintenance in over 120k miles.

0-60 in 14 seconds! Damn this thing would give a GT-R a run for it's money!

Gotta love the Oriental touches.

No rattles after 7,000 miles, wow! Really a high bar back in those days. Honestly, though, these things were fun to drive, and pretty reliable.

Love these old MotorWeeks!

"Remote" rear vent quarterwindows?! Shut up and take my money

I just put a 76,000 mule motor in my 91 white Escort with red interior I did most of the wrenching myself and enjoyed every minute of it. The car only has 64,000 on it. The original engine was ran dry of oil by the Original owner. Not to bright of a guy lol. I really like the simplicity of the car. I put a fake hood scoop and chrome hubcaps on it and removed all badges. The young guys have no clue what it is but keep trying to buy it. Maybe a car ahead of its time, lol.

I knew a guy who had one of these and he took out the rear seatback and filled the hatch with a concert amp connected to a cassette Walkman. Sitting in the back seat meant resting your back on the amp. It was all in mono but it was so insanely loud that other people's higher end stereos were quickly forgotten about. And Justice For All was very popular that summer.

far removed from the 1983 Euro Escort XR3i: 1.6 105hp, 0-60 9.5sec, 115mph. Also came as a convertible and 1600 turbo 132hp versions.

From the eighties. I had a Mercury ln7 in 1985. They were fun cheap cars that got great gas mileage. Easy to drive and park. Brings back great memories.

My dad had an Escort GT (not sure of the year, I know it was the 1st gen '81-90). I own a '96 Escort LX hatchback 1.9L 4 cyl. 4-speed auto. Not the nicest cars to look at, but in my experience they're reliable, comfortable, and fun to drive. 159K miles and still going strong.

We went thru some dark times in the 70's and 80's for cars

I don't recall seeing this version as a kid when they were new. They basically took the taillight setup from the Lynx for this, but it worked.

My sister had an 84 Mercury Lynx which was the sibling to the escort. It got fantastic gas mileage but it needed repairs often.

When Ford first came out with the U.S. Escort in 1981, the GT model was then known as the SS, but since that nomenclature was long associated with Chevrolet, Ford wisely renamed this particular sports trim package to GT for '82.

I used to buy these things every Sunday out of the Seattle times. Grab the paper early in the morning and make calls on my Nokia cellular flip phone lol as I ate breakfast. Usually 100-300 bucks depending on year miles and condition. Usually I'd get them because the cam seal would leak severely around 120k and kill the belt. The early 81-83 would bend valves so I only purchased those for different reasons... At 17yo my parents yard was full of them.... 40 bucks and 3 hours to replace the seals, brake clean everything and slap a timing belt. I had waiting lists of people that regularly saw them parked on our corner lot for sale lol. Did about 50 of them, until I discovered Japanese cars... Mazda 626 LX / GT, civic, Accord, protege, 929, 200SX, 310, Maxima, Corolla FX16, etc etc... Way way better cars that needed less real mechanical work, I'd buy those cheep for things like Clutches, breaks, accidents, etc... Fix them and sell them... Drive the ones I liked... The good old days.

I had an '86 Escort "Pony" with a 1.9L & 4-speed manual. I put 145K on it; after 8 years the rear strut mounts rusted out. It was slow & not too refined, but decent for its intended purpose...a $6K economy car.

I love the looks of this model Escort GT, if only it had a true GT engine that made it go fast

First car I ever bought myself a 1989 2 door white ford escort gt man I loved that car. 😬😬😬

I love the next gen Escort GT. It had Mazda's 1.8 DOHC coupled to 5 speed with a super low 1st gear. Loved that tranny.

I recall those 85 mph speedometers were widely hated. People would buy new Mustang GTs and then replace the 85 speedo with the Canadian metric and a speedometer gear change to covert it to mph for a 140(Ithink or possibly 160 nnever did it myself) speedometer.

LOL. I had an '85 Escort base model with no ac, power steering, or windows. And AM radio. There was a lot of brake fade, especially when the rear shoes became unbonded and locked up the rear wheels. The top speed was 70mph, and I was almost overtaken by an atv. But on the plus side it was a simple car to work on and it held together well. And in the end I sold it for what I paid for it.

I had an ‘84 Mercury Lynx RS, same thing, and in this exact color scheme. Fomoco updated the interior for ‘84 and it was much nicer and more modern. Got it in ‘87 and drove it back and forth to college for four years. I took really good care of it, kept it clean, oil changed, and it was relatively trouble free for a car of that era. While I owned it the heater core erupted and had to be replaced, and the AC stopped working right at the end. It was also starting to trail blue smoke going up hills. It was 7 years old at that point with about 89,000 miles and I traded it. Found out later that the engine hand-grenaded on the next owner within weeks. I don’t think the 1.6 liter EFI was known to be very reliable.

Need to see one of these properly lowered & tuned! Looks so much cooler than VW GTIs!

Despite its GT name, this was made for economy rather than speed.

