How do you tarnish the launch of a great car? There are plenty of ways to unintentionally accomplish this task, and Ford utilized a couple of them with the introduction of a new sports coupe in 1988.
As it turned out, this was one of the best cars you could buy from Ford at the time, but it unfortunately became the center of a crowd-displeasing plan of action that never came to pass. Oh, it was also given a name that became the butt of jokes, if you can excuse the terrible pun.
Let’s push that all away once and for all and give the belated respect that the Ford Probe GT Turbo deserves.
The Boss Had Become A Hogg
Over the years, Ford has made some decisions that initially befuddled the public but, in retrospect, were absolutely the right choices. Building a mainstream sedan that looked like a jellybean for 1986 was seen as an insane move by many, yet it turned out to be a game-changer. Dropping all of their sedans a few years ago to make only crossovers and SUVs? I wasn’t happy about it, but ultimately the rest of the industry followed their lead.
One of their most controversial yet successful choices Ford made was to replace the oversized 1970-73 Mustang with a Pinto-based compact akin to a Japanese or European sports coupe. The 1974 Mustang II still gets the ire of enthusiasts, but it was released just as the energy crisis hit and became one of the best-selling Mustangs of all time.
For 1979, they addressed much of the criticism of the so-called “Puny Car” with a somewhat larger but still relatively efficient version based on the new “Fox” platform. Much better received by Mustang faithful, you could still get a Pinto-powered model to address the economy-minded crowd.
It’s hard to understate how quickly things were changing around 1980. Fuel prices were seen to be on an upward trend that wouldn’t stop, and those pesky imported coupes were gaining ground on the old Pony Car market quickly. Behind the scenes, big changes were happening, and Ford chose to fight the Japanese onslaught with a brilliant solution.
Why Beat Mazda When You Can Buy Mazda?
Henry Ford II always despised Asian automotive competitors, but in 1971, his company began a partnership with Mazda that culminated in the American company purchasing a 20 percent stake of the Japanese firm in 1979. This would form a great basis for the if-you-can’t-beat-them-just-join-them approach to hitting the likes of a Toyota Celica, Honda Prelude, or Datsun 200SX that were rapidly replacing pony cars as go-to affordable coupe choices for buyers.
What would be dubbed the “ST-16 Mustang” was to share not just components but an entire platform with the upcoming Mazda 626 and its coupe sibling, the MX-6. However, despite being developed in Japan, the new FWD Mustang and Mazdas would be built in America at the newly acquired Flat Rock, Michigan plant just south of Detroit. Internally, the idea was to keep the old Fox Body car alive for a time, side-by-side with the new car as the “Mustang Classic” before dropping it in favor of the Mazda-based version.
The exterior design of this new Mustang was done in the U.S. and locked in by 1984, after which the project transferred to Mazda in Hiroshima.
Now, nothing can be kept secret forever. This new Mustang broke cover on April 13, 1987 when Autoweek ran a cover story revealing the existence of the ST-16 that included a rendering which was quite close to what the Probe GT would end up looking like. You can imagine the uproar from the public; a letter-writing campaign in these pre-internet days demanded the heads of the Ford executives responsible.
Reportedly, people outside of Ford were not the only ones unhappy. According to Neil Ressler, small car engineering chief for Ford at the time:
There were a lot of people who thought that was a great idea—a modern car. There were also a lot of us who were appalled by that. It was like the champagne sipping crowd replaced the beer drinking crowd. The idea that we would replace the Mustang with a Japanese car—a different car from a different culture aimed at a different audience—this is not going to work.
John Coletti, a Ford engineering manager who would eventually become head of SVT, put it more succinctly:
I would rather have seen the Mustang name die than put the Mustang name on the Probe.
At this point, of course, it was too late for Ford to stop the launch of this small coupe. Also, as it turned out, it was way too good to cancel anyway.
145 Horsepower Ford? Really?
After the shock and awe of the debut of the Taurus, it would be hard to impress the American public with a new Ford product. However, the ST-16 certainly created a stir when it debuted in 1988 as the Probe. Named after the series of Ghia-built Ford show cars designed with maximum aerodynamics in mind, the new hatchback cut a sleek profile with retractable headlights and a wraparound glass back somewhat reminiscent of the 1986 Celica but sleeker and longer than that Japanese competitor.
