If one could distill 1995 into one photograph, this might be it. OK, that’s not quite right, but a Deep Iris Metallic Escort is definitely of a time and place. This one has a mere 78,680 miles, so here’s your chance to step back in time almost 30 years.
Between the two of us, my wife and I have owned four ’90s Escorts. They have quirks. Fundamentally a Mazda design, they were reasonably solid throwaway compacts; however, their electrical systems were flaky below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, their parking brakes would stick yearly (in the salt belt anyway), and the brake pedal was in the wrong spot for anyone with an average foot. I also learned how to change a head gasket on a 20-degree day in March when mine definitively failed on my 50-mile commute.
The head gasket might not be a problem with this GT, however, as it came with the Mazda-designed 1.8 rather than the gutless Ford 1.9 that my ’93 wagon struggled with. The 1.8 had a peppy 127 horsepower, although the mileage with the four-speed automatic was a little disappointing: 20 city/26 highway.
Let’s not forget about the motorized seat belts. My wife never will; she was rear-ended while stopped in a traffic jam on the expressway in her ’91. They locked, after her head hit the steering wheel…twice. They also occasionally jammed in their tracks. Now, it might be a little unfair condemning the design when our Escorts were fairly used up by the time we owned them, but still…
What I’m confused by is the fact that the ’95 model shown here has air bags, but still uses the motorized seat belts. Interesting.
Now that all those Escort memories have come flooding back, we can appreciate this GT for what it is, a low-mileage time capsule. Nobody expected Escorts or Cavaliers or Neons to just disappear from the roads, but they did. So now, we appreciate one when we see it just for nostalgia’s sake. We may not have aspired to own them (where have all the Aspires and Festivas gone?), but we saw them every day and then we didn’t. Purples and teals and splashy pinstripes are also gone. How many purple ’95 Escorts are out there?
By the way, the seller mentions the cracked taillight, and says that it will be replaced by the time the car sells.
This GT is being sold from the estate of a classic car aficionado. The seller says it’s rust free, and it’s clear from the interior photos that it’s been well-maintained. Those blue accents on the seats are perfect for this car. I’m a little surprised by the automatic, but I chuckled at a line in the ’95 Escort brochure: “An optional electronic 4-speed automatic overdrive transaxle is available for those who are accustomed to a somewhat less active style of driving.”
This clean 1995 Escort is for sale on eBay with no reserve, and the bidding has been steady. For now, the high bid is $2500, but it will be interesting to see how high this GT goes. Are you in the mood to relive those days gone by?
Fun write-up Aaron. Interesting that you had extensive experience with these 90’s Escorts, and know their quirks. My thought is that you appropriately positioned them, as “reasonably solid throwaway compacts.” And yes, they were everywhere until they weren’t.
This one looks fine, especially in that period-correct purple. The automatic wouldn’t be my preference, but by the 90’s it was the transmission of choice for even economy cars.
Keep the economy cars coming, they make for fitting write-ups because we all had experience with such vehicles.
I’m with Bob, great write up. What a flood of memories. My wife and I bought our first, and for approximately 25 years thereafter only new car. It was a leftover 94 Escort 4 door sedan in eletric blue. We were living in the lap of luxury, the car had AC power steering and power brakes crank up windows and manual locks. But power mirrors, go figure. We had the 1.9 with a 5 speed. Actually for 88 horsepower it moved put quite well and had decent torque for us. And got great mileage. Great memories this one held up great.
As a matter of fact about the power and torque. One day on a two lane a young kid and his girlfriend in brand new V6 Cavalier Z24 were looking at me and laughing at a stop light. Well, when the light turned green i somehow took off perfectly, by the time my face was even with his front wheels they were spinning. I got a length on him and held it just long enough for the slow lane which I was in to end and me get in front of him. I turned on my turn signal and pulled in front of him. Next light road turned into two lanes. He was making a right, me a left. As we sat at the red light this time only the girl was laughing, the kid was irate and wouldnt even look at me. I just looked at them smiled and drove off. Mind you half of this was driving, and Im not bragging here because i probably couldnt reproduce what I did, hitting the gears perfectly taking off just right etc. But boy was that fun. You didnt want to run the 1.9 past 5000 rpm in fact 4500 was a great spot to start hunting for the next gear. If I didnt take this kid by surprise by taking off perfectly with no wheel spin Im sure it may have ended differently. And if that kid happens to be reading this right now, I apologize for embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend in an economical Ford Escort.
I had the same experience many times when driving my ’86 GLH-T.
Lots of surprised looks.
My 95 Escort LX 2 dr. HB had a 5 spd.. It was a demo model with a thousand miles on it when I purchased it. Yes the auto seatbelt went out on me once and it threw the timing belt at around 60,000 miles. Traded it in somewhere past 100,000 miles. I still consider it to be one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned. I miss the 5 spd. the most.
Oh wow. Ours threw a crank shaft position sensor my wife was 8 months pregnant with our second son on a very hot august day in 1998. It was the only time it left us stranded. Other than a dead battery but that wasnt the Escorts fault.
Definitely a ’90s color – that’s for sure! I always loved this iteration of the Escort with the Mazda DOHC engine – although if I had purchased one, it would’ve been a manual.
I didn’t realize the motorized mouse belts were still around in ’95.
