I know, right? I can just see him with a car with all the gaugues he ever dreamed of alone together in the woods as he admits his true feelings for it. 🙃
I bought one of these new, and drove it until it rusted out at 200k miles. Loved it! The DOHC 4v engine was so much better than the Ford. 4 wheel disk brakes were unusual in a car of this class at the time.
Wow. Quick little car for the era. I was always fond of this generation tracer/escort. I never see one on the road anymore, but what a cool little car.
Had a '94 Mercury Tracer in 2013-2014. I called it my "glorified go-kart", and wow did it live up to that name! It didn't have a ton of power but it certainly was zippy and maneuverable. The front seatbelts were a great conversation starter. Poor thing's fuel pump rusted out, so my family sold it. Still miss that thing, if I had a chance to buy another one for relatively cheap and fix it up for a beater and/or for my future kids, I definitely would!
Back when cup holders were considered a novelty and not the norm. Anyone else remember the cup holder you would buy at Walmart that attached to the door window sill? Then when you close the door your drink would go all over the interior.
They sold a ton of these in Australia as the Ford Laser. I had one of these back in the day and it was basically the same car as this, branded as the Laser S and with the SOHC version of that engine. We had a lot of trim levels and some styling differences, but you could see they were the same car as the Mercury. The booted version was sold as the Ford Meteor for a few years, before taking on the Laser name as well. Most Lasers were made in Australia while the sporty versions which were two door and came in turbo form and for a while AWD as well were made and imported direct from Mazda in Japan with the Ford badges already on them as the XR-3 and XR-3 Turbo. We also had the Mazda 626 of that era as the Ford Telstar. Ford Australia loved the Mazda based cars as they sold really well for them and for a while the Laser was the best selling small car in Australia.
I had a laser with a 1.8 litre Mazda v6 from the mx3 or eunous , whatever it was called , had the disc brakes and gearbox from it aswell, brought it from a mechanic who worked at a mazda rotomotion
The Laser was also built in Japan (by Mazda, of course, which sold it through a special dealer channel called Autorama, specializing in Ford cars) and Taiwan. First-generation cars sold by Ford of Canada as the Mercury Tracer were built in Taiwan.
I’ve known about and seen many Escort GTs from this generation, and heard of the LTS as an uplevel version of the Tracer, but I did not realize this was the sporty version of the car. This is quite an interesting find.
That's because these cars didn't sell well nor were they advertised well. For 13k, there were better cars in it's class. Car and Driver did a comparison with this car and it placed last. Go figure
I had no idea the Mazda Protégé and the Mercury Tracer were the same car! My sister's first car was a Mazda Protégé -- my parents bought it for her back when she went to college. That thing lasted her a good 10 years and 200K miles -- and she never even had to replace the clutch, even though it was the car she learned to drive a stick-shift in. Well-built machines.
Mazda didn't make the 1991-99 Mercury Tracer. Ford used Mazda's platform. And, in the case of the 1.8L DOHC, also Mazda's engine and trans. The 91-99 Escort/Tracers were pretty solidly built vehicles, especially for Ford at that time.
@@Beefy01 I owned an '88 Tracer built in a Mazda factory and I now own a 2005 Pontiac Vibe which was built in a Toyota-run factory alongside the Corolla and Tacoma.
0-60 8.5 , I think some respect is due... when i was a kid i thought the auto seatbelts were so cool.... as an adult They look cool, but aggravating as hell and I'm pretty sure..
This is a good review for this lil car. It was not well known what it was during the day but essentially it was a 4 door Escort GT. I bet this version was fun to zip around in.
Good friend purchased new in 1993, drove until 2003. Never broke down and no mechanical mishaps. Brakes tune ups and fluid changes only great car. Replaced with 03 BMW 3 series...still has it too also great car.
They are so much lighter with better sound from the engine and road feel. Although there are tradeoffs. Today's cars are better in every way but not as fun imo.
Its actually a Ford Laser, that's its actual place in the world. Same chassis but different body to the BP Mazda Familia/ 323 in its home markets. It was all a bit higgilty piggilty in North America what these cars were rebadged
@@Flying_GC Right. My mom used to have a 1995 Ford Escort LX 3door manual with the sport appearance group in December 1995 though I was a 1-year old at the time. It had decent rear seat legroom and great cargo room but the 1995 model year had a revised dash design plus dual airbags along with the atrocious automatic safety belts.
Until only recently you could still see quite a few of these still on the road down here in Miami Which says a lot about It's build quality considering considering these were inexpensive inexpensive little knock around cars found cars that that usually usually had the shit beat out of them.
You gotta understand that oil and temp gauges were v important in all cars before 95, this was pre obd 2 and the only thing between you and knowing that your car is gonna fry was the oil and temp gauges
The 91-96 Escort/Tracer were good cars. Well built. Dependable. Especially with the 1.8L Mazda engine. Back in the day I test drove an Escort GT with the 5-spd manual against an Escort LX sedan with the 1.9L and 4-spd automatic. Totally different personalities. The LX was very smooth, but lazy feeling. The GT was rougher and louder, but had much better performance.