This was no pale impersonator; Ford now had a real imported-style sports coupe that just happened to be made right here in America.
Inside, the styling also looked less like a Detroit product than it did the Mazda that it was in many ways.
The 2.2-liter four up front produced 110 horsepower and offered reasonable enough performance for the class; a far better fit for the entry-level sports coupe market than the Pinto-powered Fox Mustang LX (“Mustang Sally’s Daughter’s Car,” as one magazine described it). As a legitimate competitor for the current crop of coupes, the design and specifications were rather expected. What was not expected was the lengths that Ford would go to with the enthusiast’s version of the Probe: the GT.
Typically, “GT” versions of sport coupes give you stripes, thicker roll bars, and maybe a few more horsepower. With the Probe GT, this wasn’t the case. You got four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and a Mazda-developed three-way adjustable suspension dampening; features that were still heady stuff for affordable cars of the time. Still, neither of those advancements was the biggest change: adding a turbocharger to the Probe’s normally aspirated four bumped up power to a claimed 140 horsepower, or 40 more than the stock engine. However, like with the similar-year Buick Grand National, that figure was considered by most to be highly underrated.
Based on the acceleration figures and unofficial dyno runs, the blown Mazda four was believed to be cranking out nearly 200 horsepower. That’s only 25 less than the 5.0 V8 in the Mustang, and in a lighter car. Car and Driver pulled off a stunning 6.4-second zero-to-sixty run, which was only 0.2 seconds behind the vaunted Fox Pony car.
Quick aside: If you liked this hidden powerhouse of a motor but needed a more family-sized car, you were in luck. Mazda sold a statelier two-door notchback version of the turbo Probe called the MX-6 GT, but the real version to have would have been the five-door 626 GT Touring with this very engine and even an available five-speed gearbox. This anti-Camry was a reliable and practical sleeper that could embarrass any number of far more costly European sedans. Naturally, it was larger and heavier than the Probe GT but still capable of zero to sixty in around seven seconds, making this proto-Saab 900 hatch a rare Holy Grail today.
Of course, the Probe really wasn’t a direct competitor to the car it was reportedly going to replace before the public outcry; it was meant to hit the import onslaught of more advanced small coupes. Could it really handle these formidable opponents? In a word, yes. Handily, in fact. A 1989 Car and Driver test pitted the Probe GT against the Toyota Celica, Nissan 240SX, Subaru XT6, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and even in-house rivals: a Mustang LX with the 5.0 V8 and the Probe’s Mazda MX-6 twin. The Probe came in second place behind the Eclipse with glowing praise from the often-prickly Car and Driver editorial staff. As the old stalwart Csabe Csere wrote:
The Probe GT is the best of the new generation of sport coupes. It’s blindingly quick, thanks to a turbocharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine that clearly produces considerably more than its rated 145 horses. The Probe GT also offers a slick-shifting five-speed gearbox, front drive for good all-weather traction, and—thanks to its modest weight and small engine—decent fuel economy.
The fully independent suspension uses tautly damped struts, firm springs, and beefy anti-roll bars front and rear. Four-wheel disc brakes provide ample stopping power, and the optional anti-lock system keeps the binders at their best under any conditions.
Combine these mechanical delights with a sleek, wind-swept shape and you can understand the Probe GT’s appeal. At less than $17,500 fully optioned, the Probe GT is a tremendous value. Let the Neanderthals keep their Mustangs.
A bit harsh at the end there, Csaba, but we got your point, and the fourth-place finish of the old Fox in the comparison test proved him right. If you weren’t a dyed-in-the-wool Mustang person and cared about sharp handling and fuel economy, the Probe likely made far more sense for you.
We have to let John Davis tell us a bit about the Probe, too, don’t we?
The original Mustang soldiered on until 1994, since the budget needed to redo it was mainly spent on the Probe. Oddly enough, the sagging sales of the now-eight-year-old Fox Body Mustang increased due to people’s fear of the “real” Mustang’s demise. Amazing how some things that look like PR blunders turn out to be windfalls for sales, isn’t it?
