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Ford Escort (Europe)

The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. In total there were six generations, spread across three basic platforms: the original, rear-wheel-drive Mk.1/Mk.2 (1968–1980), the "Erika" front-wheel-drive Mk.3/Mk.4 (1980–1992), and the final CE-14 Mk.5/Mk.6 (1990–2002) version. Its successor, the Ford Focus, was released in 1998, but the final generation of Escort was phased out gradually, with the panel van version ending production in 2002 in favour of the Ford Transit Connect.

The Escort was frequently the best selling car in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s. A total of more than 4.1 million Escorts of all generations were sold there over a period of 33 years.

In 2014, Ford revived the Escort name for a car based on the second-generation Ford Focus, sold on the Chinese market.

Ford Escort 100E (1955–1961)
The first use of the Ford Escort name was for a reduced-specification version of the Ford Squire, a 1950s estate-car version of the British Ford Anglia 100E.

First generation (1967–1975)
The Mark I Ford Escort was introduced in Ireland and the United Kingdom at the end of 1967, making its show debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968. It replaced the successful, long-running Anglia. The Escort was also presented in Europe as the first passenger car to be developed by the merged Ford of Europe (the Transit van having been the first product of this collaboration). Escort production commenced at the Halewood plant in England during the closing months of 1967, and for left-hand-drive markets during September 1968 at the Ford plant in Genk. Initially the continental Escorts differed slightly under the skin from the UK-built ones. The front suspension and steering gear were configured differently and the brakes were fitted with dual hydraulic circuits; also the wheels fitted on the Genk-built Escorts had wider rims. At the beginning of 1970, continental European production transferred to a new plant on the edge of Saarlouis, West Germany.

The Escort was a commercial success in several parts of Western Europe, but nowhere more so than in the UK, where the national bestseller of the 1960s, BMC's Austin/Morris 1100 was beginning to show its age, while Ford's own Cortina had grown, both in dimensions and in price, beyond the market niche at which it had originally been pitched. It competed with the Vauxhall Viva, and from early 1970 the Rootes Group's Hillman Avenger.

In June 1974, six years after the car's UK introduction, Ford announced the completion of the two-millionth Ford Escort, a milestone hitherto unmatched by any Ford model outside the US. It was also stated that 60% of the two million Escorts had been built in Britain. In West Germany, cars were built at a slower rate of around 150,000 cars per year, slumping to 78,604 in 1974, which was the last year for the Escort Mk1. Many of the German built Escorts were exported, notably to Benelux and Italy; from the perspective of the West German domestic market, the car was cramped and uncomfortable when compared with the well-established and comparably priced Opel Kadett, and it was technically primitive when set against the successful imported Fiat 128 and Renault 12. Subsequent generations of the Escort closed the gap somewhat, but in Europe's largest auto-market Escort sales volumes always came in well behind those of the General Motors Kadett and its Astra successor.

The Escort had conventional rear-wheel drive and a four-speed manual gearbox or three-speed automatic transmission. The suspension consisted of MacPherson strut front suspension and a simple live axle mounted on leaf springs. The Escort was the first small Ford to use rack-and-pinion steering. The Mark I featured contemporary styling cues in tune with its time: a subtle Detroit-inspired "Coke bottle" waistline and the "dogbone" shaped front grille – arguably the car's main stylistic feature. Similar Coke bottle styling featured in the

larger Cortina Mark III, launched in 1970 (a visually similar reskinned version of the Cortina was built in West Germany as the Taunus).

Initially, the Escort was sold as a two-door saloon (with circular front headlights and rubber flooring on the "De Luxe" model). The "Super" model featured rectangular headlights, carpets, a cigar lighter and a water temperature gauge. A two-door estate was introduced at the end of March 1968, which, with the back seat folded down, provided a 40% increase in maximum load space over the old Anglia 105E estate, according to the manufacturer. The estate featured the same engine options as the saloon, but it also included a larger, 7+1/2 in clutch, stiffer rear springs and, in most configurations, slightly larger brake drums or discs than the saloon. A panel van appeared in April 1968 and the 4-door saloon (a bodystyle the Anglia was never available in for UK market) in 1969.

Underneath the bonnet was the Kent crossflow engine also used in the smallest capacity North American Ford Pinto. Diesel engines on small family cars were rare, and the Escort was no exception, initially featuring only petrol engines – in 1.1 L, and 1.3 L versions. A 940 cc engine was also available in some export markets such as Italy and France. This tiny engine remained popular in Italy, where it was carried over for the Escort Mark II, but in France it was discontinued during 1972.

There was a 1300GT performance version, with a tuned 1.3 L crossflow (OHV) engine with a Weber carburetor and uprated suspension. This version featured additional instrumentation with a tachometer, battery charge indicator, and oil pressure gauge. The same tuned 1.3 L engine was also used in a variation sold as the Escort Sport, that used the flared front wings from the AVO range of cars, but featured trim from the more basic models. Later, an "executive" version of the Escort was produced known as the "1300E". This featured the same 13" road wheels and flared wings of the Sport, but was trimmed in an upmarket fashion for the time, with wood trim on the dashboard and door cappings.

A higher-performance version for rallies and racing was available, the Escort Twin Cam, built for Group 2 international rallying. It had an engine with a Lotus-made eight-valve twin camshaft head fitted to the 1.5 L non-crossflow block, which had a bigger bore than usual to give a capacity of 1,558 cc. This engine had originally been developed for the Lotus Elan. Production of the Twin Cam, which was originally produced at Halewood, was phased out as the Cosworth-engined RS1600 (RS denoting Rallye Sport) production began. The most famous edition of the Twin Cam was raced on behalf of Ford by Alan Mann Racing in the British Saloon Car Championship in 1968 and 1969, sporting a full Formula 2 Ford FVA 16-valve engine, producing over 200 hp. The Escort, driven by Australian driver Frank Gardner, went on to comfortably win the 1968 championship.

The Mark I Escort became successful as a rally car, and eventually went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of all time. The Ford works team was practically unbeatable in the late 1960s / early 1970s, and arguably the Escort's greatest victory was in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally, driven by Finnish legend Hannu Mikkola and Swedish co-driver Gunnar Palm. This gave rise to the Escort Mexico (1598 cc crossflow-engined) special-edition road versions in honour of the rally car. Introduced in November 1970, 10,352 Mexico Mark Is were built using bodyshells with additional strengthening panels in high stress areas, making them more suitable for competition.

In addition to the Mexico, the RS1600 was developed with a 1601 cc Cosworth BDA which used a crossflow block with a 16-valve Cosworth cylinder head, named "Belt Drive A Series". Both the Mexico and RS1600 were built at Ford's Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) facility located at the Aveley Plant in South Essex. As well as higher-performance engines and sports suspension, like the Mexico these models featured the strengthened bodyshell.

Ford also produced an RS2000 model as an alternative to the somewhat temperamental RS1600, featuring a 2.0 L Pinto (OHC) engine. This also clocked up some rally and racing victories and pre-empted the hot hatch market as a desirable but affordable performance road car. Like the Mexico and RS1600, this car was produced at the Aveley plant using the strengthened bodyshell.

The Escort was built in Germany and Britain, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

Model range
All models 1100 and 1300 were offered in 2 door Saloon, 4 door Saloon and 3 doors Estate versions.

New Zealand
Ford New Zealand's Seaview plant in Lower Hutt built 1.1 and 1.3-litre versions, initially as Deluxe (1.1) and Super (1.3) two-door sedans plus panel vans. The four-door sedan was added in 1970. Trim levels were revised after the 1972 UK facelift with just one run of 1.3XLs (with the GT instrument pack) before these were downgraded to 'L' trim. Base and L trims were offered to the end of the Mk I run. Some 1.6 Mexicos were imported in 1973–74 after the government temporarily freed up import licensing owing to a shortage of new cars. Estate versions were mostly imported.

Australia
The Mk I was produced by Ford Australia from 1970 to 1975 as a two- or four-door saloon and as a two-door panel van. 1100 cc and 1300 cc engines were offered, as was the 1558 cc twin cam unit., the last only in the Escort Twin Cam model, which was renamed the Escort GT 1600 in late 1971. Some 67,146 examples of the Mk I were built in Australia, with local sourcing bringing the Australian content of the vehicles to 85 per cent. In 1975 Ford Australia imported 25 MK1 RS2000 Escorts from England for sale in the local market.

Israel
Assembly of the Mk I Escort was undertaken by Automotive Industries in Upper Nazareth, in conjunction with the local distributor, Israeli Automotive Corp. Assembly from UK-sourced kits started in April 1968. The last Mk I, a light green 1100cc two-door, was produced on 14 November 1975. A total of 14,905 units were assembled in Israel, including 105 Escort 400 vans.

Japan
The Mk I Escort was sold in Japan, imported from the United Kingdom by Kintetsu Motors and was available with the 1.3 L engine in GT trim, and was sold alongside the Ford Cortina and the Ford Capri. Sales were helped by the fact that this generation Escort complied with Japanese government dimension regulations concerning vehicle dimensions and engine displacement. Only the four-door saloon was offered, and this was the only generation available to Japanese buyers. The engine displacement contributed to a lower annual road tax obligation to Japanese buyers which helped sales.

South Africa
Approximately 100 Mk 1 Escort RS1600s were sent to South Africa as knock down kits (CKD) in 1970/1 and were assembled in the Ford Port Elizabeth plant. They were sold through the Ford dealer network but some of the initial cars suffered oil feed problems which was later rectified by Ford in collaboration with Cosworth.

A batch of sixty RS1600s were sold by Ford SA to Basil Green Motors in Edenvale, Johannesburg who replaced the twin cam BDA engines with the 2000cc SOHC Pinto engine and the car was renamed the Escort Perana.

Approximately 40 of the original cars retained the twin-cam BDA engine and these cars were sold as RS1600s by Ford dealers throughout South Africa. These cars had an identification tag under the driver’s seat in addition to the Ford SA VIN tag in the engine compartment.