Apart from safety this thing is right up there with some cars on offer today. Infact when you factor in price after inflation it's way ahead of a lot of cars of today.
I'd love to stick a modern 2.3l Ecoboost engine in one of these if i could ever find one clean enough to be worth it. I think these cars are stunning when they're mint, add power and you have a sweet retro daily driver.
Imo and based upon my experience of owning one with the Ford sourced 1.9 with automatic, the Mazda powertrains were much better. Ford's small car program would have been better if they had made better use of Mazda's expertise. Case in point, I received an offer in the mail from Ford for a warranty extension...I think around 500 dollars at the time. Later on my car started to have engine problems and discovered Ford had a bad batch of engines with defective valves.
Could you post the '88 Tracer 5-door you tested either next or in the near future? That is a very special car to me. In the summer of 1987, my grandmother sold her red 1980 Mercury Zephyr Boxtop 2-door sedan & bought a dark blue 1988 Mercury Tracer 3-door hatchback from James Lincoln/Mercury in Wakefield, MA. I had many rides in this car from 1987-1994 & loved every one of them. Plus, I would spend Sundays at her house either sitting in it or reading the owners manual while everyone else was watching MTV or VH-1. The only options that it had were power steering (optional on her 3-door, standard on the 5-door & wagon), A/C, automatic, & an AM/FM stereo, but to me, that was more than enough. 5 years ago, my grandmother passed away at the age of 90, but I will always think of her every time I look at this modest little car........& one day, I hope to have one exactly like it for myself.
I had an Antique Gold, 3 door 88 Tracer. Sadly, mine was not loaded with luxury features like the one you describe. Mine had a 4 Speed manual as the 5 speed manual would have been an upgrade. It had no power steering or brakes but those Tracer hatches did have independent rear suspension which has vanished from subcompact economy cars for the last 2 decades.
@@jareknowak8712 Ford sold a lot of Probes in those days that were basically Mazda 6's under the covers. Mazda got the sales volume under the Ford Name they would not have had otherwise. That additional volume allowed Mazda to be much more competitive than they are today. Yes I agree, from a product standpoint, Mazda didn't get much from Ford (Mazda Tribute didn't sell well). Mitsubishi has fared even worse, after Chrysler stopped selling their rebadged vehicles as well. At least Mazda still makes decent products - they just lack the exposure that Ford was able to give them back then.
@@jareknowak8712 massive investment is what. In the southern hemisphere Mazda and Ford are still quite closely linked although the Ford ownership has dwindled to next to nothing. Outside the US they collaborated on most their vehicle's and they were some of the best cars on the market. Around New Zealand 90s Fords and Mazdas are everywhere still.
I traded in my 1979 Corolla for a new 1990 Tracer/ Mazda Protege manual and it turned out to be a pretty good car. I paid $8900 for it, man how we need affordable cars to come back.
$8900 in 1990 is equivalent to $17,723 in 2020. I think you can get a base Mazda 3 sedan for around that much. Or at the very least you can definitely get a Hyundai or Kia compact with some nice equipment.
@@CrossingRover Right...'cheap' cars do exist today, turns out only a few people buy them. Most buyers like to pack on the options these days. However, to put it another way, adjusted for inflation, today's cheapest cars are less than this Tracer was in 1990, and obviously come with so much more for the equivalent money. Thirty years has given us better performance, economy, safety and tech than any econobox from back then could ever have dreamed of! (Not so much in terms of gauges though, even the oil temp is an idiot light on many new cars....I think John has given up on the fight.)
@@RoadCone411 Exactly, I didn't want to seem like I was arguing with WR ZL1 but there really is no comparison between this Mercury and even the cheapest 2021 Chevy Spark or Hyundai Accent. Inexpensive modern cars have significantly more horsepower, safety equipment, and standard features compared to some of the enthusiast favorites of the 80s and 90s. I say this as a huge fan of things like the AE86 and EK hatch.
Affordable cars *are* here today, adjusted for inflation, $8,900 in 1990 is worth $17,723.73 today Some modern as John here says econoboxes come with factory air conditioning, 8 airbags, anti-lock brakes, an AM/FM radio with bluetooth, automatic transmission. The list goes on and on. The econoboxes from the early 90's were just dreadful. But your 1979 Corolla was a death box, safety wise. Today you get so much more. You get more bang for the buck now, You had to pay for all of those included now standard features. Hell! Even floor mats on some inexpensive cars from that time were paid for options. They now come standard.
Now that people aren't buying sedans, there are deals to be had. My locale Chevy dealer has leftover new 2020 Malibus for $17,500. Also seeing new Toyota Yaris'(Mazda 2) for $17k.