You Need Not Probe Your 401K For One
As with most Autopians, I’ll waste 45 percent of my waking life scouring used car ads. I tend to look at vehicle purchases as two separate categories: “Toys” and “Actual Cars”. A used 1988 Probe GT could really be either one or both together, and I’m shocked at the values online. This red one offered on Cars & Bids was in outstanding condition with barely over 100,000 miles on the clock
Full instrumentation sits in a rather tasteful Mazda-style dashboard. I like how the dampers for the side vents are on the dash, while the vents themselves open with the doors.
The rear seat isn’t great, but it’s better than a GM F-body and far better than the Escort EXP that the Probe essentially replaced, which had no back seat at all.
The interior is obviously that of a Japanese-developed car, and I’m impressed by how well it’s held up for a car this age.
What did this car go for in 2021? Somebody stole it for a mere $5100! To get any as-new, dependable, and dull Japanese sedan for that kind of money today is a win, much less a cool sub-seven-to-sixty coupe with a manual transmission.
I love how Mazda literally bolted on a FORD placard onto the valve cover.
A current ad lists a somewhat similar car (but with the scary red seats) at a dealer for an asking price of just under $9000, but even if it sells for anything close to that, it’s still a bargain in anyone’s book. Is the stank of the whole New Mustang controversy still tainting the Probe? If so, thank your lucky stars that it’s keeping one Radwood icon affordable. I bet you’re putting “Ford Probe For Sale” into Google right now; be sure to add the “Ford” in front of “Probe,” or you’ll get very strange search results.
This Alien Probe Was A Good Thing
Replacing an icon is never an easy task. Still, despite the opinions of people who were the automotive equivalent of “if it ain’t Sean Connery it ain’t Bond”, the Probe really could have been a modern equivalent of the Mustang. Had gas prices continued to rise as they had been expected to in the eighties, it almost certainly would have worn the pony logo. The Probe did find a lot of admirers, with production of over 77,000 units in 1988 and rather strong sales up until this version ended in 1991. In retrospect, despite the uproar, Ford’s product planners were spot on: for about 90 percent of buyers around 90 percent of the time, a Probe made for a far better choice than the old FoxStang. A mid-cycle facelift seen below added a different nose with a prominent grill that I don’t think was an improvement, but the rest of the car was relatively unchanged.
The new-for-1992 Probe with the BMW 850-style front end had stunning looks and a turbo-lag-free V6 engine that in many ways eclipsed (sorry for the Mitsu pun) the earlier car. However, based on some road tests, it wasn’t necessarily any faster; it certainly didn’t have to suffer the slings and arrows of Mustang faithful that the first car did.
I love the sound of a 302-powered Mustang revving and burning up its rear tires, but when it comes to less-than-eight-cylinder coupes with an eye towards handling and economy, the Probe had it all over the base-level Pinto-powered Stangs; it wasn’t even a contest.
Ford might have backed off from their radical plans of changing the Mustang to truly meet the challenges of the time, but ultimately, we ended up with not one but two great sporting coupes for sale at the same time. An old-school Mustang and a high-tech proto-Mustang? That’s a rare win for enthusiasts anytime.
Go ahead, now. Make your damn jokes about the name in the comments.
topshot: Cars&Bids
This was my first post college car, an ’89 Probe GT in white with wine red interior. It was everything described, perfect for a young bachelor, a head turner for the price, and great performer. I put some 150k miles on it of road trips. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I grew up in a UAW/GM family. The most I remember about the first Probe is my dad disparaging the tilt column as more primitive than a tilt wheel, and he knew what he was talking about, as he fixed the machines that built them, among other things (I have his retirement lamp, made from a front wheel drive axle). But I digress.
My own gripe is the line that runs from the mirrors over the front wheels. Does that have a name? It just makes everything look less unified. Other than that the base Probe looked fine; the pre-makeover GT, though? Pontiac cladding, tri-bar wheels (sorry, don’t like ’em) and still those ’90s Camaro mirrors. It’s a hot mess IMO.
Second Gen was a looker.
Tri-bar wheels are not my favorite either. They fit the car and styling trends at the time, but are also the portion of the styling that has looks the most dated at this point.
The 1991-1992 facelifted GTs had a curvier wheel option that is much more attractive in my opinion.
Have to disagree about the mirrors – more subtle and better integrated than the 1990s Camaros – the mirrors are actually quite small in person.