South African RS1600s had various detailed differences from the Ford UK cars. They were painted yellow with a black stripe to the rear panel and to the cills. They also had black blocks painted on the bonnet. The front seats were from the Capri V4.

Second generation (1974–1980)
The squarer-styled Mark II version appeared in January 1975. The first production models had rolled off the production lines on 2 December 1974.

Unlike the first Escort (which was developed by Ford of Britain), the second generation was developed jointly between the UK and Ford of Germany. Codenamed "Brenda" during its development, it used the same mechanical components, floorpan and core structure as the Mark I. The 940 cc engine was still offered in Italy where the smaller engine attracted tax advantages, but in the other larger European markets in Europe it was unavailable. The estate and van versions used the same doors, roof and rear panelwork as the Mark I, but with the Mark II front end and interior.

The car used a revised underbody, which had been introduced as a running change during the last six months production of the Mark I. The rear suspension still sat on leaf springs though some contemporaries such as the Hillman Avenger had moved on to coil springs. The car came in for criticism for its lack of oddments space, with a glove compartment available on only higher end models, and its stalk-mounted horn.

The "L" and "GL" models (2-door, 4-door, estate) were in the mainstream private sector, the "Sport", "RS Mexico", and "RS2000" in the performance market, the "Ghia" (2-door, 4-door) for a hitherto untapped small car luxury market, and "base / Popular" models for the bottom end. The base spec Popular versions for British market were divided into "Popular" and "Popular Plus", with the former being an "austerity" model with vinyl seats and rubber carpets, the 'Plus' version having a fully trimmed interior.

Panel-van versions catered to the commercial sector. The 1.6 L (1598 cc/97 CID) engine in the 1975 1.6 Ghia produced 84 hp (63 kW) with 125 N·m (92 ft·lbf) torque and weighed 955 kg (2105 lb).

In August 1977, the Escort received its first noticeable facelift, with the front grille, boot lid and steering wheel hub cap being fitted with the oval Ford logo instead of the previous single-letter lettering.

A further cosmetic update was given in 1978 (note that Australia received differing updates – see below), with L models gaining the square headlights (previously exclusive to the GL and Ghia variants) and there was an upgrade in interior and exterior specification for some models. All models (other than RS) had a new steering wheel and the horizontal chrome strip along the center of the grille removed. Underneath a wider front track was given.

In 1979 and 1980 three special edition Escorts were launched: the Linnet, Harrier and Goldcrest.

Production ended in Britain in August 1980, other countries following soon after.

Australia
The Mk II Escort was assembled at Ford Australia's Homebush Plant, Sydney from March 1975 to 1980 in 2-door and 4-door sedan, and 2-door panel van forms – the estate versions were unavailable to the Australian market.

The sedan models were available in L, XL (later renamed GL) and Ghia forms, and a Sport pack option – similar to the 1300 and 1600 Sport models sold elsewhere. Unlike other markets – likely due to the estate's absence – the van was offered in a higher level of trim – a GL, and a Sport pack van was also available. Unusual fitments for the range not offered elsewhere on the Australian Escort included 'dog-dish' steel hubcaps, and high-backed front seats.

The initial powerplants utilized in the Australian Escorts were Ford's 1.3 L and 1.6 L OHV Crossflow units, offered with either 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmissions. In 1977, to cope with Australian emission laws, in particular ADR27A, the 1.3L models were dropped and the Ford Cortina's 2.0L OHC Pinto engine (in a lower tune to European units) was introduced to the Escort range, available as an option on nearly all models. Codenamed internally by Ford Australia as "BC", the Australian Escort range's bodies were modified to fit the larger engine and a redesigned fuel-tank, which involved the placement of the fuel filler being behind the rear numberplate.

In 1978, Ford Australia standardised the use of the blue oval logo across the Escort model range. These Escort models are identified by the familiar blue Ford oval in the centre of the grille and on the right of the bootlid. It also revamped the image of its 'leisure range' by introducing the Escort Sundowner panel van, positioning it as a youth-orientated lifestyle vehicle complete with bold body decorations and domed side windows, available in 1.6L and 2.0L forms. In 1979, Ford Australia gave the Escort an update, increasing basic equipment levels and standardising square headlights on L and GL models (previously only available on Escort Ghia). Chasing both youth and performance, Ford Australia introduced their take on the RS2000, which – complete with its slant-nose – was available in both two-door form and as a unique to Australia four-door, in a choice of five solid paint colours. These RS cars certainly looked the part, but were actually powered by the same 2.0-litre engine as the rest of the local Escort range, and available with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. A total of 2,400 Australian RS2000 cars were made.

While offered in many model forms, the Escort, like the Cortina, was not popular on the Australian market, largely due to expanding competition from Japanese imports and the established preference of Australian drivers for larger six-cylinder vehicles, including Ford Australia's own Falcon.

Australian Escort production ceased in late 1980, with 79,142 examples of the Mk II produced, the range being replaced by FWD derivatives of the Mazda 323/Familia, namely the Ford Laser 3-door and 5-door hatchback and the Meteor 4-door sedan.

New Zealand
The Mk II Escort was introduced to New Zealand in early 1975, assembled at Ford's plant in Wiri, South Auckland. Unlike the Australian models, the New Zealand Escort range followed the specifications of the British models, aside from the use of metric instrumentation. All bodystyles were assembled, including the estate – previously (in Mk I guise) a built-up import from the United Kingdom.

A large choice of models were available in the NZ Escort range, consisting of 1.1 L (base), 1.3 L (L, GL, 1300 Sport, estate and van variants) and 1.6 L (Ghia, 1600 Sport) variants – the 1.1 being aimed at budget conscious buyers, the 1.3 L models were popular, and the 1.6 L – which appeared in New Zealand production in 1976 – being reserved for 1600 Sport and Ghia models. A three-speed automatic transmission was available as an option for most 1.3- and 1.6-litre models.

Unlike Australia, and helped by restrictions on how many Japanese cars could be sold in New Zealand, the Escort and Cortina ranges sold well and often topped the car monthly sales lists. An update was given for the range for 1979, which notably involved the addition of the Ghia model, the adoption of the GL's square headlights on the lower end models, Ford blue oval badging, and sport wheels on the L and GL. For 1980, all Ghia models gained standard alloy wheels.

The production of British-sourced and New Zealand-assembled Escorts ended in late 1980. Ford dealers offered large price reductions to shift their remaining Mk II Escort stock when the model was replaced in New Zealand by the Ford Laser in May 1981, which was a badge engineered Mazda 323, available in sedan and hatchback forms.

Rest of the world
Assembly of the Mk II Escort commenced in August 1975. The Escort was a best-seller in the IsraelI market, its best year being 1976, when a total of 3,801 units were assembled. The line-up included 1.1- and 1.3-litre versions. Most were of the four-door variety, and only 150 were built as a 2-door 1.1L. Assembly ended after 12,700 units, in April 1981. No Ford passenger car was since then assembled in Israel.
 * Israel

Escort Mark II shells built in Halewood, England were assembled in Struandale, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, from late 1975 until 1980. When originally launched, the Escort Mark II was sold as the 1300 L or as the 1600 GL, with two- or four-door bodywork. Aside from colour-coded hubcaps, most of the equipment differences were only on the inside with the GL being considerably better equipped. The GL also received square headlights, back-up lights, and body-side mouldings. The South African Escort received the 1.3-litre Kent engine with 42 kW, while the 1.6 claimed 52 kW. Early in 1979 the 1600 sport was launched, featuring a two-door bodyshell, revised gear ratios and a sporty look, using the 1600 motor proving to become a highly popular vehicle to the present day. The "One Six Double O" Sport was the best selling car in South Africa in 1980 at its retail price of R4995.00.
 * South Africa

Rallying
As with its predecessor, the Mark II had a successful rallying career. All models of the Mark I were carried over to the Mark II, though the Mexico gained the RS badge and had its engine changed to a 1593 cc OHC Pinto instead of the OHV. A "Sport" model was also produced using the 1.6 L Crossflow. A new model was released, the RS1800, which had a naturally aspirated 1833 cc Cosworth BDE DOHC 4 valves per cylinder with a 32/36 DGAV Weber carburetor inline-four engine, producing 117 PS at 6000 rpm and 171 Nm of torque at 3750 rpm. It was essentially a special created for rallying.

The works rally cars were highly specialised machines. Bodyshells were heavily strengthened and characterised by the wide wheelarch extensions, and fitment of four large spotlights for night stages. The Cosworth BDE engine was replaced with 2.0 L BDG and gave up to 250 bhp with Cosworth-made aluminium block by 1979. It was complemented by a strengthened transmission, five-speed straight-cut ZF gearbox, five-linked suspension and more minor modifications. The RS1800 was re-homologated with the aluminium block on 2 April 1977 as the 1975 cc Group-4 Escort RS. This was after the FIA removed the 100-off rule from Appendix J 1976 and banned modifications approved under the previous rules for groups 2 and 4, effective from the end of 1977.

The Mark II Escort continued its predecessor's run on the RAC Rally, winning every year from 1975 to 1979 and racing in a variety of other events around the world. In the 1979 season of the World Rally Championship, Björn Waldegård took the drivers' title, Hannu Mikkola was runner-up and Ari Vatanen finished the year in fifth place, all driving Escort RS1800s.

These drivers' successes throughout the year gave Ford the manufacturers' title, the only time the company had achieved this until the 2006 season, when Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen won the title for Ford in Ford Focus RS WRC 06. Vatanen won the drivers' title in 1981, again at the wheel of an RS1800. This victory came despite the arrival on the WRC scene of the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro. Ford placed in the top three in the manufacturers' championship for the sixth year in a row.