My first new car was a '93 Tracer, automatic, with crank windows. If I could buy a new one today I'd do it in a heartbeat. They were simple, honest, reliable, easy to work cars
Good cars. My Mum had the Ford Laser version (basically same car) in New Zealand ('92 model), trading it in only recently. Her's was a lower spec 1.6 carburetor jobby but ultra reliable with about 250,000 km on the clock and still going strong.
Free tip: there is life outside the US. And Mazda and Fords relationship was massive, with Ford owning the Majority shareholding. You didn't get the good stuff because the US was always protecting its own manufacturing. To say that's all Mazda got shows you don't actually know anything about their partnership.
@@Flying_GC I also forgot the Mazda B Series pickup trucks rebadged from the Ford Ranger. What else did Mazda get? I know later in the 2000s Mazda got the Tribute based on the Ford Escape.
This thing will beat a BMW 318, that's hilarious. I have to admit that I never did like the look of these Tracers. I preferred the Corsica with the v6. This thing did do well for a 1.8 from 91 in acceleration.
@@ericouellette5293 I drove both, and I have to say the exact opposite. According to MotorWeek, the Corsica was a little quicker even with a manual on the Escort GT. I did like the interior on the Escort a little better though.
I hear you. I owned a quite decent , made in Japan Tracer 2 door hatch and today I drive an excellent 'Pontiac' Vibe manufactured alongside Corollas and Tacomas.Too bad I missed my chance at a 'Chevy' Tracker.
This is the first time Ive seen the MPG beat what the EPA said- they were almost always off then- always much worse than the EPA or manufacturer's estimates.
This is one of those cars that just seems to have disappeared. Also, any chance we could get a second generation GMC Jimmy, Oldsmobile Bravada, or Chevy Blazer? Preferably the 98 refresh.
I went to the comments to see if anybody mentioned the hotness of the car tester girl. I enjoyed watching her put the interior through its paces. That was nice.
I miss my '93 Escort LX with it's steering wheel that shook violently at idle standard. I do wonder if the 1.8L cars like this one had that same issue though?
Yep. Had the same vibrating steering wheel/column on my 92 tracer LTS. Identical to the one in this video except mine was bright red. It vibrated so much that it made the keys jingle lol. Very embarrassing if you had a passenger.
The 1991 Mercury Tracer LTS and the Ford Escort LX-E 4-door sedan performance model was the pinnacle of the Mazda 323 Protege era. To make it even more better in the appearance, they should have put the Ford Escort GT front bumper on both of them to make it stand out in a sport sedan, because of the fog lights. Although, it's the greatest cars for it ever came out but the second gen model Ford Escort a Mercury Tracer 4-door sedan in the 90s.
I wish a 4 (or5) door hatchback version of the Tracer LTS had been offered for those who wanted the versatility of the multi-door hatchback and did not want a 2 (or 3) door Ford Escort GT. The Mercury version had nicer styling, if only it had been offered in a hot hatch design.
Did you notice that At no point did they compare the Mercury tracer to it's much more closely related "corporate cousin" the Ford escort ? I guarantee you that that was directed by forward as a way to distinguish it. The escort GT and Later escort LX Sedan shared the same monster 16 valve engine.
Mercury Tracer and Mazda Protege had a 1.8 liter with 4 valves. The Ford Escort GT was a 1.9 liter 2 valve Ford motor. My friend had an Escort GT and my 4 door Protege 5 spd would crush him. I would shift at just over 7,000 rpm.
Almost bought a used one of these in red. Nice little car. Unfortunately it was previously owned by a heavy smoker I could tell. When I sat in it to take it for a test drive, it smelled like I was sitting in a giant ash tray. Had to pass on it unfortunately.
@@carwhiz90 Well that was many years ago that I was looking at it. Like 1998 or so. Car was in excellent shape except for the ashtray smell. Not an easy task to get the smell of smoke out of a car when it's been owned by a heavy smoker. Basically have to wash every hard surface and scrub all the cloth surfaces.
@@Snake-ms7sj it's a shame though. It looked like it had a lot of potential. If say you were to buy that car would you have taken it to a professional detailer to get rid of that dirty awful smoke smell
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Why, you don't put the videos back up that I would like to see; you don't respond to request.
Will someone please get John some oil and temp gauges?? I’ve never seen an episode where he wasn’t complaining about them missing. 😂
I know, right? I can just see him with a car with all the gaugues he ever dreamed of alone together in the woods as he admits his true feelings for it. 🙃
Get him a fake set of voltmeter and oil pressure gage stickers to put up on the dashboard.
There are like 2 cars I've seen him review that had them. He complimented them for it.
Lol right. I had a 91 caddy that blew a head gasket. Didn't have a temperature gauge. Immediately thought about John soon as it happened
My 100 series land cruiser has some oil and temp gauges, i guess its John approved!
I bought one of these new, and drove it until it rusted out at 200k miles. Loved it! The DOHC 4v engine was so much better than the Ford. 4 wheel disk brakes were unusual in a car of this class at the time.