Agree that second gen is a great looking car – but so significantly different from the first gen to my eye that I don’t feel they are really of the same lineage. The interior on the second gen is also much more corporate Ford rather than the interesting mix of Ford-ifed Mazda in the first gen cars.
I think I also feel this way because the GT changed from a 2.2L turbo’d four to a small displacement V6, which consequently changed the driving dynamics quite bit. The four cylinder turbo is peaky, torquey, and great in a fantastically nostalgic and involving way that modern turbos with more linear and smooth power delivery are not. Due to the peakiness, torque steer in first and second, and really good usable midrange passing power (50-70 is really very quick for the era), the five speed cars are involvingly entertaining to drive.
Had an ’89 GT in Grey on grey for my first car in high school. College was about three hours down the interstate, and my parents decided that I needed a car with an airbag instead, so the Probe was sold and along came a 1998 Mustang GT.
Fantastic car. Small, sporty, decent five speed and as all the articles attest, had significantly more than 145 horsepower. In fact, when I picked up the Mustang GT I was fairly underwhelmed as it just didn’t feel any faster than the Probe.
The adjustable suspension was mentioned in the article, and I can attest that not only did it work, there was actually a notable difference between the soft, normal, and sport settings. Unfortuantely, replacement adjustable shocks haven’t been available for more than a decade, but KYB non-adjustable replacements are readily available.
The car also has variable assist power steering, and the level of assist is *get this* user selectable with switch under the driver’s seat (between low, normal, and high).
Another neat feature is that the entire speedometer/instrument cluster binnacle moves up and down with the tilt steering wheel, which smartly prevents the instruments from being blocked by the steering wheel rim regardless of position. The blinker and cruise “stalks” are mounted to the binnacle as well, so they also always remain in the same place relative to everything else.
Bonus: The driver’s side has a lap (read: crotch) AC vent! Perhaps I’m wrong, but I seem to remember a Torch article at some point about the merits of selectable groin ventilation.
Long story short, and for all the reasons above, I missed the Probe. Kept the Mustang after college, and still have it, but missed the Probe due to it’s uniqueness.
Eventually, i was able to find an used 1990 Probe GT in good overall condition in Michigan around 2010 or so. 114k miles, but similar to the car in the article on BAT, the interior had held up very well. Paid $3000 or so I believe.
Still have it. Replaced rear shocks the other day, and need to recharge the air conditioning, but it remains a very entertaining car to drive. I feel that the styling on the GT models has held up quite well…it’s a very clean design overall and still manages to look somewhat futuristic in a late ’80s space shuttle sort of way.
Unfortunately, there are VERY few left as far as I can tell. Mechanical parts are not that hard to come by as they were also used in the contemporary MX6 and 626, but interior parts in good condition are quite hard to find.
Awesome DeMuro-style overview, thank you! I had no idea about the variable power steering, what a cool thing that I wish more domestics had. And “Space Shuttle” is the perfect analogy for the styling…I’d never thought of that. At the time, I loved how it and the Taurus looked like experimental cars, esp given the grill-less front ends.
Helps that my GT is oxford white with black trim and lower body cladding. Appreciate the DeMuro callout 🙂
Gauges that line up with steering wheels mostly don’t exist for me.
I think gauges that could be adjusted might be more useful than moving the wheel.
What have the designers been doing instead of dealing with this?
Sure, malaise era cars may have sucked, but if we still had to use stream power it would really blow.
The Probe is one of post-malaise Ford’s very best designs.
I rented a non-GT Probe a few times back in my college years, and I remember two distinct things about them:
1. How open the greenhouse felt – airy and bright.
2. How very precise the steering felt. It was uncanny – I could place the front wheels within a dime’s width of any curb, pothole, or road surface feature. It was unlike anything I had driven before.
This car (along with a Mazda 323 rental during the same time) probably triggered my Mazda addiction (which started in earnest 8 years later, and continues to this day). They were truly memorable, for some reason.
1991 Probe LX was my first car. Also had a 1995 GT and ‘96 GT both for a short time. 95 was sort of the peak for the second gen as the year after there was some decontenting in various options packages before the car got killed off altogether. I dearly and deeply loved both gens of that car … really taught a young enthusiast what balanced handling and decent driving dynamics meant, not to mention a buttery smooth V6 in the second gen GT. But I digress … that first gen, while not the turbo of my dreams, was a damn nice first car. Nice materials, screwed together well, solidly engineered and ultimately rather fun to drive, especially at 9/10ths. I’ve never actually taken a look at acquiring one now, but this post makes me want to start looking!
