The North American variant of the Ford Escort is a compact/small family car introduced by Ford in 1980 for the 1981 model year. Sharing its name with the third-generation European Ford Escort, the model line is the first front-wheel drive Ford developed and sold in North America. The direct successor of the Ford Pinto, as the smallest Ford car in North America, the Escort largely replaced the European-imported Ford Fiesta.
Overcoming the tarnished reputation for quality and safety established by the fuel tank defect of the Pinto, the Escort became highly successful in the American marketplace. After 1982, the model line became the best-selling car in the United States, a position it held during most of the 1980s.
The 1981 replacement of the Pinto by the Escort was the first Ford model line to adapt front-wheel drive. By the end of the 1980s, nearly the entire Ford car range would adopt the powertrain layout (with the sole exception of the Mustang, Thunderbird, and LTD Crown Victoria/Country Squire).
The Escort was produced across three generations. The first was Ford's first "world car", designed as Ford of Europe transitioned the Escort Mk III to front-wheel drive. In North America, the model line was also sold as the Mercury Lynx and the two-seat Ford EXP/Mercury LN7 (no version was sold by the Lincoln division). Introduced for 1991, the second generation became a near-twin of the Mazda-designed Ford Laser (a model line sold in Asia and Oceania); sharing a platform and powertrain with the Mazda 323, the Escort grew into the compact car segment. The second generation was also sold as the Mercury Tracer. For 1997, the third generation was an extensive redesign of the second-generation platform Escort sedan, introducing the ZX2 coupe; Mercury continued to sell the Tracer sedan and wagon.
For the 1999 model year, the Ford Focus succeeded the Escort as the compact model line as a new-generation "world car"; after the 2000 model year, the Escort shifted primarily to fleet sales, ending production after the 2002 model year.
During its entire production, the Escort was produced by Wayne Stamping & Assembly (Wayne, Michigan) and Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly (Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico); the first generation was also produced by Edison Assembly (Edison, New Jersey), San Jose Assembly Plant (Milpitas, California), and Oakville Assembly (Oakville, Ontario, Canada).
Third generation (MY 1997–2003)
The restyle dropped the hatchbacks and added a new sporty coupe for the 1997 model year.
The 1998 Escort ZX2 replaced the Ford Probe as Ford's sport compact car. The ZX2 was a much lower-slung and rakish car than both the Escort sedan and wagon, aimed squarely at the youth market as a replacement for the Escort GT (although lacking the its rear disc brake setup) and was built exclusively at Ford's Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, assembly plant. The interior was refreshed for 1999, and the model was retired after 2003. It had a completely redesigned dashboard, and included a panel that unified the heat and radio controls, similar to that of the third generation Ford Taurus.
The 1998 Escort ZX2 coupe featured the 2.0 L, 130 hp (97 kW) Zetec DOHC four-cylinder engine as standard equipment, an option unavailable on the sedan or wagon. Intended for use as the base engine in the larger European Ford Mondeo and its American cousins, the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, the Zetec gave the ZX2 respectable performance, running 0–60 mph in 7.4 seconds.
The 1999 and 2000 models offered a performance limited edition ZX2 S/R which further enhanced the car's performance.
The Escort sedan and wagon used the lower-powered CVH SPI2000 engine with 110 hp (82 kW). There are subtle differences in the Escort sedan from 1996 to 2002. The trim lines for 1997 were base and LX, for 1998–2002 it was offered in LX and SE trims. For 1999, the reverse lights were moved into the same piece as the tail lamps; they were previously below the tail lamp on the body.
A very rare trim package was available with chrome 14 in (36 cm) wheel covers and other features. It was offered in 1999.
The Escort was offered in a "sport" package as well. The Mercury Tracer's version was called the "Trio" or "Sport" depending on the year. A basketweave type of wheel was put on the Tracer Trio while a flower petal pattern was used on the Tracer Sport. The Sport/Trio package included aluminum wheels, a sport exhaust tip, a tachometer, and a rear decklid spoiler.