Wow. Quick little car for the era. I was always fond of this generation tracer/escort. I never see one on the road anymore, but what a cool little car.
Rust took it's toll, they were commuter cars and the GT, LX-E and GTS were common engine donors for Miatas.
Now available at your Lincoln-Mazda dealer!
There's a dealership in Los Angeles area called Star Ford-Lincoln-Mazda.
Ford actually OWNED Mazda at the time.
@@davelyons4650 They owned like 50% or so.
😂
The outer body panels and interior were all Ford designed.
Had a '94 Mercury Tracer in 2013-2014. I called it my "glorified go-kart", and wow did it live up to that name! It didn't have a ton of power but it certainly was zippy and maneuverable. The front seatbelts were a great conversation starter. Poor thing's fuel pump rusted out, so my family sold it. Still miss that thing, if I had a chance to buy another one for relatively cheap and fix it up for a beater and/or for my future kids, I definitely would!
This is more rare than some "rare" hyper exotics
Especially now. They've all long since rotted away
That's what I'm saying, these cars actually have souls, unlike hyper cars, they are more of a status symbol
Anyone else notice the Monte Carlo pulling the Nova in the background?
I had to go back and watch it again after seeing your comment!
Yep, the 75-80 drag-a-way was primarily a drag strip. Now it's a dilapidated, overgrown former shell of itself.
I was searching for this comment! Lol
Back when cup holders were considered a novelty and not the norm. Anyone else remember the cup holder you would buy at Walmart that attached to the door window sill? Then when you close the door your drink would go all over the interior.
They sold a second gen version of that which had a fold down burger tray 😂
Ugh we had one of those in our 95 Taurus. One cup holder for the whole car.
We were still using those door cupholder things in my Mom's 1989 Volvo in 2006. lol
Yeah, I actually have one in my Capri right now
Had the first LTS in the UK while stationed over there in the Air Force, perfect car for the back roads!
And suddenly I want a silver Mercury Tracer.
Good luck
They sold a ton of these in Australia as the Ford Laser. I had one of these back in the day and it was basically the same car as this, branded as the Laser S and with the SOHC version of that engine. We had a lot of trim levels and some styling differences, but you could see they were the same car as the Mercury. The booted version was sold as the Ford Meteor for a few years, before taking on the Laser name as well. Most Lasers were made in Australia while the sporty versions which were two door and came in turbo form and for a while AWD as well were made and imported direct from Mazda in Japan with the Ford badges already on them as the XR-3 and XR-3 Turbo. We also had the Mazda 626 of that era as the Ford Telstar. Ford Australia loved the Mazda based cars as they sold really well for them and for a while the Laser was the best selling small car in Australia.
I had a laser with a 1.8 litre Mazda v6 from the mx3 or eunous , whatever it was called , had the disc brakes and gearbox from it aswell, brought it from a mechanic who worked at a mazda rotomotion
The Laser was also built in Japan (by Mazda, of course, which sold it through a special dealer channel called Autorama, specializing in Ford cars) and Taiwan. First-generation cars sold by Ford of Canada as the Mercury Tracer were built in Taiwan.
I’ve known about and seen many Escort GTs from this generation, and heard of the LTS as an uplevel version of the Tracer, but I did not realize this was the sporty version of the car. This is quite an interesting find.
I later learned the LTS was named to Car & Driver’s 10Best list for 1991, so this car was well-received at the time, but largely forgotten today.
Entertainment is more important than facts these days ...sadly not only in car reviews
That's because these cars didn't sell well nor were they advertised well. For 13k, there were better cars in it's class. Car and Driver did a comparison with this car and it placed last. Go figure
There was also the much rarer Escort LX-E. This was a four door with the same suspension, brakes, trans and 1.8 16v engine from the GT.
@@ProjectFairmont lol which doomed the LTS, since why spend more for it, when you can get the same in the Escort for less.
I had no idea the Mazda Protégé and the Mercury Tracer were the same car! My sister's first car was a Mazda Protégé -- my parents bought it for her back when she went to college. That thing lasted her a good 10 years and 200K miles -- and she never even had to replace the clutch, even though it was the car she learned to drive a stick-shift in. Well-built machines.
The previous generation of Tracers (88-90) were based off of the Mazda 323, in fact they were 100% built by Mazda.
I would rock that car today. It's a future classic. Or maybe a current classic. God I'm old.
lol how Mazda 323 GTX 4WD turbo is the rare and possibly classic one
I have one of these and hate it. Its to small for a guy of my size and without abs and without powersteering its a pain to drive
@@ozzywhitley4637 Lol oh well
@@ozzywhitley4637 really? where the hell do you live? arizona lol.
@@ozzywhitley4637 Unless yours is broken, these cars came with power steering.
We can debate whether Mazda made a better Mercury Tracer than Mercury did.
The 1988 Tracer was also a Mazda though.