The 2.0 L RS2000 version, with its distinctively slanted polyurethane nose, and featuring the Pinto engine from the Cortina, was announced in the UK in March 1975 and introduced in Germany in August 1975, being reportedly produced in both countries. It provided a claimed 110 bhp and a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h). For acceleration to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) a time of 8.9 seconds was claimed by the manufacturers. The 2.0 L engine was also easily retro-fitted into the Mark I, along with the Ford Sierra's five-speed gearbox, for rallying and other sports.

Third generation (1980–1986)
Codenamed "Erika", the third-generation Escort was launched in September 1980. Development work had effectively begun even before the MkII's launch in 1974 with the start of the CVH engine programme, with the final exterior styling and interior design being signed off in late 1977. The North American Escort introduced at this time was a distantly related derivative. Sales in the United Kingdom increased, and by 1982 it had overtaken the ageing Cortina as the nation's best-selling car, beginning an eight-year run as Britain's best selling car.

Unlike the Mark II, which had essentially been a reskin of the original 1968 platform, the Mark III was a completely new design, and was conceived as a hi-tech, high-efficiency vehicle which would compete with the Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic – considered at the time the class benchmarks. The Mark III was therefore a major engineering and stylistic departure from the two previous models; the biggest changes being the adoption of front-wheel drive, the new hatchback body and the all-new CVH overhead camshaft engines. The suspension was fully independent all around, departing from the archaic leaf spring arrangement found on its predecessors and the bodyshell was on average, 75 kg lighter than that of the Mk II, yet Ford claimed was stiffer than the outgoing car. Ford however, was conscious that loyal customers of the previous generation Escorts may be deterred by the Mk III's advanced design, and hence the car was marketed in the United Kingdom with the strapline "Simple is Efficient". The major changes to the Escort mirrored that of its General Motors contemporary launched just months before – the Opel Kadett D (Vauxhall Astra Mk I) – which had also changed to an advanced front wheel drive hatchback from the rear wheel drive sedan architecture of its predecessor.

It was Ford Europe's third front-wheel drive model launch, the second being the smaller Fiesta in 1976, and the first being the 1962 German Taunus 12M (P4). The car used Ford's contemporary design language of the period with the black louvred radiator grille and straked rear lamp clusters, as well as introducing the aerodynamic "bustle-back" bootlid stump (trademarked by Ford as Aeroback) which would be further developed in the forthcoming Sierra and Scorpio; the stump was proven to reduce the car's aerodynamic drag co-efficient significantly, which was a class-leading 0.38 at launch.

New were the overhead camshaft CVH engines in 1.3 L and 1.6 L formats, with the older Ford Kent-based "Valencia" engine from the Fiesta powering the 1.1 L derivative, although there was a short-lived 1.1 version of the CVH engine sold in certain markets before it was discontinued in 1982.

The Escort Mark III was voted European Car of the Year in 1981, fighting off stiff competition from Italy's Fiat Panda and British Leyland's Austin Metro.

From launch, the car was available in base (Popular), L, GL, Ghia and XR3 trim. As was common for Ford during this period, there were different dashboard mouldings for "high" and "low" series trim levels. GL and above models had a slush-moulded dashboard with 'soft feel' covering, and faux chrome embellishment. Base and L specification models had a 'hard feel' injection moulded dashboard with fewer holes for switches – the base dashboard was a sub-variation of this which omitted the centre air vents, glovebox, side demister vents and speaker grille and only a two-position blower fan switch. These lead-in models were extremely basic even for their time; in addition to the aforementioned dashboard, they came with just partial door cards with no armrests, vinyl seats (cloth was an optional extra), and no rear parcel tray or push button tailgate release. Consequently, these models sold very poorly and most buyers opted for at least the L specification.

From mid-1982, a five-speed manual gearbox was introduced across the range. This was now standard on the 1.6 L versions and could be specified as an option on most 1.3 L engines. A selection of features was available, either as standard fitment or optional extras depending on model, including a tilt-and-slide sunroof, central locking, and electric windows. All models except for base and L were fitted with a check-light system for low fuel, low oil, low coolant, low screenwash, and worn out brake pads. Power steering was not available on European Escorts although it was available on the US Escort. The 1983 model year saw the Ford ATX three-speed automatic transmission (developed primarily for the US version) becoming available on the 1.6 L engine, and the base models now had cloth seat trim as standard.

The Escort estate was initially only available with three doors, but a five-door version was introduced in 1983. In the same year, a saloon version of the Escort, the Orion, was launched. It used the same mechanicals as the hatchback, but had a more upmarket image and was not available with the smaller 1.1 L engine. It was also directed at buyers of the earlier Cortina, which had ceased production in 1982, with its Sierra successor not available as a saloon at the time.

However, the car attracted criticism from the motoring press at launch due to its suspension, with positive camber on the front wheels and negative camber at the rear, giving rise to the Mark III's infamous "knock-kneed" stance. The Mark III soon had a reputation for a harsh, unforgiving ride. In September 1983, the revised suspension mounts from the Escort-based Orion and the larger Sierra steering rack were introduced as running changes for the 1984 model year which also coincided with other minor upgrades across the range, which included revised trim and steering wheels, new style badging and improved sound systems across the range, whilst the austere base models were finally given the "L" specification dashboard and improved seat trim.

Another engine, introduced in August 1983, was the diesel engine. Developed in Dagenham, it was remarkably economical for its time, and still is to this day, managing over 70 mpg. It was available on the L and GL models. However, the performance was worse than the 1.1 L petrol version, with only 54 bhp and a top speed of barely 90 mi/h – which prompted Ford to eventually enlarge the engine to 1.8 L some years later in the MK4 Escort.

The Mk III Escort (1980–1986), was the most common type of car on British roads in December 1989, with almost 1,500,000 examples registered.

A convertible version, made by coachbuilder Karmann, appeared the same year as the five-door estate (1983). It was the first drop-top car produced by Ford Europe since the Corsair of the 1960s. The Escort Cabriolet was initially available in both XR3i and Ghia specification, but the Ghia variant was later dropped.

Origin of the "Erika" codename
The origins of the codename "Erika" for the Escort Mk III is now subject to dispute – the most likely being Ford of Europe policy in the late 1970s for using female names for new projects such as "Brenda" (Escort Mk II), "Gloria" (Granada MkII), "Carla" (Capri MkIII), "Teresa" (Taunus TC3/Cortina Mk5) and "Toni" (Sierra). It was known that Henry Ford II's secretary's name during his tenure as CEO of Ford Europe was Erika, and it has been suggested in some sources that the name came from here. Other theories being that the Escort was originally meant to be called the "Ford Erika", but ended up retaining the Escort name. Some say this was due to British consumers' reluctance to let go of the "Escort" badge (as the first two generations of Escort had been among Britain's most popular cars, with the Mk II being Britain's best selling car in 1976), and some say that the Germans were concerned with the song Erika, which was a famous battlemarch of the German armed forces during World War II.

Sporting models
To compete with Volkswagen's Golf GTI, a hot hatch version of the Mark III was developed – the XR3. Initially this featured a tuned version of the 1.6 L CVH engine fitted with a twin-choke Weber carburettor, uprated suspension and numerous cosmetic alterations. It lacked a five-speed transmission and fuel injection. Fuel injection finally arrived in October 1982 (creating the XR3i), eight months behind the limited edition (8,659 examples), racetrack-influenced RS 1600i. The Cologne-developed RS received a more powerful engine with 115 PS, thanks to computerized ignition and a modified head as well as the fuel injection. The final performance update arrived in the form of the turbocharged 132 PS RS Turbo model in October 1984. The RS Turbo was somewhat of a disappointment; it had been delayed several times and when it went on sale in early 1985, the chassis came in for severe criticism. Ford initially planned to build 5,000 RS Turbos, the minimum number required for homologation in Group A. However a total of 8,604 were built due to increased demand, almost all in Diamond White. Produced in both LHD and RHD, it was only marketed in a few European nations with 5,000 examples for the UK, and was only sold through official Rallye Sport dealers. They were well equipped, with the alloy wheels from the limited production RS 1600i, Recaro seats, and a viscous-coupling limited slip differential. Only three cars were finished in black; one of them built especially for Lady Diana. The Series 2 RS Turbo continued with the 1986 MKIV model.

RS 1700T
Ford were initially keen that the Escort Mk III continued the strong rallying heritage of its two predecessors. The Ford Escort RS 1700T was a prototype RWD car designed by Ford Motor Company in 1980 to compete in Group B rallying. Prototypes were based on the Mk III Escort bodyshell, but other than this had almost no engineering commonality with the regular production version, being rear wheel drive and featuring a Cosworth developed 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produced over 300 bhp maximum power. Also a prototype with a 2.4 litre Hart engine (derived from a Formula Two unit) was tested in 1982.

Persistent problems during the vehicle's development, coupled with unease within the marketing department that a Mk III Escort with rear wheel drive would be perceived as a retrograde step and prompted Ford to drop plans for its production and instead begin work on a bespoke all-wheel-drive model to beat the Audi Quattro, designed and built from scratch, resulting in the RS200.

Commercial models
The two-door Escort Van was first sold in February 1981, a slightly delayed introduction caused by large remaining stocks of the Mark II Escort Van. The Van has twin rear doors and unusual small side windows behind the front doors, necessary to provide more over-the-shoulder visibility which would otherwise be limited by the use of the short front doors from the five-door Escort. The main engineering change was to the rear suspension – namely the use of a solid beam axle on leaf springs in place of the fully independent set-up found on the hatchback and estate. At launch, the Mk3 van was available in two versions – 3.5cwt capacity (with the 1.3 engine) and 5.5cwt capacity (with the 1.6 engine). Both versions were offered in two trim levels – standard and "L", which mirrored the base and L models of the cars.

For the 1984 model year the engines options were revised with the 55cwt version now available with either the 1.3 CVH petrol or 1.6 diesel, whilst the 35cwt version reduced to 1.1 Valencia power. Equipment levels were improved slightly, with the standard van now gaining the better "L" spec dashboard with an opening glovebox, centre air vents and 3-speed blower fan.