The Escort wagon largely retained the same body style, gaining only the new interior, front end and fascia, side-view mirrors, door handles, badging, and slightly restyled taillamps and reflectors. The black window frames on the doors of some models became body-colored.
Both the Escort wagon and the Mercury Tracer sedan and wagon were discontinued after 1999. The Escort sedan was discontinued in 2002, but continued to be sold as fleet and rental cars only. It was replaced by the Ford Focus. The last Ford Escort rolled off the assembly line on February 20, 2002. The last ZX2 rolled off the assembly line on March 21, 2003. In Mexico, it was replaced by the smaller Ford Ikon.
ZX2
For 2001, the four-door sedan was limited to fleet sales only and the Escort moniker on the Escort ZX2 was quietly dropped, making the car officially just a two-door notchback coupe.
The Ford Focus debuted in 1998 (1999 in the U.S.) and was produced concurrently with the ZX2. Despite some popularity, the ZX2 was replaced by the Focus ZX3, ZX4 and ZX5. Though the two cars share the same Zetec engine, there are a few differences. The Focus lacks the exhaust-side VCT, and contains less aggressive camshafts that push the power band down a few hundred RPM. The two models share the same block but, due to the different camshafts and the different cylinder head, the torque output for the Focus was bumped up by 8 ft⋅lbf (11 N⋅m). Thanks to better gearing and less weight, the ZX2 continued to outperform the Focus. The ZX2 continued with little more than 15 in (38 cm) alloy wheels and a rear defroster newly offered as standard equipment, and for 2003, a revised front fascia. Production ceased at the end of the 2003 model year.
ZX2 S/R
The increased presence and success of tuner models from overseas in the late 1990s caused Ford to create their own performance model, the ZX2 S/R, meant to compete with cheap factory performance sport compacts such as the Honda Civic Si and the Dodge Neon ACR. Its initial debut was at SEMA's Import Auto Salon in Pomona in 1999. The ZX2 S/R was the first product jointly developed by Ford Racing and Ford Motor Company's Small Vehicle Center Product Development.
Ford's final limited production count was 2,110 units, consisting of 110 yellow S/Rs for 1999, the first two of which were sold in Columbus, Ohio, and the other 108 in California; and for 2000, 500 black, 500 red and 1,000 yellow S/Rs were sold. The upgrade price to the S/R package was $1,500 in both years. It is believed that only 35 of those 2000 S/Rs were sold in Canada, making it a very rare trim there.
The optional S/R package added stiffer suspension parts (Eibach springs (M-5560-Z2), Tokico struts (M-18000-Z2) and Energy Suspension brand polyurethane suspension bushings), more power (through a Ford Racing PCM (M-12650-Z2)), more efficient intake (Roush or Iceman), rear disc brakes (M-2300-Z2), a stronger clutch (Centerforce dual friction M-7560-Z2), a short-throw B&M manual-transmission shifter (M-7210-Z2), an S/R-unique shift knob (M-7213-Z2) and boot (M-7277-Z2), upgraded seats, a unique blue valve cover, a different speed cluster that goes up to 150 mph (240 km/h) and a unique tire and wheel package. Engine power was increased 10% over the base Zetec engine used in the ZX2 to 143 bhp (107 kW; 145 PS), courtesy of a recommended premium fuel re-calibration, new air inlet system, the performance PCM, improved Borla muffler and pipe (M-5230-Z2). All ZX2 S/Rs have a special "S/R" badge on the back, either silver (on a red car) or red (on a yellow or black car). Some S/Rs went out of the assembly plant without some of the performance mods. The suspension bushings were not installed at the factory but instead packaged with the car for installation at the dealership. This also led to many cars leaving the showroom without the full complement of S/R parts.
Source: Wikipedia
Last edited by Man of Steel; 12-30-2020 at 11:44 PM.
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