Mazda didn't make the 1991-99 Mercury Tracer. Ford used Mazda's platform. And, in the case of the 1.8L DOHC, also Mazda's engine and trans.
The 91-99 Escort/Tracers were pretty solidly built vehicles, especially for Ford at that time.
Off course they did.
The same thing happened with GM’s Pontiac Vipe when Toyota installed it’s engines and transmissions.
@@sdrape4964 "especially for Ford at that time." Agreed
@@Beefy01 I owned an '88 Tracer built in a Mazda factory and I now own a 2005 Pontiac Vibe which was built in a Toyota-run factory alongside the Corolla and Tacoma.
I would love to find a clean Tracer LTS and Escort GT. Sadly most of them are all used up or rusted out by now.
More the latter. Rust loved these cars
If you want one, look hard because they're very hard to *trace*
I see what you did there. 😂
0-60 8.5 , I think some respect is due... when i was a kid i thought the auto seatbelts were so cool.... as an adult They look cool, but aggravating as hell and I'm pretty sure..
This is a good review for this lil car. It was not well known what it was during the day but essentially it was a 4 door Escort GT. I bet this version was fun to zip around in.
Good friend purchased new in 1993, drove until 2003. Never broke down and no mechanical mishaps. Brakes tune ups and fluid changes only great car. Replaced with 03 BMW 3 series...still has it too also great car.
That dashboard in the 1991 Tracer will appear on the Escort for 1995 with a passenger side airbag.
Yeah sure will
Lookin forward to that.
@@anthonyarrington3740 and they retained the dreaded automatic seatbelts.
They tested 1991 Ford Escort LX 4-door hatchback on Motorweek ‘90 same as Mazda 323 Protegé.
When I was a kid the senior citizen woman across the street had one of these. She was small this car was perfect for her.
8.5 to 60 is... respectable for this kind of car today; remarkably quick back then.
yess!!!! it was spot on with LS400 lol
Exactly. I expected it to be more like 10.5 seconds.
I think my '90 Sundance did 60 in about 11.5sec, which was pretty much par for course with economy cars back then. 8.5sec was very quick.
Too bad the Mazda engine had no low end grunt, you had no choice but to wring it out to get into the power band.
@@halohunter5217 thats an ecobox for yaa !!!!! 👌🏽😉
He was excited 😛 about those cup holders !
Those cupholders were maybe 1 inch deep & were only any good if the car was standing still!😅
fun as hell to. the older cars are slower but feel faster and funner than new cars
They are so much lighter with better sound from the engine and road feel. Although there are tradeoffs. Today's cars are better in every way but not as fun imo.
The Mazda based Ford Escort/Mercury Tracer is sold as the Ford Laser in Japan and other markets.
We also got this model as the 3rd generation Ford Laser in Australia
Its actually a Ford Laser, that's its actual place in the world. Same chassis but different body to the BP Mazda Familia/ 323 in its home markets. It was all a bit higgilty piggilty in North America what these cars were rebadged
@@Flying_GC Right. My mom used to have a 1995 Ford Escort LX 3door manual with the sport appearance group in December 1995 though I was a 1-year old at the time. It had decent rear seat legroom and great cargo room but the 1995 model year had a revised dash design plus dual airbags along with the atrocious automatic safety belts.
OMG! My first car!
Did you like it?
Mine also. Mine was a 1993 with the auto. Same color. But had the much slower 1.9L engine.
@@marekw.9816 For an 17 y/o, Yes I did. The freedom was great.
Lucky you
I had the 1989 Tracer they criticize. That was a great car.
Until only recently you could still see quite a few of these still on the road down here in Miami Which says a lot about It's build quality considering considering these were inexpensive inexpensive little knock around cars found cars that that usually usually had the shit beat out of them.
John and his love of a volt and oil pressure gauge
You gotta understand that oil and temp gauges were v important in all cars before 95, this was pre obd 2 and the only thing between you and knowing that your car is gonna fry was the oil and temp gauges
The 91-96 Escort/Tracer were good cars. Well built. Dependable. Especially with the 1.8L Mazda engine. Back in the day I test drove an Escort GT with the 5-spd manual against an Escort LX sedan with the 1.9L and 4-spd automatic. Totally different personalities. The LX was very smooth, but lazy feeling. The GT was rougher and louder, but had much better performance.
The Ford 1.9L was a wheezer. And at 88HP vs 127 HP, it's a no brainer.
@@fredzeppelin3969 most escorts and tracers had the 1.9L, since most buyers didn't shell out the extra money for the special escort GT and tracer LTS.
Apart from safety this thing is right up there with some cars on offer today. Infact when you factor in price after inflation it's way ahead of a lot of cars of today.
with many having rusted away
Wtf are you smoking? This thing on par with cars today??? You must be delusional.
I burst out laughing when the "volt and oil pressure gauges" were mentioned again😂
Now give us the Mazda Protege review!!! I wish we could see a retro review more than once a week!!