Encouraged by the success of recreational vans in Europe such as the Matra Rancho, Ford toyed with a concept "XRV" version of the van, which used the XR3's uprated engine and a fully trimmed interior, but decided against putting it into production.

Derived from the van was a pickup version of the Escort, the Bantam, which was produced in South Africa.

Latin America
The Escort entered production in Brazil in July 1983, with either three or five doors. To better deal with the tropical heat, the Brazilian three-door Escort received swing-out rear windows, unlike their European counterparts. It was equipped with the Renault-based Ford CHT engine, of either 1341 or 1555 cc. Both size engines were also available in alcohol-fuelled versions with marginally more power. It was originally available in base (Popular), L or GL trim levels, with four- or five-speed manual transmissions. In October 1983 the luxurious Ghia version was added.

This model was exported to Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway from 1983 until 1986, as the Escort LX, where it replaced the low priced German-built Escort L. The car had a bad reputation in Scandinavia, with severe rust problems and issues with the wet liners of the Renault-designed engine. The engines were also designed to run on petrol containing some ethanol (10-20%), leading to troubles when using straight petrol. That problem could be avoided by adding ethanol in the petrol manually. The Brazilian Escort LX was also available in Switzerland, only with the larger engine option.

Brazil also received an XR3 version towards the very end of 1983, only available with a tuned version of the 1.6-liter engine running on alcohol. Aside from interior and exterior enhancements including spoilers and 14-inch alloy wheels, the XR3's engine produced 82.9 CV, a bit more than the regular versions but not quite enough to be considered a sporting car. In April 1985, the Escort Cabriolet was introduced. It was built in Brazil in collaboration between Ford and Karmann, with the top imported from Germany.

South Africa
The Escort was also available in South Africa, as hatchback only, from March 1981, with the 1.3 and 1.6 litre engines. The South African Escorts differ only slightly from European ones, as a result of local parts content regulations. The XR3 was also sold, known simply as the Ford XR3 and later XR3i, rather than the Ford Escort XR3.

Fourth generation (1986–1992)

The fourth version of the Ford Escort was launched in March 1986, with only a small number of changes. Although popularly regarded as a fourth-generation model / known as the 'Mark IV', internally within Ford it was regarded as a Mark III facelift, and consequently carried the codename 'Erika-86'.

It was instantly recognisable as an updated version of the previous model, taking styling cues from the recently introduced Scorpio/Granada III – with a smooth-style nose and the "straked" rear lamp clusters smoothed over. Internally the car had a revised interior, with new door cards, a completely new dashboard, switchgear and instrumentation, although the check-light system for low fuel, low oil, low coolant, low screenwash, and worn out brake pads was dropped. Optional new features included a mechanical anti‐lock braking system (standard on RS Turbo models), a fuel computer on fuel-injected models, and a heated windscreen. The main mechanical changes were the introduction of a 'lean-burn' 1.4 L CVH engine (replacing the previous 1.3 CVH). A 1.3 L version of the Valencia overhead valve engine was introduced for the Popular and L specification models, in addition to the existing 1.1L version. A new subframe for mounting the powertrain was introduced to combat earlier criticisms of drivetrain refinement of the original car, as well as more tweaking to the suspension settings to address the long standing issues with the Escort's damping and handling characteristics. Initially Chubb AVA lock barrels were fitted to the facelifted 1986 models but these were soon changed over to the Tibbe type as with the Ford Orion.

These changes were welcome at a time when the Escort was faced with a host of new competitors; General Motors had brought out a new version of the Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra in October 1984, shortly after Volkswagen had introduced the Mk II Golf and British Leyland had launched the Austin Maestro a year earlier, while the British-built Peugeot 309 had gone on sale just weeks before the updated Escort. All-new competitors from Fiat and Renault were just two years away.

In 1987, an LX trim designation was introduced, situated between the L and GL models. That same year, the commercial line-up was expanded with a sedan delivery version of the 3-door estate bodyshell (with filled in rear windows and no back seats) known as the "Combi", which sat below the existing van versions.

The 1989 model year cars saw major changes to the engine line up, with the diesel engine being enlarged to 1.8 L. The entry level 1.1 L and 1.3 L models were updated with the redesigned HCS version of the Valencia engine developed for the Mk III Fiesta. On the 1.6 L CVH injection engines, a Ford developed electronic fuel injection system replaced the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system in the XR3i and Orion Ghia injection. Other changes for the '89 were the slightly altered front grille aperture (which was now common to both the Escort and Orion) whilst the Escort badge at the rear changed to look more modern as well as some minor trim revisions and equipment upgrades on all models – "L" models now had tinted glass and a sunroof as standard.

Ford gave the Escort‐based Orion saloon a similar makeover. Carried over from the previous range was the 3-speed automatic which was ultimately replaced late in the production run with a variant of the CTX stepless gearbox as first used in the Fiesta a couple of years earlier.

The 1990 model year saw equipment levels across the range improved substantially, with all but the base Popular models being fitted with a sunroof as standard, and the GL gaining electric windows and mirrors. Spring 1990 saw the final revisions – the Popular now gained a radio cassette and a 5-speed gearbox, whilst catalytic converters and central point fuel injection were now available on the 1.4 and 1.6 CVH engines.

Special Editions
As part of the run-out year of the Erika-platform Escort and Orion after a decade of production, several notable special edition models were created – a luxurious Orion 1600E with leather seats, fuel injection, alloy wheels and most optional extras as standard was produced during 1989 and 1990. A total of 1,600 were made. The "Bonus" was essentially a 3-door 1.3 Popular, but with metallic paint and tailgate wash/wipe as standard. The Escort Eclipse (based on the 1.3 LX) fitted with electric windows, alloy wheels, boot spoiler and only available in two colours – Amalfi Blue or Flambeau Red (shades that were previously reserved for the XR3i) – was sold up until the model's discontinuation in September 1990.

Despite the appearance of the new generation Escort, dealer stocks of the Mk4 remained available well into the following year – in the United Kingdom a small number were registered with "J" prefix licence plates indicating a post-August 1991 registration date – one year after the end of production, possibly due to overstock or the negative reception of its successor.

Manufacturing locations
Escorts for European markets continued to be assembled at Halewood, near Liverpool, and at the West German factory of Saarlouis. Sales were strong through the decade, and during the later 1980s Escort production also commenced at the Ford plant originally established for Fiesta production in Valencia. European production finished in 1990, although stocks of the model, especially the XR3i and RS Turbo variants continued well into 1991 and eventually finished in 1992.

At this time, the Escort was dropped in South Africa and replaced by the Mazda-derived Laser and Meteor. However, the Escort‐based Bantam pick-up remained in production, facelifted, and was also sold as a Mazda Rustler.

Latin America
Brazilian Escorts were introduced only shortly after the European originals, in August 1987. At first, only the CHT 1.6-liter engine was available, running on alcohol or petrol and in a more powerful XR3 version only running on alcohol. Power was up marginally over the previous generation. As of May 1989, the 1.8 L and 1.6 L AP engine made by Volkswagen became available. This was part of the AutoLatina agreement, where Ford CHT engines were used in Volkswagen cars and vice versa. The 1.0 L and 1.6 L were all Ford CHT motors. All Escorts made after 1993 were fuel-injected, excepting the Hobby models. Additionally, the Mark IV model was made until 1992 on all versions, except the Hobby which was made until 1996.

This generation was only built with three doors in Brazil, while Argentinian production included the five-door model. The advent of Mercosur opened the door for trade with Brazil's neighbours. In late 1991, for the 1992 model year, the Argentinian-made five-door became available in Brazil under the name "Escort Guarujá" (named after a town in the state of São Paulo). This model was only available with a catalyzed version of the 1.8-liter "AP" engine and a high standard of equipment, including the Ghia's body-coloured rear spoiler and distinct, eight-hole alloy wheels. The Guarujá was the first catalyzed car to be built in Argentina, although it was not available in its home market. It sold well initially, leading all other imports in January 1992. However, Argentinian products had a low reputation in Brazil at the time and the Guarujá only remained on the market for about a year. The more powerful Volkswagen engine finally allowed the XR3, now with 99 CV, to live up to the promises made by its appearance. In 1990, the XR3 gained body-colored skirts and wings.

Argentinian production had begun in 1988 with many parts imported from Brazil, although the five-door model was available there from the beginning and the engine options differed. The original versions were the GL and Ghia, both fitted with the 1.6-liter CHT; these were then replaced by the Volkswagen-made AP 1.6 (not used in Brazilian Escorts) in the Escort 1.6 LX and Ghia SX after a little over a year. There was also the 1.8-liter Ghia S – close in spec to the Guarujá export version, and with available air conditioning – and the sporty XR3. The convertible was available, shipped in fully built from Brazil. The fourth generation Escort remained in production in Argentina until 1994.

In 1993, the Escort Hobby trim was introduced in Brazil, using a 1.0 L 50 hp engine. This was a small-bore version derived from the CHT 1.3 L used in the Brazilian Mk III. This engine was unique to Brazil, whereas the 1.1 L engine was smallest available in most markets. The 1.0 was less powerful, but fuel efficient. Brazil has a special tax break for cars with engines of less than one litre, making this a closely contested segment. The Hobby did not receive Escort badging.

There were no trims with a high-power engine in Brazil. The most powerful Escort was the 1991 Escort XR3 Formula which had 105 PS. The on-board computer was not available in Brazil.

Fifth generation (1990–1997)
The Escort Mark V (and Mark III Orion saloon) arrived in September 1990 with an all-new bodyshell and a simplified torsion beam rear suspension (instead of the Mark III's fully independent layout). Initially the 1.3 L HCS, 1.4 L and 1.6 L CVH petrol and 1.8 L diesel units were carried over from the old model. This model received considerable improvement in aerodynamics obtaining drag coefficient of CX: 0.35 in the common versions, 0.34 in the XR3i and RS2000 versions and 0.32 in the Orion saloon variant (considerable improvement over the previous coefficient of cx 0.39 in MK4).The fifth-generation Ford Escort also saw an increase in trunk size (385 liters compared to 305 liters for the Escort MK4) and greater internal space with 2525mm wheelbase. The Escort MK5 was internally called the CE14 (European C-Segment, 14th Project) and was designed in Merkenich, Cologne, Germany, where Andrew Jacobsen was design director and Helmuth Schrader the model's head of design.