The DOHC Mazda engine with a 5-speed was a treat. The rest of the car was not as memorable.
I had a GT of roughly that vintage. I don’t remember the exact year. With the 5 speed it was a pretty good performer. I performed my first FWD burn outs with it.
Great drive train and I really liked the interior. Everything else?
Exhaust issues
Cooling system issues
AC failed.
I’m sure there were more.
Good looking little car, but man that slushbox is tragic. I’d certianly drive one today with a stick, peppy cars with that transmission choice.
Jay Leno made fun once, “An Escort “GT”, who was sportin’ that kind of cash?” Unfortunately, folks that didn’t know their rear from home plate, always felt the Escort lived in the Pintos shaky past. The Escort was a completely different car, with only the blue oval in common. Escorts, and I’m sorry, but they offered everything the ferrin’ cars did. Don’t give me any guff on that. The only reason to buy a foreign car then, when the Escort was available, was a giant middle finger to the US auto industry, and all the families that depended on it. Strong words for 3am? Perhaps, but the Escort was a good car. I knew of several with hundreds of thousands of miles, with proper maintenance, as good as any Asian car. Then there was cost. I read, an Escort GT cost $13, 686 new, and a compatible Corolla, almost $15 grand. I don’t know, I must have missed something.
Think I’m full of it? Just ask the great folks of Wayne, Michigan how they feel,,,
And to add to Howard. Our LX sedan was about 11,000 give or take a few bucks. I forgot to also mention our car stayed in our family for over 22 years. What finally did it in, was rust, lots of it, but the motor still ran like a top still shifted great, still got great MPG. It circled back to me in the end and I used it as a work car. I miss it now that Im looking at this one and reading these comments. It really was a great car.
These second gen Escorts were good little cars, but he first ones 1981-1985 were absolute garbage . Every single one would develop cracks in the cyl head right between the valves at around 50 -60k miles. Being a cheap economy car ,most people wouldn’t spend the money on a new cyl head and the cars were junked. I worked a salvage yard in the mid 1980s ,and we were bringing these and their sister , the Lynx in daily . We used to get calls everyday from people looking for used heads , and of course the owner would have the yard guys pull every head and everyone had the same issue. These cars were only 5 – 6 years old at the time and we couldn’t crush them fast enough; more were always arriving. the only thing we used to sell of them was the front corner lamps , and a rim and tire as nobody wanted a donut spare back then.
Yes! Actually in 1993, when I bought my Escort-Ford offered a “fixed price”-I believe $9999 for any Escort (3 door, 4 door, or wagon)….Agreed….It was a great car….
If this was a manual I would be bidding on it. Too bad, but that’s probably how it stayed in this condition.
Ah, the Escort. My first new car, and back when you could still sit down with the salesman and pick your options! By ’89, I’d moved up to the Mustangs, but a friend of mine bought an ’89 Escort GT, and drove that thing for 10 years, with nary a major issue.
Well Howard, they say that opinions are like belly buttons, everyone’s got one, and your entitled to yours…but you’re wrong, facts and history don’t support you at all. I’d consider myself a Ford Guy, a preferred brand for me, still have an F150, a Mustang, and a classic Galaxie – but to say that a mid-1990s Escort was equal or better than comparable Toyota or Honda products of that era for engineering, reliability or build quality, is nonsense. The American consumer made the switch to cars that served them better, lasted longer.
Oh, and some basic math for you. If the Ford Escort costs $13, 686 new, and a compatible Corolla, almost $15 grand – but after 5 years of ownership the Corolla holds 60% of its residual value and the Escort only 50% – which is the better value ?
I think these are considered a big deal/sports cars in England. How sad is that? LOL On an episode of Wheeler Dealers Mike talked about it like it was a sports car, and I remember on one of those Police Chase videos (from England) the police were having trouble catching a Ford Escort because, as everyone knows, it was so fast. They must be a different car in England.
Yeah, those are different cars.
I bought a used a 87′ Escort Wagon,drove it for a year and traded it in on a new 93′ Ranger.
I bought a 93 Escort Wagon brand new after graduating from college. It was the car I learned how to drive a standard shift on. It was a simple, reliable car. Perhaps the pre-1991 Escorts can be lumped in with the Cavaliers, Chevettes, Neons, etc-but the 91 + we’re very similar to the Mazda Protege and we’re quite well engineered.
Yes! Actually in 1993, when I bought my Escort-Ford offered a “fixed price”-I believe $9999 for any Escort (3 door, 4 door, or wagon)….Agreed….It was a great car….
At 229,000 miles, I got rid of mine because of cosmetic rust. Still ran great.
These are really fun, durable little beer cans, and have a cult following as evidenced by the strong bidding on this prime example. These are quick, fun and handle well. If you ever drove one, you know. This applies only to the GT, 1.8 Mazda version. The 1.9 rental fodder Escort did not provide any of that experience. I miss my 95, 5 speed.
I purchased a ’93 GT with the manual. Drove it for 12 years with really no issues at all. My wife backing into it twice was the worst of it.
I was moving across the country and didn’t need it. I sold it and felt a tinge of regret as it was driving away – trust your gut. I probably should have held onto it. Such a fun car all around.
This EBay seller gets a lot of publicity here on BF.
That will happen when you keep bringing these type of interesting cars to auction – we eat them up here!