I kinda like 80's vehicle styling. But I grew up in the 80's, so maybe that's why

Love those "oriental touches"!

We (the USA) always got the shit end of the stick when it came to the Escorts. Ford was busy pushing the Fox platform and the Escort always came last, whereas in Europe the Escort was the "main" car.

I had an early ‘83 GTI. Super fun to drive with the free revving manual and tight suspension. But I always liked these, great styling for the time but we only got detuned US version.

This is a true dream car

I had 1986 Ford Escort. I love that car.

I had a 89 Escort LX Loved that car. Started everyday and ran wonderful until I totaled it. My mom had a 89 Escort GT as well It was a good car. Then she did trade it in for 92 Escort GT. That was a great car still going to this day. My Step brothers brother has it now. That Mazda engine is good.. Doesn't matter what you own you will find a car that just doesn't last long or has issues. It also depends on how you take care of them too and drive them. Now I think Ford messed up when they got rid of the Mazda engine and out the other engine in and the Escort zx2 that was crap.

This car needed the 2.3L turbo engine. It would be a highly sought after car if it had a hot engine setup

Really dig the fog lights

No more cars for Ford in the US, except the Mustang. Chrysler and GM pretty much going in the same direction. I remember when Isuzu was selling vehicles in the US. Before they left, the stopped selling cars and were selling only SUVs.

My first car.......83 Escort....Added a Blaupunkt Stereo and 6x9 Kenwoods carved into the back trunk cover in the hatchback. I loved it.

0 to 60 time of 14.0 seconds! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

The Ford Escort has a proud tradition in rally racing, I would buy one for a cheap first car.

JESUS!! IT'S ABOUT TIME!! Lol. I've been waiting on one of the escorts to pop up since you guys started retro reviews!! lol. You guys have any of the later escort gt's froom the late 80 or the 90's escort gt's? I'd be willing to watch all of your vids if you guys uploaded one of those *wink*

Vin code 4 gave the 1.6l a warm cam profile, tuned exhaust, , the carb version had a Motorcraft Weber 2bbl, or the EFI. Not s barn burner, but enough pep to be fun and decent fuel economy for the day. Modern computers and induction & todays engine HP refinements far exceed yesteryear. I had as n 84 base model HO , and was very happy when brand new. Comparable to my 65 Cortina GT.-- in engine power. Decent pep and fuel economy

I always loved this car !

I always considered the mid 70's/early 80's to be the nadir of the automotive industry.

I had an 87 and ran the wheels off it for over 125000 miles. Thats when the rear part of the body dropped due to the inner fender well rotting through where the shock mounted..lol. Drove it on home with the rear tire rubbing the inside upper fender well. Good thing it was raining to cool the tire. lol. Yea, was time to retire it.

Complete with pre faded paint. What a terrible color.

No reverse lockout could make for some bad times! Or really good nowadays.

5:06 That Nova tho

had an 86 GT fun car traded it in for an 88 mustang even more fun , lol

A car with 82hp should never be called a gt

I had to Google the XR3... wow, what a difference composite headlamps made.

If you think 0 to 60 in 14 seconds is bad, check out the MW review of the Pontiac 1000 (Chevette)... 0 to 60 in 30 seconds!!!

In Europe we had the Escort RS Turbo awesome car.

Thanks for the video. I still have my'94 Escort GT I bought in '06. Fun car, just need a little more power or a manual ( mines an auto).

I have a 91 Ford Escort GT...Would love to see a Motorweek review of that one too!

An '88 1/2 Escort was my 2nd car. Slower than "everything" else on the road (but this was in 2001). Absolutely zero options, no A/C, no tilt steering wheel, no intermittent wipers, and only an AM/FM radio with 2 speakers. Never needed anything until the rear shock towers rusted out. Still had some fun times with it. Mine didn't have those levers to vent the rear windows, that was pretty neat even by todays standards for an economy car.

what the hell happened. ford had a great idea back in the early 80's to use a global platform like the escort which should have started the trend for all ford cars to be on and then that all but disappeared until the last few years when ford went back to the a global platform. I mean yeah they had the contour but they never kept pace with its European counterpart the mondeo, then they had the focus but that too got lost in translation and we were stuck with the 1st gen for many years while Europe and the rest of the word was pumping out the 2nd and 3rd gen up until recently.

This 1.6 turbo put out 82 HP. My 2017 Ford Escape has a 1.5 turbo and puts out 180 hp. We have come a long way.

I cannot believe the US did not get the Escort XR3 or the XR3i...Yes I had the XR3i way back in 87/88 and loved it...

My parents had an 87 Escort GT when I was a kid and that car always had problems

I had a 82 Escort . The wife broke the motor big time . I had the 1.6 auto trans . Pulled the motor , bored 30 over with forged pistons and rods , put on a 1.8 head , I stayed with the webber carb. with little bigger jets , headman headers . The only 82 Escort in Orlando that would cruz over the century mark with the A/C on . Had no issues with the car , kinda strange for a Ford .