In early 1992, an all new Zetec 16-valve engine was launched bringing improved driveability, while also marking the return of the XR3i which was available with two versions of the 1.8 L Zetec engine. The 150 PS (110 kW) RS2000 also appeared in the autumn of 1991 with a 16v version of the Sierra's I4 2.0 L engine and also improved ride and handling meaning that this version of the Escort finally delivered on the road. Specifications, however, were also higher than before. The Escort was now available with items such as power steering, electric windows, central locking, electronic antilock brakes, and air conditioning. Some of these options were even available on some of the entry-level models.

South America
The fifth generation Escort was launched in South America in December 1992, being manufactured in Brazil and Argentina by AutoLatina, a joint-venture between Volkswagen and Ford. A result of this collaboration was that these Escorts were equipped with a VW AP engine in the top 1.8 and 2.0 L versions, now fitted with catalytic converters. The top of the line was the Escort XR3i, equipped with a multipoint fuel injected version of the VW AP 2.0 L engine generating 115 PS (85 kW). The entry-level Escorts received the old Renault-derived 1.6-liter CHT engine with 73 PS, while the earlier Mark IV continued to be available as the Escort Hobby, with a 1.0 or 1.6-liter engine.

Three- and five-door hatchbacks were available, as was a two-door convertible. In October 1993 the Verona appeared as the 4-door saloon and was also available in Argentina. This generation also spawned two VW-branded cars with the same mechanics (but different body styles and interiors) called Volkswagen Pointer (five-door hatchback) and Logus (a two-door saloon).

For 1996, South America received the front end of the European facelift ("sixth generation"), but the rear end maintained the original scheme which makes this vehicle unique to those markets. The XR3 nameplate was dropped, becoming the Escort Racer. Just before being redesigned to match the European Mark VI, Brazilian production came to a halt and Argentina became the sole Escort manufacturer in South America. The cars were exported to Brazil and elsewhere.

Escort RS Cosworth
Early 1992 saw the launch of the Escort RS Cosworth. Intended to replace the Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth (which finished production shortly afterwards) as Ford's stalwart rally challenger as well as a competitor to supercars with private buyers, it used the turbocharged 2.0 L Cosworth 16-valve engine, generated some 225 PS (167 kW) and was capable of 150 mph. As well as having four-wheel drive, its most memorable feature was its extremely large "whale-tail" tailgate spoiler.

The 2,500 road-going examples sold (required for homologation purposes) were made, but demand for the car was so high that Ford kept producing them. Later models (June 1994 onwards) have a smaller turbo than the homologation versions and came with the whale-tail spoiler as an option. The Escort Cosworth ceased production in 1996, but it has already achieved classic status and has a huge following. However, the car wasn't mechanically an Escort, being based on the four-wheel drive Sierra floorpan and mechanicals, including its longitudinally mounted engine, and was merely clothed in body panels to resemble a Mark V.

Engines

 * 1.3 L (1297 cc) HCS 60 PS
 * 1.4 L CFi (1392 cc) CVH 71 PS
 * 1.4 L EFi (1392 cc) CVH 75 PS
 * 1.6 L G/H (1597 cc) CVH 90 PS
 * 1.6 L EFi (1597 cc) CVH 105 PS
 * 1.6 L EFi (1598 cc) Zetec 90 PS
 * 1.8 L EFi (1796 cc) Zetec 105 PS
 * 1.8 L EFi (1796 cc) Zetec 115 PS
 * 1.8 L EFi (1796 cc) Zetec 130 PS
 * 1.8 L D (1753 cc) Endura D 60 PS
 * 1.8 L TD (1753 cc) Endura D 70 PS
 * 1.8 L TD (1753 cc) Endura D 75 PS
 * 1.8 L TD (1753 cc) Endura D 90 PS
 * 2.0 L EFi (1998 cc) I4 DOHC 150 PS
 * 2.0 L (1993 cc) Cosworth YBT 227 PS
 * 1.8 L (1781 cc) VW AP 96 PS
 * 2.0 L (1984 cc) VW AP 116 PS

Facelift
Stung by the criticism of the original Mark V (which was still a decent seller despite motoring press criticism of its styling, ride and handling), Ford facelifted the Escort and Orion in September 1992, giving the revised cars a new grille, bonnet and, in the Escort convertible and hatchback's case, a new rear end. A new 1.6 L 16-valve 90 bhp (66 kW) Zetec engine was introduced, replacing the previous CVH. Fuel injection was now standard on all petrol models, and Ford introduced a four-wheel-drive variant of the RS2000, offering much improved handling over its front-wheel-drive cousins. A first for the Escort also saw the introduction of all disc brakes on all four wheels as standard on all RS2000 and XR3i models.

Also new for 1993 were 1.3 L and 1.4 L CFi petrol engines and 1.8 L diesel engines.

In September 1993, after a decade of use, the Orion name was retired and the saloon took on the Escort badge. The XR3i was discontinued several months later, at the beginning of 1994.

The crash structure of the Escort and Orion was also improved for the 1993 model year as part of the facelift, featuring side impact bars, a reinforced safety cage, improved crumple zones and front seat-belt pretensioners and for the 1994 model year airbags were added to the Escort range when the Orion name was dropped. This Escort was the first European Ford after the Mondeo to feature an airbag; shortly afterwards a driver's airbag became standard across the whole Ford range, with many other models having a passenger airbag as at least optional equipment. Production ended in 1995, although stocks including the Escort, Escort L, Ghia and Si continued through 1996 and finished in 1997.

Sixth generation (1995–2002)
The Ford Escort was revised in January 1995, although it was still based on the previous model. This version had new front lights, bonnet, front wings, front and rear bumpers, wing mirrors, door handles and 4 different front radiator grilles (slats, honeycomb, circles and chrome). At the rear, the Ford logo moved from the right to the centre of the boot, except for the van and some convertible models, while the Escort badge had also changed. The interior of the car was hugely revised too following heavy criticism of the original 1990 car which featured low quality plastics for its interior mouldings – the car now featured an all new dashboard arrangement of competitive quality. However, the underlying car was now five years old and most of its rivals were either new or to be imminently replaced.

The two entry level engines were revised – the 1.3 L received the latest (and final) version of Valencia pushrod engine – the Endura-E from the recently launched Mk IV Fiesta and Ka, whilst the 1.4L CVH was replaced by the updated CVH-PTE unit. There were no changes to either the venerable 1.8 diesel or the 1.6/1.8 Zetec units at the top end of the range. The improved iB5 version of the venerable BC-series transmission was also later introduced as a running change.

Dynamically, the handling and ride were also much improved with revised suspension set up from that on the previous Mark V models. The sporty "Si" model had slightly stiffer suspension than the Encore, LX and Ghia variants, although the Si was otherwise the same as the LX with some additional standard, mainly cosmetic, enhancements such as front and rear spoilers (which were also available as options on the LX), sports seats and white-faced dashboard instruments. Some special trim levels of the Escort include: Calypso Cabriolet, Freedom, Serenade, Cabaret and Mexico.

The RS2000 models ceased production in June 1996, and were the last Escorts ever to wear the famous RS badge. The RS badge did not resurface until the Focus RS arrived in 2002. A new Ghia X model was introduced around 1996, which included air conditioning and a 6 CD autochanger as standard. Although the equipment of the Ghia below it was reduced, it was now more affordable.

The last "standard" model to be introduced in 1997 was the GTi – the only GTi-badged Ford to ever be sold in Europe. This used the same existing 115 PS (85 kW) 1.8 L Zetec-E engine found in other cars in the range, but included a body kit borrowed from the now cancelled RS2000 model, part-leather seats plus the standard fitment of ABS. The GTi was available in 3- and 5-door hatchback and estate bodystyles.

In Chile, to avoid confusion with the US-market Escort which was being sold alongside it, this generation was sold as the "EuroEscort" for several years.

Phase Out
In 1998, Ford announced an all-new car, the Focus, which replaced the Escort and superseded the "Escort" name that had been in use for 30 years. The Escort range was cut down to just "Flight" and "Finesse" editions, and sold for a further two years in parallel with the Focus. In the United Kingdom, all engines except the 1.6 L petrol and 1.8 L turbo diesel were dropped, as were the three-door hatchback, four-door saloon and cabriolet bodystyles. The range was also condensed in mainland Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America.

The Flight cost £10,380 and offered electric front windows, a three-speed fan and a cassette player. For an additional £1,000 the Finesse added alloy wheels, air conditioning, a CD player, fog lamps and metallic paint. The more competitive prices managed to keep European Escort sales going until the last one rolled off the Halewood assembly line in July 2000, although remaining stocks were sold into 2001, making it the last Ford car to be assembled there. The plant was transferred to Jaguar that year for the new X-Type saloon, and following the later merger with Land Rover and the sale of the plant to Tata, Ford now only has a small presence at Halewood – retaining the transmission works at the site.

Van
The van variant remained in production in a facility located behind the now Jaguar plant at Halewood until October 2002 when the new Transit Connect model was introduced. The Escort hatchback and estate were produced in Argentina until 2004, having been sold alongside its successor (the Focus) during the final stages of production. Escort-based light vans had been offered since 1968, although the market sector, always larger in the UK than in continental Europe, dated back beyond the 1950s when successive Ford Anglias had been available with a van variant. After the demise of the Escort, Ford would be represented in this niche by the Turkish assembled Ford Transit Connect.

