After a bit of a hiatus, my retro reviews are back. This was car number 3 I drove, the much maligned Mercury Capri XR2. Let's just say this was not one of the family's finer moments. I mean, look at the thing (ours was white, and it did look a *little* better). At least we got the XR2, which had a 132 hp turbocharged 4. As a power-addicted youngster, I think the appeal of this car versus the recently introduced Miata was that it had a bit more balls, and it didn't seem as much of a girly car. Oh, youth. It did also have the possibility of putting more than 2 people in it - see the rear seat! The integrated tonneau cover was pretty slick, but being all manual you had to get out of the car to put the top up or down.
This car wasn't that great than. But it wasn't all bad. It's a convertible, and as I've rediscovered with my own recently purchased convertible, I forgot what a blast a drop-top is. And it was quick. Around 7.5 to 60 as I recall, which beat the girly-Mazda by something like 1.5 seconds. Torque steer was a handful in 1st and 2nd, so a firm hold and a little arm wrestling was required.
I really don't have a huge amount to say about this car. It should qualify as a footnote in my automotive history, except I learned to drive a manual in it. As did my mom, who hated this car. She called it "the tin death trap," or something equally morbid. It didn't feel like the most solid car. But learning to drive manual resulted in my mom eventually getting a quite remarkable car, a '94 240SX, which I'll write about in the future.
One more thing. The Capri was based on a Ford of Australia vehicle. Might also have been called a Capri. Ford still makes some Aussie specfic cars, but this saga obviously didn't leave them with a great outlook, as they've not done anything like this with their models from down under since. GM isn't having much better luck, although the new G8 seems like a nice car. Wait, what car was I writing about? Unlike the previous 2 cars I had driven, the Capri did not leave much of a mark on this enthusiast's soul. That's perhaps the best commentary on its failure.
1 comment:
I learned to drive on that suicide machine too. I have to admit it was a blast to drive though. When I was sans car in high school all the girls loved it...but then that isn't saying much! Speaking of cars in high school are you going to say anything about the other suicide machine, the Probe? You drove that one a couple of times...or would you rather I put my two cents in?
Post a Comment