My first car was the 1983 Mercury version, the Lynx RS, which I purchased in 1986. The car was nothing but problems!

I lived through this automotive era. Depressing!

The motto was “quality is Job 1” The reality was “sell before the warranty ends”.

Grew up in a car like this. Mom had an 83 escort until 98 when she bought another escort. Now 6 focuses are in my family including mine. My family loves American cars Ford, Chevy, Dodge. As long as its domestic or union made we'll drive it.

'...Hasenpfeffer for breakfast.' Had to look up what Hasenpfeffer was...very droll, John! 😁

My parents had a 83 wagon without the “high output” engine and it wouldn’t get out of its own way it was slooow.

The dashboard has those cubby holes because this test car didn't have A/C . There would be vents in place of the holes if it did. Why did the 81-85s always look like they were weighed - down in the back with the front end popping up like that?

Those Escorts are two steps below the cheapest Tatra. I had one brand new that cost me a fortune way before 50,000 miles when it went to the scrap pile.

Been watching a bunch of these, and it seems like every single car they test for that simulated on ramp 500 ft test finish in very similar times of around 55mph and 10 sec

0-60 in 14 seconds for a “GT”? Yikes. That was embarrassingly slow then and it’s downright cringeworthy now...

Lol, 82 hp, 12 more than the standard model, hahahaha, 19.5 second quarter mile

Had my first accident and an 89 LX, big giant yellow sign said 10 mile per hour exit, I hit the wall somewhere near 20 or 30, my grandparents were pissed. But from what I remember it wasn't all that much to repair

My old college roommate had an early 80s Ford Escort, and while it was red, it was not the vaunted "GT" model. 14 seconds to 60 was not happening, and I don't think I ever got it up to 60. The gear shift was like a cliche' wet noodle. There were gears somewhere in that box, but good luck finding them.

Let me explain something to everyone chortling about the 0-60 time, where these cars were concerned: 45mph, with the windows down, felt like the car was going over the edge of a cliff.

Car prices have gone up 50 times as fast as wages

I've seen these wheels before! Some old FIATs had these wheels!

I love the starter slamming his hand on the roof. Lol Is that Craig Singhaus?

I'd love to have a Escort GT now in 2020

My dad had a standard version of this. I remember pissing my pants in the back seat at around 4 years old.

The soft upholstery made them wonder about durability? Ford and gm cars of that vintage had outstanding fabrics with excellent durability. As the owner of many hondas, toyotas, and datsuns of that era it was the imports in general which had interior plastics and fabrics that disintegrated

I had one of these "86".. Had a spoiler with am racing wheels... Looking back, that thing was so corney tho, but fun lol

Just wonder how people bought the car new that say they were crap? Brother had one and father had other and they were good little cars! But you can get a lemon sometime. Also the paint was not as dull as it looks on MW. But most all cars at this time were the same. Thank DuPont for much better paint in just a few years later! Compare to what was on the road then this was a good car. America’s best-selling car in ’82 to! Read up on the Pinto debacle?

3:23 I see you had early access to the Volvo 700 series. Can we expect a retro review of any more Volvos?

I never knew those rear quarter windows were "remote controlled"

Look at all the gray exhaust coming out the back. 😳😯Thank God pollution output has improved in 40 years.

14 sec 0-60 is a rocket

The British Equivalence of this was the Escort Xr3i , much better car IMO

My first new car was a regular (non- GT) escort with a carburetor. this car was JUNK from the day I bought it. one day while entering the freeway, I tried to slow down at the bottom of the ramp so I could merge. both rear tires lifted off the ground, the car spun snagged the curb and flipped onto its side. it was only 3 years old at the time and I was THRILLED when I had to get something different.

85 horsepower wow soo fast

How far the poor Escort had fallen. I have a 2002 Escort SE, 2.0 SOHC and 4 speed auto. Slow steering, slow tranny, slow handling. The poor car would be happy to spend it's whole life in fourth gear. But, it still gets 35 mpg!

It's no XR3 that's for sure

Just had an idea. Upload a retro review for a 90-96 Lumina APV/Trans Sport. lol.

Wow! John Davis looks so different without all of that spray on tan and hair dye that he uses now.

My first car ever was a '77 Volkswagen Rabbit and it went to 60 in 9.7 seconds. It weighed 1800 pounds and had 80 hp. It was seven years older than the '84 Escort and would have destroyed it in any measure of performance!

Wasn't there a comparo test in the magazine with the GTI, Skyhawk t type and the escort GT?

The speedo only goes up to 85 mph. No way!

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Those little dash nooks I think are where are vents go....if it had the AC option. And could they make the ESCORT GT decal on the back a tad larger...cant quite read it from 100yds away. 😂

Have an 89 GT parked in my garage. I miss driving it. Lot of bang for the buck. Vehicles today are much safer but dont withstand the abuse this old models take. And today we pay three times as much for a car....

Ford discovered that year that if you go to salvage yards you can increase your profit margins by taking parts from junk cars and using those parts on new cars like this Escort GT .