New Zealand
While it was never sold in Australia, this generation was however sold in New Zealand imported fully built up from the UK between 1996 and 1998 in all bodystyles including the van, replacing the Ford Laser. The hatch and saloon were replaced in 1999 by the Laser due to unfavourable exchange rates, the Focus being introduced to the New Zealand market only in 2003, whereas the Escort estate and van continued on sale on the local market until 1999 until stock from the UK dried up, the estate having reasonable success due to the lack of a replacement Laser wagon following the end of local production of the outdated 1980s KE Laser wagon in 1996. 1.6 or 1.8-litre petrol and the diesel 1.8 were available.

title: Ford Escort (Europe)


text:
Prinny

Prinnies (プリニー) are a fictional race of creatures primarily in Nippon Ichi's Disgaea series of role-playing games. First appearing in Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, they have appeared in all later titles by the company, as well as on various merchandise such as hats and plush toys. With a few notable exceptions, they are voiced by Junji Majima in Japanese releases and Grant George in the English releases from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness to Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten. The Prinnies are regarded as the mascots for the Disgaea series and have received generally positive reception.

Concept and creation
The Prinny was created by Takehito Harada while he was trying to come up with a character whose thoughts players could not try to envision. He began by choosing to make it animal-based, eventually deciding on making something similar to a penguin. He was told that he could use this character as much as he wanted. While it initially started out as looking somewhat realistic, it eventually gained a doll-like form.

Appearances
A prinny is a small, usually blue, pouch-wearing penguin-like creature with disproportionately small bat wings, two peg legs where feet would normally be, and stitches at the top of the chest. When thrown, they explode on impact. A common trait of prinnies is their upbeat attitude and tendency to end their sentences with "-ssu". In the English translation, they frequently use "dood" as an interjection. Prinnies stand roughly 1 m tall, though the weight can vary. Prinnies attack with knives, bombs, and occasionally other weapons stored in their bags. While rarely mentioned in the game, prinnies have been known to dispense a beverage known as prinny juice, which according to a Nippon Ichi Software America interview is produced from "the most flavorful and delicious parts of our fresh, vine-grown Prinnies".

In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, humans who have led a worthless life, such as thieves or murderers, or have committed a mortal sin such as suicide, have their souls sewn into the body of a prinny upon their death. Due to the unstable soul of a human, regular prinnies will explode when they hit something with great force, such as when thrown. However, Prinny suits filled with demon souls, as seen in Makai Kingdom or in the case of recurring boss Baal, will not. After being reborn, the newly created prinny will serve as a soldier, slave, or servant in the Netherworld or Celestia. The prinny remains until it has earned reincarnation by redemption through good deeds or earning enough money, and leaves its servitude in a ritual involving the Red Moon. In Celestia, prinnies mostly act as maids and domestic servants. The good deeds they perform there lead to their reincarnation. In the Netherworld, depending on the lord they serve, they spend their difficult after-lives doing excessively hard labor for very little pay, and are often thrown around just for the amusement of their lords. The pittance of money they earn in the Netherworld goes towards their reincarnation.

Some prinnies live in Prinny Land, their own world in which prinnies do not explode when thrown. Some prinnies flee there to escape their lives in the Netherworld, and some may have rebelled or have been banished there. Another place prinnies can be found is the Land of Carnage. These prinnies live for battle and look down on newcomers. While prinnies manage all shops and such, an old friend can be found here too. Prinny Kurtis makes a comeback as a Land of Carnage only character. The player can summon Kurtis with cell phones and pass some bills from the Earth Defense Forces to aid him, it is not needed to gain access to Kurtis. In the Land of Carnage, the prinnies call warriors who fight hundreds of thousands of battles "Shura." Rumor has it, there is a prinny who has lived in the Land of Carnage longer than anyone else and is the master of the land.

Prinnies have appeared in almost every major Nippon Ichi video game; their first appearance was in the game Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Prinnies follow a ranking system, starting at Private Prinny and moving up to Prinny God. The "Uber Prinny", which is the prinny form of Baal, cannot be utilized by players. Prinnies are usually under Etna's control. In Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories they lead the Dark Court and are responsible for judging the party's crimes, of which a guilty verdict will always be passed. In general the felonies applied by the Dark Court are to the player's benefit but if one wants to remove them from a character for various reasons then the character must reincarnate as a Prinny to atone for their sins. Unlike most other incarnations, prinny gods do not have immunity to status effects. In Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, a special Prinny under the title Hero Prinny appears as part of special downloadable content. The Hero Prinny claims that he has come to make a guest appearance from Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?, but Mao doesn't believe him. It ends up that Mao defeats and captures Hero Prinny, and turns him into a hero. The Hero Prinny then becomes playable. Prinnies star in their own game Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? for the PSP handheld console.

In Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome, prinnies are said to possess the soul of a demon, rather than that of a human. Their bodies are manufactured in Ruskan factories, located in another dimension, by inventor demons. In order to create Prinny units in Makai Kingdom, the player must first make a wish to create Prinnies in The Sacred Tome. Then the first Prinny class will become available to create. The weaponry available to a prinny is expanded to include expertise with shovels and wrenches. The Prinnies do not explode when thrown. Prinnies appear in Phantom Brave, which does not use a subclass system, and are able to use all weapon types, but have a smaller role in the game's plot. Pringer X serves as the final challenge of the bonus storyline. Phantom Brave ' s Prinnies cause explosions upon being summoned or unsummoned, these explosions do not injure the Prinny itself. Airborne prinnies make an appearance in Tori no Hoshi: Aerial Planet, a game similar to Pilotwings, used to add a "Nippon Ichi flavor" to the title. The crossover role playing game Cross Edge features a prinny and Etna. They also appeared in Trinity Universe, a crossover game with characters from Idea Factory, Nippon Ichi, and Gust Corporation. Nippon Ichi's characters include the Prinny as well as Etna and Flonne. A giant Prinny appeared as a special attack in the company-collaborative RPG, Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2, where the in-game character Nisa (named Nippon Ichi in the Japanese version) throws a bunch of kunais at enemies, then throws the giant Prinny at the enemies, which results in a nuclear bomb type explosion. Nisa is also designed to resemble a Prinny. A Prinny cap is unlockable in the 3D remake of the 2004 Cave Story, published by Nippon Ichi Software. Prinny also appear in the PS3 Exclusive title Last Rebellion as optional bosses to be faced in the final mirror when entered as Nine.

In other media
A Prinny appeared in a Penny Arcade comic strip on September 4, 2006. A Prinny also appeared as a recurring character in Fred Perry's LvlUp! comic series.

Promotion and reception
Prinnies are regarded as mascots for the Disgaea series, featuring strongly in Nippon Ichi's marketing such as the annual Tipsy Prinny press events. The third event, held in the Zebulon Bar San Francisco on June 5, 2008, featured green Prinnies suspended from every banister and light fitting. Nippon Ichi Software's online store sells various merchandise such as several different Prinny plushies, and in Japan Nippon Ichi has released several pieces of Prinny merchandise and has used the characters in cosplay to promote the release of Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? in Akihabara. A Prinny stylus was featured as a pre-order bonus for people who pre-ordered Disgaea DS. Additionally four Prinny avatars for the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Home were also released for sale, modeled after the different unique Prinnies in the original Disgaea.

Prinnies have been described as one of the most notable characters in the Disgaea series. RPGamer called them the "much-adored penguin mascots" of Disgaea, while Wired.com called them "adorably snarky." IGN editor Dave McCarthy praised Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice's humour, citing the Prinnies as an example. In a preview of the upcoming game starting the character in PlayStation: The Official Magazine, Chris Hudak asked "What better sign that you've warmed the cold hearts of videogamers worldwide than to have your own beloved, signature character?", additionally comparing in great detail the Prinny to fellow video game mascots Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Dragon Quest's Slime. PSX Extreme described them as "one of the most recognizable – and curiously lovable – characters" in the Disgaea series. Webcomic Penny Arcade featured a Prinny in their comic to mark the release of Disgaea 2, adding in the commentary "You've probably heard that penguins are great fathers or whatever, you saw that Goddamn penguin movie and you bought into their whole thing. When faced with one of these hideous creatures, there is only one recourse: be stern for two panels, and then give in." GamesRadar listed the Prinny as one of the 25 best new characters of the decade, describing it as "heartwarmingly pathetic," calling the act of creating an army of "nigh-invulnerable Prinny wimps" is one of the greatest accomplishments in role-playing games. They also listed it as one of the most impractical video game characters, describing it as "incredibly stupid."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Prinny


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Babson E-Tower

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was MERGE into Babson. — J I P | Talk 10:37, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

Babson E-Tower
There are several "towers" at Babson College. This one is no more special than the others. A "tower" isn't actually a physical structure, like a building, as the stub would suggest. At Babson, this simply means that students share a block of rooms. There are towers for cooking, outdoors, entrepreneurship and so on. There does not need to be an article for "E-Tower". --Prescott
 * Delete or Merge into a section on the Babson article about the tower system Drdisque 09:09, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
 * This never made it to the main VfD page until now. merge as above.  JYolkowski // talk 15:36, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Merge and redirect as per Drdisque. JYoklowski, nice job of finding all of these orphaned vfd's.  Zoe 22:51, September 3, 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks. It helps that the new AfD template points to a different category than the old one, so almost everything that Category:Pages on votes for deletion contains now is an orphaned or incomplete nom.  JYolkowski // talk 20:00, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


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Ford Escort (North America)

The North American version of the Ford Escort is a range of cars that was sold by Ford from the 1981 to 2003 model years. The direct successor of the Ford Pinto, the Escort also largely overtook the role of the European-imported Ford Fiesta as the smallest vehicle in the Ford model line in North America. Produced across three generations, the first generation was a subcompact; the latter two generations were compact cars. Becoming highly successful in the marketplace, the Escort became the best-selling car in the United States after 1982, a position it would hold for much of the 1980s.