My first new car, fresh out of college, was a brand new 1990 yellow CRX Si. Sold it and purchased a new 2nd gen white Probe GT 5 speed manual, which was later sold for a new Contour SE 5 speed (kids came along and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time). All fantastic vehicles that I still, to this day, kick myself for not keeping. While the 1st gen Probe was nice, the 2nd gen was (and still is IMHO) beautifully done…
I like your style – that’s a series of great choices. And if I may, let me give a little love for the least obvious: the Contour SE was a great all around package. Sure, everyone will rave about the SVT, but the SE was a real bargain for what you got.
I loved the Contour SVT as a kid. We need a deep dive on the Contour here on the site.
I loved the Contour as a kid, and in general. I’m all for more Contour Content.
What’s funny to me is in the ’90s, they were all over the place. I remember wondering if Americans were finally appreciating a European ethos in their domestics (I’m old enough to remember Merkur) and if that meant soon we’d be seeing more. I guess I didn’t notice how many more people at that time were really loving their SUVs.
My dad went with the Stratus over the Contour. I wanted the Contour. The Stratus ended up being a turd (a pretty good looking turd but still a turd). So that might be part of it.
I would love that CRX Si. They’ve become unobtainable with enormous prices.
Yeah, as cool looking as both generations of the Probe were, I’d still take a RWD LX 4.9 any day of the week. Something about a bare bones, V8 Mustang has always appealed to me- and I’m a Chevy guy. Few upgrades here and there and it’d smoke a Probe- not to mention, taking a corner instead of going straight through it.
Yeah, I knew you were a Chevy guy as soon as I saw “4.9”. I haven’t seen that in decades. That’s funny, I didn’t know people were still butthurt about it. A Ford 4.9 would be the 300 cube straight 6 truck motor. Not really what I’d want in a Mustang.
A 302 in CC’s is 4949, which rounds to 4.9L. The metric sounds stupid when describing American engines that came out in the 60s anyhow
Yeah, the metric names really weren’t an improvement for those of us who were alive in the muscle car era. I was referring to the 80’s when Chevy guys would write to the car magazines having total meltdowns over the 4.9 vs 5.0 naming. You could always tell a Chevy fan by their use of the “4.9” which, again, for Ford that meant the six cylinder truck motor.
True, but marketing is a lot easier when two very different engines that are 2 cubic inches apart don’t share the same ‘4.9’. In a similar vein, later Chevy 396s are actually 402s.
That 2nd gen Probe (and it’s MX-6 cousin) were beautifully-styled cars. It’s a shame you just won’t see cars like this made anymore as everyone goes SUV / CUV crazy.
I would just like to point out that 140 HP is not actually 40 more than 110 HP.
140 is also not the 145 HP stated later in the article and quoted from Car and Driver. Still not not 40 more than 110.
Typo and bad math?
I managed a quickie oil change shop in the late 80’s when these came out. They were interesting cars but there were ‘build’ issues. I remember countless occasions of opening the hood on a Probe to see a Mazda badged engine and vice-versa.
From the headline one might think that the Ford Probe was a failure, which nothing in the article indicated it was. Heck the Mazda variant was advertised by James Garner, can’t get much cooler than Rockford endorsing your car. Now had the naming committee come to me and given me …Probe, I would have sent them back to work.
Was that around the time Garner opened the new season driving an aero body Thunderbird after his Firebird arrived worse than totalled dumped by the front door?
I will always wonder what its success would have been like with a different name. If it had been a Maverick or Stallion, it might have had a better reputation and maybe even a third generation.
I remember working a marching band car wash in high school and yelling out to traffic, “Get your Probe washed!”.
I had a 95 Probe I got for $1200 4 banger with a 5 speed and I loved that car! Great handling and useful for a single guy with the hatch and all. Sold it to a high school kid as his first car while his dad gave me the stink eye. Not sure why, Pop up lights worked and it had an airbag…
There was one of these in Lemons. It had an anal probe up top that moved forwards and backwards. It was truly chefs kiss of themes.