My father had one. One of many great cars he owned. It was bluish greenish in color and it had a cool interior especially the seat patterns
We had a 1990 Protege with the 4valve 1.8 and a 5 spd. Fun car especially shifting at 7000 rpm!
I owned a 92 Escort LX-E (4 door Escort GT) and one of the most fun cars I have ever owned.
I'd love to stick a modern 2.3l Ecoboost engine in one of these if i could ever find one clean enough to be worth it. I think these cars are stunning when they're mint, add power and you have a sweet retro daily driver.
When I was a kid, I never used to see numerous Tracers and Lynxes compared to Escorts.
Another car on the list of "cars I've never seen."
Imo and based upon my experience of owning one with the Ford sourced 1.9 with automatic, the Mazda powertrains were much better. Ford's small car program would have been better if they had made better use of Mazda's expertise. Case in point, I received an offer in the mail from Ford for a warranty extension...I think around 500 dollars at the time. Later on my car started to have engine problems and discovered Ford had a bad batch of engines with defective valves.
I have an appreciation for compact American cars and that is a very nice looking car.
I have never seen one of these.. i know they made the tracer, but had no idea they made a higher performance version.
Could you post the '88 Tracer 5-door you tested either next or in the near future? That is a very special car to me. In the summer of 1987, my grandmother sold her red 1980 Mercury Zephyr Boxtop 2-door sedan & bought a dark blue 1988 Mercury Tracer 3-door hatchback from James Lincoln/Mercury in Wakefield, MA. I had many rides in this car from 1987-1994 & loved every one of them. Plus, I would spend Sundays at her house either sitting in it or reading the owners manual while everyone else was watching MTV or VH-1. The only options that it had were power steering (optional on her 3-door, standard on the 5-door & wagon), A/C, automatic, & an AM/FM stereo, but to me, that was more than enough. 5 years ago, my grandmother passed away at the age of 90, but I will always think of her every time I look at this modest little car........& one day, I hope to have one exactly like it for myself.
I had an Antique Gold, 3 door 88 Tracer. Sadly, mine was not loaded with luxury features like the one you describe. Mine had a 4 Speed manual as the 5 speed manual would have been an upgrade. It had no power steering or brakes but those Tracer hatches did have independent rear suspension which has vanished from subcompact economy cars for the last 2 decades.
This is basically the review for my 1991 Mazda Protege LX 5 speed. I Loved my Protege, it was my first Mazda now on my 6th!
The relationship between Ford and Mazda seemed to benefit both brands.
What did Mazda get from Ford?
@@jareknowak8712 Ford sold a lot of Probes in those days that were basically Mazda 6's under the covers. Mazda got the sales volume under the Ford Name they would not have had otherwise. That additional volume allowed Mazda to be much more competitive than they are today. Yes I agree, from a product standpoint, Mazda didn't get much from Ford (Mazda Tribute didn't sell well). Mitsubishi has fared even worse, after Chrysler stopped selling their rebadged vehicles as well. At least Mazda still makes decent products - they just lack the exposure that Ford was able to give them back then.
@@jareknowak8712 massive investment is what. In the southern hemisphere Mazda and Ford are still quite closely linked although the Ford ownership has dwindled to next to nothing. Outside the US they collaborated on most their vehicle's and they were some of the best cars on the market. Around New Zealand 90s Fords and Mazdas are everywhere still.
I traded in my 1979 Corolla for a new 1990 Tracer/ Mazda Protege manual and it turned out to be a pretty good car. I paid $8900 for it, man how we need affordable cars to come back.
$8900 in 1990 is equivalent to $17,723 in 2020. I think you can get a base Mazda 3 sedan for around that much. Or at the very least you can definitely get a Hyundai or Kia compact with some nice equipment.
@@CrossingRover Right...'cheap' cars do exist today, turns out only a few people buy them. Most buyers like to pack on the options these days. However, to put it another way, adjusted for inflation, today's cheapest cars are less than this Tracer was in 1990, and obviously come with so much more for the equivalent money. Thirty years has given us better performance, economy, safety and tech than any econobox from back then could ever have dreamed of! (Not so much in terms of gauges though, even the oil temp is an idiot light on many new cars....I think John has given up on the fight.)
@@RoadCone411 Exactly, I didn't want to seem like I was arguing with WR ZL1 but there really is no comparison between this Mercury and even the cheapest 2021 Chevy Spark or Hyundai Accent.
Inexpensive modern cars have significantly more horsepower, safety equipment, and standard features compared to some of the enthusiast favorites of the 80s and 90s. I say this as a huge fan of things like the AE86 and EK hatch.
Affordable cars *are* here today, adjusted for inflation, $8,900 in 1990 is worth $17,723.73 today Some modern as John here says econoboxes come with factory air conditioning, 8 airbags, anti-lock brakes, an AM/FM radio with bluetooth, automatic transmission.
