The Mercury Topaz and Ford Tempo is a car model most all of us have a memory of in some fashion. We were carted to school in one, or our friend’s mom took us to the mall in hers. Or perhaps we were the owners, using it as a commuter car or a first vehicle to park in the high school parking lot. Despite being forgettable in many ways, finding one today in good condition isn’t exactly easy – especially wearing decent colors and equipped with lots of factory options. This 1985 Mercury Topaz GS is a nicely preserved example with under 25,000 original miles and lots of OEM options. You can find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,000, and thanks to Barn Finds reader Jim C. for the find.
Now, these days, most Tempos and Topaz models are sitting at your local auto salvage facility, if they haven’t already been shredded and sent overseas. The problem with cars like these is that if they show up for sale, even in incredible condition like this, there’s such a small pool of buyers who would potentially want it. Survivors will eventually find their forever home, but this Topaz isn’t exactly at the top of anyone’s list to buy. Still, looking at it now, you can see what Ford was going for with the European design influence and attempting to bring some of that style into the showroom. It honestly worked pretty well if the goal was to give some of the foreign car flair to entry-level midsized buyers. Looking at the cosmetics on this one, the polished bumpers are in great shape and the generous taillamp panel appears crack-free.
The interior is beautiful, the absolute definition of a time-wrap cockpit. Of course, it’s red, like everything made in the 1980s, but that’s OK – if you’re digging a perfectly preserved Topaz, you should have been expecting this level of lipstick in your life. The dash shows no flaws, just like the seats, and the door panels are mint, too. The interior really does look well constructed even if this is just base model vehicle, and it reminds us that while Ford struggled to build an economy car that could woo away Honda and Toyota shoppers, vehicles like the Tempo and Topaz at least attempted to make a compelling argument to buy American. The seller notes this one left the factory without air conditioning but it does have power steering.
The 2.3L four-cylinder was anemic, yes, and it only felt more so if you were one of the few to order a Topaz or Tempo with four wheel drive. This is the standard front driver, and the seller has addressed a few different maintenance needs to ensure this low mileage time capsule serves the next owner faithfully for some time to come. This includes a new power steering pump, water pump, valve cover gasket, tires, belts, front calipers, and more. Despite the low mileage, a Topaz or Tempo will never be worth much more than they are right now, so you can use this one without feeling guilty about adding some miles every year.
Gak!! Once again, another one I had, only a 2 door. It was one of the many cars my ex-wife ruined. Wasn’t the cars fault, and was a so-so car, nothing fancy. While it was an attempt to lure folks away from Asian cars, we were just experimenting while Asian cars already had it down. There was no comparison, these were just poor cars. You think this was gutless, they also offered a diesel. We have since come a long ways in cars since these humble beginnings, and you had to start somewhere. I don’t think many held on to a Tempo, no matter what it looked like.
Back then, these were offered as rental cars. I remember driving many of these when I went on the road. As far as the diesel version goes, my sister and brother in law had one and regularly saw 70 mpg.
Some people don’t want to go 0-60 in 0.05 seconds or go 150 mph on city streets.
Some people just want to get them and their families from point A to B and have enough money for dinner when they get there.
Rental fleets replaced them when the new Taurus came out. It had a lot more room.
Dave, even if you’re talking an Imperial (Canadian) gallon, which is 20% bigger than a U.S. gallon, your sister and brother-in-law would have to coast downhill in order to achieve 70 MPG. The diesel Tempo was EPA rated at 39 MPG on the highway, and the nature of EPA ratings is that they are rarely if ever achieved in real world conditions. I’m going to kindly suggest you are misremembering the facts.
My dad had a diesel Tempo 5 speed, only for 1 year. He let me drive it quite often. 45 mpg was around the average mpg it would get on the highway, or if you kept it at the speed limit much better ( a few times 50 mpg). The engine and car faired quite well. The downside, it was exceptionally slow. Going downhill one might reach 85 mph. My dad’s next cars a turbo probe,, 2 Turbo T-birds and a Taurus SHO, then another turbo probe. Guess that he really needed to cleanse his right foot of the malaise of the Tempo Diesel.
Always fun to see a “throw-away” car in excellent shape. To the right person, this could be something different to take to Cars & Coffee. That red on red theme is light years away from the color offerings on cars today.
These days it’s almost impossible to sit at a light and watch the cross traffic without hearing “I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black.”
“You can’t always get what you want.”
I too had one of these, but I liked mine. I got it cheap from a crack head, drove it for about 6 months, then sold it to a skirt I was chasing for triple what I paid. She drove it for a couple years before she blew the engine (she never once changed the oil, but she blamed me lol).