It was a 2nd gen Probe tho.
https://24hoursoflemons.com/wp-content/themes/lemons/assets/images/Banner-Schedule-all.jpg
As a child of the 60s, I LOVED the form over function styling of the Probe.
Those little bumps on the hood?
Necessary for clearing the front suspension struts while retaining the low hoodline.
A sleek, well-assembled, functional interior without automatic seatbelts? Yes, please!
It looked nothing like a Mustang – but it was a better Mustang in every way.
And the second Probe was even better than the first one – Who doesn’t love a small V6?
If only Ford had kept Mazda….
I always got such a kick out of the hood bumps – they looked cool and non car dork types assumed they were performance related, but enthusiasts got to appreciate the real reason.
The Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000GT had hood bumps for the same reason.
Mazda and Ford did great work together and its a shame they still don’t.
They’d probably be able to make that rotary sports car they want to make do badly. Instead we are left with a Mazda that makes more crossovers than cars so they can at least have enough left after expenses to keep the Miata around and a Ford that ignores the part of the market that needs a more practical car for daily driving than a Mustang.
You’re right – Imagine if Ford had been able to get a version of the 3…
…and maybe if they shared CUV platforms, Ford and Mazda could have a Mondeo/Mazda 6 Sedan/Wagon – and that platform could be the basis of a smaller, more affordable Mustang rather than the bloated thing we have now.
My wife had a Probe when we got married. I’m certain it was badly mistreated before it was foisted on her (long story) but man was it shit. Electrical gremlins like crazy and if I recall correctly steering, fuel system, and exhaust problems too.
My sister also had a second gen GT which was much nicer condition, though I seem to remember it having electrical problems of its own. It was at least nice to drive.
Either way the experience of dealing with my wife’s car broke me a little. I still twitch when I see a Probe and I haven’t owned another Ford since.
I bet it had an aftermarket stereo and zero maintenance.
People would get places like Circuit City to install their aftermarket stereos, and those guys would hack wiring harnesses apart as if they were explorers in a jungle, utterly ruining people’s cars ever after.
But they’d have a nice CD player for a while.
It was for sure neglected given where my wife got it from. I can’t guarantee that it wasn’t flood damaged or something on top of it. It has taken me a long time to come around to the fact that it wasn’t the car’s fault, it was the prior owner. Even with everything that car taught me trying to keep it running and road worthy it caused too much trauma. I can’t look at Probes and say they were good cars, even if it’s objectively true.
It took me a long time to even consider a Ford product when looking at cars and even now that experience is in the back of my mind. It’s been said on this site that cars aren’t rational. This is the dark side of that I think.
Mostly because people refused to buy the $10 vehicle specific wiring kit that allowed them to simply wire two harnesses together with color matching wires and plug the new radio into the car.
It was fine for a 2 door/hatch Taurus, and honestly the lack of an SHO version with the Taurus/Yamaha v6 is a travesty.
But even though the Moustang at this point looked an awfully lot like the Escort, it was still properly rear wheel drive, and the 89 MAF system made them darlings to upgrade with out a lot of ECU problems. Pluss the SSP suspension was easy enough to get if you knew about it and wanted to go track racing in a fox.
The Probe was fine, but much like the Dodge front drive stuff, it did not matter what it said on paper, the V8 versions proved it in the street.
They tried turbo 4’s from 79 up, they had straight and v6 options, but the V8 was the only one that people wanted. the 4 was a penalty box for those unable to afford a v8.
So true about the lack of an SHO. See also: the “aero” 80s Thunderbird never getting the Mustang’s 5.0 despite its NASCAR success; both the T-bird and the Mustang never getting the 32v Lotus engine from the Lincoln Mark.
It kills me when automakers “reach into the parts bin” when designing, and skip past their best stuff that’s just right there.
See: Audi’s current 5 cylinder turbo
I’ve seen those with a 5.0, then they had the turbo version.
Well, they had *A* 5.0, but not *THE* 5.0. The 5.0/302 in the Thunderbird was the same one they put in a Crown Vic or an F150. Same displacement as the Mustang 5.0, but everything else was different – heads, intake, cam, exhaust, you name it.