The list goes on and on. The econoboxes from the early 90's were just dreadful. But your 1979 Corolla was a death box, safety wise. Today you get so much more. You get more bang for the buck now, You had to pay for all of those included now standard features. Hell! Even floor mats on some inexpensive cars from that time were paid for options. They now come standard.
Now that people aren't buying sedans, there are deals to be had. My locale Chevy dealer has leftover new 2020 Malibus for $17,500. Also seeing new Toyota Yaris'(Mazda 2) for $17k.
my parents had a 4 door 93 Tracer, but of course with an automatic and crank windows
My first new car was a '93 Tracer, automatic, with crank windows. If I could buy a new one today I'd do it in a heartbeat. They were simple, honest, reliable, easy to work cars
Back in the days I remember wanting one of these. I ended up with a Escort GT instead.
Had a 1989 Tracer Wagon great dependable car!
Good cars. My Mum had the Ford Laser version (basically same car) in New Zealand ('92 model), trading it in only recently. Her's was a lower spec 1.6 carburetor jobby but ultra reliable with about 250,000 km on the clock and still going strong.
Mazda really helped out Ford in the 1990s and all they got in return was a short lived rebadged Ford Explorer Sport called the Mazda Navajo.
Free tip: there is life outside the US. And Mazda and Fords relationship was massive, with Ford owning the Majority shareholding. You didn't get the good stuff because the US was always protecting its own manufacturing. To say that's all Mazda got shows you don't actually know anything about their partnership.
@@Flying_GC I also forgot the Mazda B Series pickup trucks rebadged from the Ford Ranger. What else did Mazda get? I know later in the 2000s Mazda got the Tribute based on the Ford Escape.
@@gedaman Don't forget about the Mazda MX6 based Ford Probe. They were lousy cars though. The automatic transmissions were garbage.
What a gorgeous beauty testing the interior of the car! Was she a model?
This thing will beat a BMW 318, that's hilarious. I have to admit that I never did like the look of these Tracers. I preferred the Corsica with the v6. This thing did do well for a 1.8 from 91 in acceleration.
Corsica was intermediate, this was compact. The Cavalier/Sunbird and Dodge Shadow/Plymouth Sundance had optional V6's around this time too though.
@@corionh4775 I know it was slightly larger, but the pricing was about the same.
I had both a 91 Corsica v6 and a 94 escort gt. I will say that my escort gt I had was faster then the Corsica.
@@ericouellette5293 I drove both, and I have to say the exact opposite. According to MotorWeek, the Corsica was a little quicker even with a manual on the Escort GT. I did like the interior on the Escort a little better though.
@shafta99 Corsica was always designated as an intermediate. Cavalier was compact. Sprint/Spectrum/Metro was sub-compact.
I miss when we could buy Japanese reliability buried in a (relatively for this car) comfortable American housing.
I hear you. I owned a quite decent , made in Japan Tracer 2 door hatch and today I drive an excellent 'Pontiac' Vibe manufactured alongside Corollas and Tacomas.Too bad I missed my chance at a 'Chevy' Tracker.
@@rightlanehog3151 lol Tracker was not that good.
Except this is a Ford Australia product brought to the US.
4:36 “There’s also a CONVENIENT CUP HOLDER.”
Basically, thanks goes to Mazda. Protege was a good design and Ford knew it. 😜
Very true
So, better than anything engineered solely in the USA by the Big 3 at the time. THX John.
So much better though it would not match the build quality or reliability of the Prizm of that era.
I had a 1992 Ford Escort LXE, essentially the same car as this one. It was fun.
I just got one, 94 with 92k milage on it.. for $500 in great condition.
She used the folding rear seat as a handrest
This is the first time Ive seen the MPG beat what the EPA said- they were almost always off then- always much worse than the EPA or manufacturer's estimates.
Love the rims
That NA 1.8 puts down some pretty darn reasonable power down even by today’s standard. Out 16 spark 1.4NA is 98hp.
Some cams and a turbo would really wake it up!
Today Ford still makes mercury's, the difference, they're called Lincoln's.
Anyone remember the Mercury Lynx of the early 80's? Mercury's answer to the first-gen Escort.
Yes, was a disappointment.
This is one of those cars that just seems
to have disappeared. Also, any chance we could get a second generation GMC Jimmy, Oldsmobile Bravada, or Chevy Blazer? Preferably the 98 refresh.
lol
Did John ever find a car with high enough stereo controls?
I was going to buy the Ford Escort version of this car. It was so cute but it smelled like cigarette smoke. LOL
Lol
Alotta us smoked back then. Just find a Really good detail shop!😊
I like her hair too bad she’s probably 80 by now
+1 but I'd say 65 tops.
I'd say definitely 60's. She was probably in her mid to late 30's in 1990 when this was filmed.
Was she 50 back then?
And still gorgeous.
I went to the comments to see if anybody mentioned the hotness of the car tester girl. I enjoyed watching her put the interior through its paces. That was nice.