Produced across three generations, the Escort was the first world car developed by Ford, with the first-generation American Escort designed alongside Ford of Europe, who transitioned the Escort Mk III to front-wheel drive. During its production, the Escort also underwent a wide use of platform sharing and rebranding. The first generation served as the basis of the longer-wheelbase Ford Tempo/Mercury Topaz, the two-seat Ford EXP/Mercury LN7 and was rebranded as the Mercury Lynx. The second generation was introduced for 1991, growing into the compact segment. Moving away from a shared design with Ford of Europe, the Escort now shared a platform with the Mazda 323 and sharing a body with the Ford Laser (a model line sold in Asia and Oceania); the Mercury Lynx was replaced by the Mercury Tracer. For 1997, the third generation served as an extensive redesign of the previous-generation sedan; the Escort ZX2 two-door was introduced, with the Mercury Tracer adopting a similar redesign.

Ford introduced the Ford Focus in North America for 2000 as its third "world car", phasing it in as the successor of the Escort. After 2000, the four-door Escort was moved primarily to fleet sales (with the coupe remaining available); production ended entirely after the 2002 model year. In contrast to the first-generation American Escort and Escort Mk III of Ford of Europe (and the Mondeo/Contour and Mercury Mystique), the Focus adopted a much larger degree of commonality between its European and North American variants, in effect, becoming the original world car Ford had originally envisioned with the Escort.

During its entire production, the Escort was produced by Wayne Stamping & Assembly in (Wayne, Michigan) and the first generation was also produced by Edison Assembly in (Edison, New Jersey), San Jose Assembly Plant in (Milpitas, California), and Oakville Assembly in (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) while the second and third generations were also produced by Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly in (Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico).

Ford "world car"
The North American Ford Escort began as an intended "world car" project by Ford in North America and Ford of Europe, which had sold cars branded "Ford Escort" since 1968. Ford had already tried to market some of its European models in the North American market, including the Capri and the Mk I Fiesta, but these were single products conceived from the beginning to cater for both markets, not world cars. Following the success of the smaller Fiesta, the new vehicle was to adopt a front-wheel drive powertrain.

The program intended to consolidate the replacements for the North American Ford Pinto and the European Ford Escort Mk II under a single model architecture. Intended for a 1981 model launch, the original intent was for the American Escort and the European Mk III Escort to share a common chassis architecture and components. During model development, American and European design teams diverged in thinking, leading to extensive differences in the final product lines.

Though they share the same basic shape, the 1981 Ford Escort and Escort Mk III share no interchangeable body parts; the only common components between the two vehicles are the CVH inline-4 engine and the ATX automatic transmission. The suspension is the same basic design between both cars, but again the components are not interchangeable. While sharing a common 94.2 inch wheelbase, the American Escort is longer and wider than the European version; most versions are fitted with a larger amount of chrome exterior trim typical of American vehicles of the period, and the altered proportions gave the car a heavier and more ungainly appearance than its European sister. In Europe, the Escort was produced in three body styles never developed for North America, including a 3-door station wagon, 2-door convertible, and a 2-door van. The European version also had a 4-door sedan derivative marketed separately under the Orion nameplate.

First generation (1981–1990)
The first-generation Ford Escort was launched on October 3, 1980, for the 1981 model year, with Lincoln-Mercury marketing the model line as the Mercury Lynx. Sharing a nearly identical wheelbase with the Pinto, the Escort grew in size over its predecessor, nearly six inches longer and over three inches taller. Alongside an unnamed base trim, the Escort was marketed in L, GL, GLX, and SS trim levels.

1981-1984
For 1981, the Escort was initially introduced with three-door hatchback and five-door station wagon body styles; a five-door hatchback was introduced in May 1981. To showcase its "world car" status, Ford designed an Escort badge for the front fenders including a globe representing the earth; this badge was used for 1981 only. In line with the larger Fairmont and LTD Crown Victoria station wagons, the Escort wagon was offered with an imitation woodgrain Squire package in the GL and GLX trims.

For 1982, the exterior received a minor revision, as the model badging was revised to reflect the adoption of the Ford Blue Oval emblem on the North American product lines. Along with an updated grille, the blue oval also replaced the previous "FORD" lettering on the liftgate. The "SS" package was also available during 1981; this included blacked-out trim, a special stripe and decal package, upgraded brakes, and wider tires but no additional power. The SS package was replaced with the (more powerful) Escort GT the following year due to an interaction with General Motors' Chevrolet SS option package. The Ford EXP was introduced as a two-seat hatchback coupe (see below). Starting at a price of $5,518, the 1982 Escort became the best-selling Ford model line and the best-selling automobile nameplate in the United States.

For 1983, the exterior was largely carryover, with most changes concentrated to the Escort GT and the EXP. For liftback/wagon Escorts, the unnamed base model was dropped, leaving the L trim as standard.

For 1984, the trim levels were revised further, as the GLX was dropped and replaced with a fuel-injected LX model. Offered for the five-door hatchback or wagon, the LX was fitted with the fuel-injected engine of the GT, along with its blackout trim and styled cast-aluminum wheels. The interior of the Escort was revised, introducing a new dashboard and new rubber shift boots for manual transmissions; automatic models received new gear selector levers with straight lines for gear selection instead of the twisting "question mark" pattern of the previous models. In line with other Fords, activation of the horn was moved from the turn signal stalk to the steering wheel.

1985–1990

Debuting as a "1985½" model change, Ford released a revision of the first-generation Escort. While much of the bodyshell was carried over, the front fascia saw extensive aerodynamic revisions, with designers fitting a smaller grille and flush-mounted aerodynamic headlamps, and the 1.6 L engine was replaced with a more powerful 1.9 L. Chrome trim was now largely relegated to the bumpers. In a trim revision, the Escort Pony became the lowest-price version of the model line, replacing the Escort L entirely for 1986. The Mazda diesel engine continued to be available in the five-door hatchback versions of the Lynx and Escort until discontinued after 1987.

For 1987, the trim lineup was simplified to a three-version range, including the Pony, GL, and GT. The Pony and GT were offered solely as a three-doors; the GL was offered as a three-door, five-door, and wagon. The model year also saw the retirement of the Mercury Lynx, replaced by the Mercury Tracer during 1987 (a rebranded Ford Laser, itself derived from the Mazda 323). 1987 was also the last year the Escort was built in Canada.

The Escort saw a second facelift in mid-1988, commonly referred to as the "88.5" year, which smoothed out the front and rear fascias. The integrated plastic bumpers replaced the metal bumpers, while the rear side windows were enlarged, and the rear-end design was more rounded. Larger, 14 inch wheels replaced 13 inch units on non-GTs and to accommodate passive-restraint regulations, the Escort received automatic shoulder safety belts. Three-door hatchback models had curving window lines along the sides towards the rear of the cars. The Escort EXP was discontinued and the LX trim replaced the GL, while the Escort Pony replaced the Standard and L versions. Finding some popularity during the final three years of this generation was the Pony model, which was the least-expensive U.S.-built Ford prior to the introduction of the Ford Festiva. Pony models used plainer interior trim with greater use of vinyl and plastic instead of cloth, and four-speed manual transaxles were standard, although buyers could opt for the five-speed manual or the three-speed ATX automatic. The list of available options was very limited, to the extent that such luxuries as power steering and factory-installed air conditioning were not offered (a dealer-installed A/C system was available). Given their lighter weight, the Pony models also had somewhat better fuel economy than the regular Escorts.

The 88.5 Escort remained largely unchanged for the 1989 and 1990 model years. As Ford was gearing up for the April 1990 introduction of the next generation Escort, this version was only built at the Edison Assembly plant in New Jersey for the abbreviated 1990 model year.

Powertrain details
Developed for the Escort on both sides of the Atlantic, the CVH inline-four engine family was introduced in a 1.6-litre displacement alone for the North American market; a 1.3 L engine was designed and a prototype made, but did not see production due to lack of power and an inability to get it certified. The launch version of the hemi overhead cam inline-four produces 65 hp. It was paired with four-speed MTX-2 and five-speed MTX-3 manual transmissions, and a three-speed ATX/FLC automatic transmission. For 1982 models, the engine was tuned to 69 hp.

In March 1982 an HO (high output) version of the engine was added, originally only in the EXP and with an automatic transmission, but soon thereafter available with a manual and also in the sporting Escort GT (which had replaced the SS). This unit produces 80 hp, thanks to a higher compression ratio, a new exhaust system, and larger venturis in the carburetor. Multi-port fuel injection increased the output of the HO engine to 88 hp for 1983. The 1983 GT was the first US Escort to be offered with a 5-speed manual transmission.

For 1984, two new engines were introduced. A Mazda-sourced, 2.0-litre diesel inline-four producing 52 hp became available on non-GT Escort/Lynx trims; in contrast to the diesel, a turbocharged version of the 1.6-litre four raised output to 120 hp for the EXP Turbo. The turbo engine then found its way into the Escort GT (and Lynx RS) during the 1984 model year.

As part of the mid-1985 model-year revision, the 1.6-litre engine was enlarged to 1.9 litres, increasing output to 86 hp; the high output GT engine offered 108 hp thanks to revised intake manifolds, cylinder heads and real headers. The GT was available only with manual transmissions, and the Turbo GT was retired. Estimates state that only about 1,000 Turbo GTs were built in the partial 1984 model year, it is unknown how many early 1985s were made.

For 1987, the standard Escort adopted throttle-body fuel injection, dropping the carburetor; output again inched up to 90 hp. The model year also saw the retirement of the diesel engine, discontinued due to low demand as American buyers largely gave up on diesel-engined cars during the 1980s (the proportion of diesel sales overall went from a peak of 6.1 percent in 1981 to 0.37 percent in 1986). Less than 1.2 percent of Escort/Lynx overall sales were diesels.

The Escort's engines received a slightly revised camshaft and roller lifters along with the mid-1988 revision; power of the standard model was unchanged but the GT went up slightly, to 110 hp.