Square body Chevy trucks also had a 350 in the 70s, but it was never the same one they put in the Corvette or the Camaro. Same differences, and often even a different block, for a completely different 350.
I’m sure you’re correct.
Yep, GM products were lots of fun for parts counter guys to deal with. Customers learned the hard way about which engine their vehicle actually had under the hood.
The automatic shift lever in that first interior pic is spectacular.
Bob & Tom (they were a nationally syndicated radio program popular back in the 80s and 90s) had a skit that, IIRC, approximated SNL’s Ambiguously Gay Duo (I’m positive it would be considered wildly unacceptable by today’s standards, but that’s a different topic).
All I remember about it was that they drove the Buttmobile – a brown Ford Probe.
That aside, I always appreciated the Probe. They were cool cars.
Don’t forget the Pinkly Taurus!
They’re still on, btw; Bob retired but Tom’s crotchety ass is still driving Chick and Kristy nuts.
That’s awesome – no stations have syndicated them in my area in well over a decade (possibly two).
I remember laughing so hard when I listed to them I’d nearly drive off the road.
Ford really missed the mark by not offering the ” CLI ” package on the Taurus …
It’s nothing like it used to be but I can’t help myself…I’ll normally at least get a few giggles in before work.
I’m in the Indy area so I listen to them on their home station. Kristy does the weather!
I will say this: Musclecars became legendary by shoving as much power in whatever chassis they had laying around. Too much power, fairly pedestrian chassis. I don’t like how people associate RWD and V8 as ‘requirements’ of being a musclecar, purely because that was all they had available at the time.
Imho, the SRT-4 Neon is definitely a musclecar; powerful engine in boring econobox chassis, just like the original mustang, or the Dart GTS, etc.
I think boomers really screwed up domestic car companies with nostalgia; if America had been competing on a global stage (WRC), I would imagine the Mustangs/Challengers/Camaros would have become twin-turbo 4/6 cylinders with AWD systems, because performance is what ultimately matters, not cylinder count or drive wheels.
Regarding the Probe specifically… MEH. My buddy had a turbo one in HS, and I beat him with my old SOHC Neon and that only had 130hp or so, so idk about underrated at all. It was an automatic tho, and I was manual, so I had more gearing advantage.
SRT4 was a response to Turbo AWD things like the Lancer Evo AWD, WRX STI and the Talon and Eclipse AWD turbo. all of which gave the 2 door V8 Pony cars of the day a run for their money on a straight away. They were light, and could put down the power they had once they spooled up.
traditionally muscle cars do not come with more than 2 doors, they are proper RWD, and they often much more power than the basic chassis they were put into. There are few cars that really fit that mold past the early 70’s, but that is ok, there are plenty of powerful and fast cars that are cool in there own right.
I will say, and will continue to say that I would happily take an AWD Challenger over a more proper Rear wheel drive version and cannot fathom how they can make a heavy track hawk survive with this set up but could not figure out a way to shoe horn that into a challenger or charger. we know they made AWD chargers for the po-po that were V8 from the factory. it would not be a muscle car really to me at that point, just a Fast Boat.
My point was if the 1960s domestic car companies had FWD econoboxes and better turbocharged engines, there would have been boosted FWD musclecars like the SRT4
What’s funny is that your alternate universe America did kinda exist. right alongside our actual one even – those turbo Falcon XR6s were firebreathing.
I loved the first generation Neons. I still occasionally think about finding one, but love my daily so much I’m not sure I’d drive it.
They drove great, a stock R/T won autox solo nationals in 98
For some reason, I desperately want both an Achieva SCX and first gen Probe GT in my garage.
That’s what this place will do to you.
It certainly stirs…feelings.
Oh, and I want a Saab 9-7X as well. Gotta have something big enough for the family, right?
As a Saab fan I have a lot of conflict in my heart regarding you know, a rebadged Trailblazer, which might be one of my least favorite cars ever.
But, it is weird, and weird is for the most part good.
Weird is good, and though the Trollblazer was terrible for poor Saab, it’s still appealing, likewise the Saabaru. I kinda want an Isuzu Axiom also.
9-2 yes, 9-7 no.
The Autopian is the stuff dreams are made of.
I want to commute in those Bonneville seats.
Were they offered in brown?
Yes! College room mate had one.