This might be a $2,000 car. Maybe.
The one thing I remember most about the Tempo/Topaz is those god-forsaken shoulder belts that were on a motor and still required you to manually fasten the lap belt (lest you decapitate yourself in an accident by sliding down under the shoulder belt!).
My aunt had a red Tempo that, as executor, I had to sell when she passed away. I actually remember it driving rather nicely (albeit at a leisurely pace). But I also remember it was quite rusted for still be relatively new. Detroit was really racing to catch up at this point, and they had (and still have) a long way to go.
I worked at the Lima Engine Plant where these HSC engines were made. They were actually a cut down version of the 200 inline 6, with the mechanical fuel pump mount still cast in the blocks. Owned a 92 Tempo and what I remember about that car was the terrible fuel mileage it got.
Back in 1983 when the Tempo was first released, the local Mickey Ds’ in my city ran a contest (in partnership with Ford). I don’t remember the specific details on how you entered but if your entry was chosen you got to go to a local mall and were given one of 100(? 200?) ignition keys. In sequence, you got to try to start the car. If your key fired it up, the car was yours. I did get chosen for one of the keys, but alas, mine did not start the Tempo. I had to drive home in my 79 Mustang Cobra (5.0 Auto) instead. 😎
Holy cow, white escort man can buy this turd to go with his turd.
This is the car that determined that I would not become a full time musician.
I will never forget, a rehearsal in 1995 at my house, where one of the guys (a full time musician) pulled up in his Tempo/Topaz. The car was probably about 8-10 years old at the time. It was sputtering and dying, and I believe that it was only firing on 3 cylinders.
It was such a sad, mingy, and depressing car, and the thought of having to drive that car because that was your lot in life was just so sad for me that it was the final nail in the coffin…
These were really awful cars. They did nothing well, were not very roomy, and were miserable to drive. One of the most disappointing Ford products ever. A poor replacement for the Fairmont. How they sold a single one going up against the far superior Chrysler K car is a mystery. And I’ve owned and driven all of the above. The K car was roomier, more comfortable, better looking, more reliable, easier to work on, and much nicer to drive.
When the 1984 Tempo came out. I really liked them, because they didn’t look like a box on wheels like most of the other cars did from that era. My dad had passed away a year earlier, and his car was a 1979 Chrysler New Yorker. It was too big for my mom to drive on a daily basis, so we went to a Ford Dealer to look at the new smaller Tempo. We walked around the lot, and my mom was drawn to a GL 2 door coupe with a medium brown paint with gold metal flake in it. The wheels had been changed out to gold Enkei alloys on black rubber by the dealer. The car was really sharp looking! I asked her if she would rather have a four door model. I got an emphatic ‘No’. We had it undercoated before driving it home. She sold it ten years later with no visible rust, and only 17,000 miles on it to her neighbor, who’s daughter needed a car for college.
I had a red 1991 Tempo with the red interior and must say I hate how modern vehicle interiors only come in ugly shades of dull gray and black. It had been a rental car for a year so had been very well maintained. The four doors came in handy with two young children in car seats in the back. The acceleration was slow and the handling with power rack and pinion steering was an improvement for Ford but not as precise as my previous Chevrolet Cavalier. But the Ford held up so well on our vacation trip to Florida, using my car for my job and for daily family errands that I bought a new Escort for 1993. The styling was different enough to make the car stand out and was comfortable to drive as a family car. Today’s cars are higher tech but way more expensive and look like turtle shells. The car for sale looks nice but just like my 1991, air conditioning is a mandatory option.
I learned to drive on an 84 Tempo GLX 5 speed DIESEL. Power from the Mazda sourced 2.0D was a big improvement over the VW 1.6D of the day. It’s all about perspective.
Wow…I always wanted to win one of these in a showcase showdown on the Price is Right
LOL, one of the people I work with loved the Game Show Network. On a Price is Right broadcast re-run there was a woman who was smiling because she had the choice between a 75 Pinto or 75 Gremlin. She chose the Pinto, it was better looking (The Gremlin was green and the Pinto red.) In retrospect though the Gremlin may have been the better choice.
Would have been happier with the chick who stood by the cars…even today.
Married into a 1993 Topaz. Had the 4 banger with a 3-speed auto. The transmission was geared such that it did well over 4K RPM above 65 mph — you can imagine the RPM at higher speeds. The automatic seatbelts were kinda cool, although you still needed to manually buckle the waist section. We lived in Arizona — the A/C was AWESOME — better than any other car I had, or have, driven. N/A here unfortunately.
Awesome looking car! I remember when this was introduced. I found it way more attractive than the Ford Tempo.