EXP
Introduced for 1982, the two-seat Ford EXP (later Escort EXP) was a coupe variant of the Escort. The first production two-seat Ford since the Thunderbird, the EXP was developed with a sportier exterior appearance (but few performance upgrades) over the standard three-door liftback. The EXP was sold by Lincoln-Mercury from 1982 to 1983 as the Mercury LN7, differing slightly in grille and hatchback design.

Following the 1985 update of the Escort, the EXP underwent a restyling, becoming the Escort EXP. Distinguished by the adoption of the front fascia from the liftback Escort, the two-seat coupe adopted a more subdued appearance. The variant was discontinued after the 1988 model year; as consumer demand shifted away from two-seat vehicles, Ford sought to concentrate its resources on the four-seat Ford Probe (which began development as the intended 1989 Ford Mustang).

Escort GT
For 1981, Ford introduced the Escort SS as a performance-oriented version of the model line, offered as both a three-door liftback and five-door station wagon. Externally distinguished by blacked-out trim, special stripes and SS decals, the Escort SS also received upgraded brakes, suspension, and model-specific seats and full instrumentation. The drivetrain was unchanged; 6,842 Escort SS were built for the 1981 model year.

As a running change during the 1982 model year, the Escort SS was renamed the Escort GT. In addition to removing conflict with the Chevrolet SS option package, the change aligned the model nomenclature with the namesake Mustang GT (with Ford offering the Escort GT solely as a three-door). Aside from the new HO engine, the GT featured cosmetic changes such as "GT" emblems and stripes, while under the shell there were improved brakes and a close-ratio four-speed gearbox. Also included were metric TR sport alloy wheels with Michelin TRX tires, fog lights, and front and rear spoilers.

For 1983, the GT received a fuel-injected 1.6-litre engine, raising output to 88 hp; the engine was now also paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. A Turbo GT was introduced, increasing output to 120 hp.

For 1984, the Escort GT was largely carryover, with the Turbo GT lasting into the first half of 1985 production.

For the 1985$1/2$ revision of the Escort, the GT initially went on hiatus, returning for the 1986 model year. Alongside the standard Escort, the 1.6 was replaced by a 1.9-litre fuel-injected engine, with the GT receiving a higher-output 108 hp version thereof. Distinguished by its body-color asymmetrical grille, the GT received body-color bumpers (integrating the foglamps), 15-inch alloy wheels, body sill skirts, and optional two-tone paint (similar to the Merkur).

While 1987 was largely carryover, the GT underwent a second facelift midway through the 1988 model year alongside the standard Escort 3-door. The 1988$1/2$ Escort GT replaced the asymmetrical grille with a body-color insert and new rear spoiler, while power climbed by two horsepower. For 1989, the GT received another grille revision, and stayed unchanged for 1990.

Mercury Lynx
The first-generation Ford Escort was marketed by Lincoln-Mercury as the Mercury Lynx. The successor to the Mercury Bobcat, the Lynx also adopted a nameplate derived from big cats. Sharing its entire body with the Escort, the Lynx differed from its Ford counterpart primarily in its grille styling, parking light and taillamp lenses, and the use of additional chrome trim. Similar to the Escort, the Lynx was introduced in base, L, GL, GS, LS, and RS trims; the Mercury LN7 was the divisional counterpart of the Ford EXP.

A late addition for the 1983 model year, Mercury introduced the Lynx LTS (Luxury Touring Sedan ) in October 1982. The counterpart of the Escort LX, the HO engine equipped LTS was also fitted with blacked-out exterior trim, TRX aluminum wheels, low-back bucket cloth seats, and upgraded suspension, serving as a five-door counterpart of the Lynx RS (Escort GT).

Alongside the Escort, the Lynx underwent a mid-1985 body revision. Distinguished by the addition of the "cascading" Mercury emblem replacing the "big cat" logo (used by the Mercury Cougar), the Lynx received an all-black grille between flush-mounted aerodynamic headlamps. For 1986, the Lynx RS was renamed the XR3 to align it with the Cougar XR7 (and the eventual Topaz XR5).

The Lynx was retired after 1987, but was replaced by the Mazda 323-derived Mercury Tracer model which was sold alongside it for much of the year. The first Mercury sold without a Ford counterpart (in North America) since 1960, the Mexican- and Taiwanese-assembled Tracer shared its body with the Asian-market Ford Laser, sharing much of its chassis architecture with the Mazda 323/Familia, as would the Escort too by 1991.

Second generation (1991–1996)
In April 1990, Ford released the second-generation Ford Escort as an early introduction for the 1991 model year. Again a "world car" like the previous generation, the model line shifted away from its Ford of Europe origins, adopting a design from Mazda (at the time, 25-percent owned by Ford). Adopting mechanical commonality with the Mazda 323, the Escort became the American-market version of the third-generation Ford Laser (introduced in 1989). In North America, the Mercury Tracer now shared design commonality with the Escort.

In a major design change, a four-door sedan joined the model line for the 1992 model year, sharing its underpinnings with the Mazda Protegé.

Design overview
The second-generation Ford Escort adopted the Mazda B platform (BG); in North America, the chassis was also used by the Mazda 323/Protegé. Again using front-wheel drive, the wheelbase expanded to 98.4 inches (almost within an inch of the Tempo). To improve handling stability, a rear anti-sway bar was added to the rear suspension. In another design change, the Escort adopted independent rear suspension.

The Escort shared its body with the third-generation Ford Laser, introduced in Japan in 1989. The two model lines are nearly identical in appearance; the standard Escort was styled with a grille insert styled in line with the Ford Taurus and places the rear license plate between the taillamps (the Laser, into the rear bumper). The Escort sedan was styled with a body-color C-pillar, with black trim for the Laser (a design adopted for higher-trim Mercury Tracer sedans). In line with the previous generation, the Escort GT again adopted an asymmetrical grille insert. Unique to North America, the five-door Escort station wagon was styled with vertical taillamps (in line with the larger Taurus); following the discontinuation of the LTD Country Squire, the Escort wagon now served as half of the Ford station wagon line.

Powertrain details
While the Laser shared powertrain offerings with the Mazda Familia/323, the Escort carried over the 1.9L CVH inline-four (retuned to 88 hp) from the previous generation. For 1991, the engine replaced the previous throttle-body fuel injection with a sequential configuration (SEFI); to allow for a lower hoodline, the engine was tilted forward. The Escort GT dropped the CVH engine, replacing it with the Mazda-sourced 127 hp DOHC BP 1.8L I4 (shared with the Mazda Protegé LX and Mazda MX-5). The 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic transmissions were dropped. Both engines were paired with a standard 5-speed manual transmission; a 4-speed automatic was offered with the 1.9L engine as an option.

The 1.9-litre engine was one of the first Ford engines to feature distributorless ignition (known as EDIS, Electronic Distributorless Ignition System). The Ford Escort GT was fitted with four-wheel disc brakes.

Design history
For 1991, Ford introduced the second-generation Escort under Pony, LX, and GT trims, returning the previous three-door and five-door hatchbacks and five-door station wagon. While growing in wheelbase, the Escort saw only negligible growth in overall size, gaining less than two inches in length and approximately 100 pounds of weight. The US-market models have the automatic shoulder belts, while the Canadian market models (except for the GT and the sedan models until 1993) have the manual shoulder belts.

For 1992, to improve engine cooling, the grille oval around the Ford emblem was enlarged in size. In a trim change, the base-trim Pony was dropped for the last trim, becoming an unnamed standard trim Escort. For the first time, a four-door Escort sedan was introduced, with the LX-E trim serving as the Ford counterpart of the Mazda Protegé LX and four-door Escort GT (equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, larger front brakes, larger clutch, equal-length driveshafts, larger anti-roll bars, dual-outlet exhaust, sport interior, and 1.8L DOHC engine).

For 1993, 1.9-litre Escorts moved from 13-inch to 14-inch wheels (last used in 1990); the GT continued its use of 15-inch wheels. For non-wagon LXs, a "Sport Appearance" option package was introduced; along with 14-inch alloy wheels, the option included a decklid spoiler and the full-width taillamps used by the GT.

For 1994, a driver-side airbag was added to the dashboard; dual airbags were made standard for 1995, requiring a redesign of the dashboard, however the motorized seat belts were retained on the US-market models through 1996.

For 1996, the Escort saw few changes as the third generation was introduced for 1997.

Third generation (1997–2003)
The restyle dropped the hatchbacks and added a new sporty coupe for the 1998 model year.

The Escort sedan and wagon used the lower-powered CVH SPI2000 engine with 110 hp. 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 offered in 1999 with chrome 14 in wheel covers and other features.

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 disappeared from price lists in 2002, but continued to be sold as fleet and rental cars only. The Escort was replaced by the Ford Focus. The last Ford Escort rolled off the assembly line in June 2002. The last ZX2 rolled off the assembly line in June 2003. In Mexico, it was replaced by the smaller Ford Ikon.

Engines

 * 1997–2002 2.0 L (1986 cc) CVH SPI2000, SOHC I4, 110 hp at 5,000 rpm, 125 ftlbf at 3,750 rpm, redline 5,500 rpm sedan and wagon
 * 1998–2003 2.0 L (1989 cc) Zetec, DOHC I4, 130 hp at 5,750 rpm, 127 ftlbf at 4,250 rpm, redline 6,500 rpm, 7,200 rpm rev limiter ZX2
 * 1999–2000 2.0 L (1989 cc) Zetec, DOHC I4, 143 hp, 146 ftlbf ZX2 S/R

ZX2
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 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 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.

For 2001 and 2002, 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 ftlb. Due to better gearing and less weight, the ZX2 continued to outperform the Focus. The ZX2 continued with little more than 15 in 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 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 2000 S/Rs were sold in Canada.

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 and a unique tire and wheel package. Engine power was increased 10% over the base Zetec engine used in the ZX2 to 143 bhp, courtesy of a recommended premium fuel recalibration, 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.

title: Ford Escort (North America)