3:52 John: VOLT AND OIL PRESSURE GAUGES WOULD BE APPRECIATED! LOL
even today lol
My first car was a 1994 Mercury Tracer. It had the standard 1.9 But it was a great car
My dad had a hatchback of this car. Thought it was an 89, could be wrong. First speeding ticket. 104 mph and I even slowed down
Nice car. If i lived in america i would probably have bought one back then...;)
I love Mercury Tracer is beautiful car
I miss my '93 Escort LX with it's steering wheel that shook violently at idle standard. I do wonder if the 1.8L cars like this one had that same issue though?
The 1.8 is much smoother
Yep. Had the same vibrating steering wheel/column on my 92 tracer LTS. Identical to the one in this video except mine was bright red. It vibrated so much that it made the keys jingle lol. Very embarrassing if you had a passenger.
I wonder if there’s a 1993-95 mercury Sable review I own a 95 I know it’s more of a older person car but I like it
This is basically a Mazda Protege but with Ford styling. Noisy and uncomfortable, but a great little economy car at the time.
The 1991 Mercury Tracer LTS and the Ford Escort LX-E 4-door sedan performance model was the pinnacle of the Mazda 323 Protege era. To make it even more better in the appearance, they should have put the Ford Escort GT front bumper on both of them to make it stand out in a sport sedan, because of the fog lights. Although, it's the greatest cars for it ever came out but the second gen model Ford Escort a Mercury Tracer 4-door sedan in the 90s.
Ford wanted Mercury to have an identity
God bless the BP engine!
I'm young and i want to buy that car!
i remebered at the time those cars were the same price of a 5.0 lx mustang. they were expensive.
I doubt they sold many of these; I don't imagine many young people ever ventured into a Lincoln Mercury dealership.
Younger people bought Escorts, these Mercury versions were mostly mom cars from what I remember.
I wish a 4 (or5) door hatchback version of the Tracer LTS had been offered for those who wanted the versatility of the multi-door hatchback and did not want a 2 (or 3) door Ford Escort GT. The Mercury version had nicer styling, if only it had been offered in a hot hatch design.
Nice looking econobox.
@3:59 That's really some major wig action.
honestly those are not bad numbers all things considered. Seems like a great dd.
I've seen many Mercury Tracers in my day but never have I seen one of these. Granted I was just a 1 year old at the time this came out
I liked the previous Tracer design better
Was it a more reliable version as well.
Man, I kinda want one.
Did you notice that At no point did they compare the Mercury tracer to it's much more closely related "corporate cousin" the Ford escort ? I guarantee you that that was directed by forward as a way to distinguish it. The escort GT and Later escort LX Sedan shared the same monster 16 valve engine.
Which led to a decline in Tracer sales. Why spend more for the same car one could get for less at Ford? lol
Very rare car I’d imagine
it's interesting to watch supposed experts on cars, start a fuel injected car by flooring the throttle while starting it.
Those roller skate wheels.
The first Tracer sold well i thought I had several friends who bought them new . Didn't the gen was a Mazda for was the Escort a Mazda too?
Mercury Tracer and Mazda Protege had a 1.8 liter with 4 valves. The Ford Escort GT was a 1.9 liter 2 valve Ford motor. My friend had an Escort GT and my 4 door Protege 5 spd would crush him. I would shift at just over 7,000 rpm.
@@robertw2902 the 91-96 Escort GT had the same 1.8. Your friend's had to have been older.
na década de 90 esse tem a personalidade luxuoso esse carro raro
I like the escort hatchback better. Mercury was boring
the marauder wasnt lol
@@JDMHaze LOL Too little too late.
@@toyoscio yessiirrr😂😂😂
The Marauder was boring. Auto only... A V6 5 speed Cougar was fun though. Pretty close to a Contour SVT with the correct number of doors.
@@halohunter5217 Well look at the platform it came from 🤷🏽♂️ But yes they should've stop being lazy and modified it to have a manual option
Almost bought a used one of these in red. Nice little car. Unfortunately it was previously owned by a heavy smoker I could tell. When I sat in it to take it for a test drive, it smelled like I was sitting in a giant ash tray. Had to pass on it unfortunately.
Yeah cause who doesn't like one of those. I don't
@@carwhiz90 Well that was many years ago that I was looking at it. Like 1998 or so. Car was in excellent shape except for the ashtray smell. Not an easy task to get the smell of smoke out of a car when it's been owned by a heavy smoker. Basically have to wash every hard surface and scrub all the cloth surfaces.
@@Snake-ms7sj it's a shame though. It looked like it had a lot of potential. If say you were to buy that car would you have taken it to a professional detailer to get rid of that dirty awful smoke smell
@@carwhiz90 You would think that the dealer would have done that before he put it on the lot for sale. Most dealers have the cars detailed.
@@Snake-ms7sj good point
The car to replace the miata when you had kids.