This is one of those cars that if you have a kid that is about 7 now you buy it and store it for when you’re child turns 16 it can be their first car. It doesn’t have any of the crap that cars today have so the kid will actually have to watch the road and look to make sure its clear to change lanes.
While attending USAF Tech. school in ’87 rented a red Ford Tempo 2 door
from the on base “Rent-A-Wreck”, with over a 100k in the odometer. Drove
it from Denver,CO.,to Lawrence KS. in the middle of winter to visit my
fiance. The Tempo and Topaz may have been forgettable, but they certainly
were reliable. And as a postscript the rental agency had a fit as I wasn’t
insured to leave the state.
Around 1995, I had hosted a jam session at my house. One guy, a professional musician, and he was good, showed up with a tempo or topaz, and it just wheezed into my driveway. The car sounded like crap, looked miserable. It died a few times when he tried to leave, was only running on three cylinders.
It was just a sad, depressing, thing, and the idea of having to drive this car was so awful that I just couldn’t go for that kind of suffering.
That’s why I never became a professional musician. Apart from lack of talent…
Sold Ford’s in Tucson, got suckered into a half a deal which was a mini-deal, and worth 50.00. Had to drive to Sells, AZ , which was a hour and a half each way, Deadliest highway in Arizona, more crosses on that two lane blacktop than the Vatican City. A Nun had bought the car, and her trade was a 4 door Topaz with 325k miles on it. That drive back was a bitch, but 325k miles was a miracle. I learned some valuable lessons that day however, one being find out where the hell you are going.
I had one of these. What a hunk of s**t!
OK car lovers. Who remembers the 4 WD version?
Way back down the road apiece, I went to the Ford training center class on those. The instructor showed us how the floor pan and other stuff had to be changed to accommodate the 4 WD stuff — and for how many that were sold?
Shades of all the changes that had to be made to the Lincolns with the dreadful Liquimatic transmission I guess.
History repeating itself.
RB
I owned five different Tempo / Topaz models in the mid to late 80’s. Each was purchased brand new and sold within nine months when my assignment at work changed and I was given a company car. Eventuality I figured out that used cars were my best bet for the short periods of time when I didn’t have a company ride.
My first was my favourite. 1984 Topaz LS, 2-door, with a 5-speed manual and the TRX wheel & tire option. Silver, with charcoal lower cladding, it looked really good for the time and was fun to drive. Never had a single issue with any of them, but then again I never kept them terribly long. Good value for the money, but in a very different era from today.
GOOD: Under 25,000 original miles.
BAD: It’s a 1985 Mercury Topaz.
GOOD: It’s only $5000.
BAD: It’s a 1985 Mercury Topaz.
GOOD: The interior is beautiful.
BAD: It’s a 1985 Mercury Topaz.
GOOD: It includes a new power steering pump, water pump, valve cover gasket, tires, belts, front calipers, and more.
BAD: It’s a 1985 Mercury Topaz.
I will park this with my extensive collection of K Cars, next to the AMC Gremlin but not too close to the Ford Pinto because I want to highlight the Topaz next to the Pacer. 😉
Time warp! I had this exact car when I was 18, except in light blue. Bought it for $600. It was immaculate with 50k mi. Only “problem” was the ignition switch broke, so I started it with a screwdriver.
I used a screwdriver to open the trunk of my 1969 Dodge Coronet 318 automatic. (I probably should have tried graphite prior to punching out the lock. It was weird when I crossed the border once and the agent wanted to look in my trunk. I had to get the screwdriver out of the glove compartment first. I often wonder what he may have thought).
@JB – What’s that supposed to mean? With over 100k email subscribers and 500k social media followers, seems like a few people have subscribed.
You can’t make everyone happy all the time. Some people think the only cool cars were made in the 1960’s & had V-8 engines, some think the only cool ones were made in the 1950’s & have tail fins. You seem to appreciate some of the odd-ball throw away cars from the 1970’s & 1980’s, just like I do. This website happens to represent all cars. That’s part of what makes it so great! Don’t take jb so personally. One of the first things I did upon return to society after my year “on vacation” was rejoin this website. Hopefully jb will learn to appreciate this website for how cool it really is.
That is an orphan car also a disposable car . X wife had a red tempo , the car went away just like her .
Located in Valley City, OH
The funny part is that I bought this car. The exact one in this post, I am now the owner of and I love it every bit. I ended up getting it for $4,000 and the new valve cover gasket was actually leaking because it wasn’t torqued properly, but I’m a mechanic and fixed it easily. It is the best driver I’ve ever been in and the most comfortable car ever. It’s amazing and I will keep it as my daily driver for a very long time.
I’m so glad this classic found the owner it deserves!