The late-80s and early-90s was an interesting time for automakers, and especially for U.S. automakers. Ford had a mega hit with the Taurus/Sable and I’ve always thought of a car like this 1991 Mercury Topaz LTS 4WD as a mini-Sable. This one can be found on Craigslist, or here on the CL archive, with an asking price of $2,000 or best offer. It’s located in Millmont, Pennsylvania. Thanks to Pat L. for submitting this one!
The photos are cut off on the side views and there isn’t one photo even giving a hint of what the grille looks like, if there even is a grille. I’m assuming that there is but we don’t know for sure. But, otherwise this car looks fantastic for being in a snowy area. With it being a 4WD car you have to know that it was driven in the winter and I’m fairly sure that the fine folks at PennDOT use salt on the roads. I can’t believe that this car isn’t showing rust. But, with only 72,610 miles maybe it was only driven in the summers? Yeah, but it’s a 4WD, who buys a 4WD Topaz to only drive it in the summer? With an average of 2,689 miles a year, it very well could not ever have been driven in the snow, theoretically. Ok, let’s move on…
Reportedly this LTS, or Luxury Touring Sedan, “is in excellent condition.” It sure looks like it is to me. Have we talked about rust yet?.. (crickets) Well, the seller says that this car has “no rust, service records, and original bill of sale”. Ok, there you have it, no rust! These were unusual cars to have power going to all four wheels. We don’t typically think of that on a small/mid-sized car like the Ford Tempo or Mercury Topaz, but it was offered from 1987 until 1991.
One drawback of this era for me would be the aggravating automatic seatbelts. I can hear the creaking sound now as the door is closed and that thing starts along it’s seemingly-endless journey to the end of the track on the door. But, it is what it is, as they say. The interior does look excellent both front and rear. This “car has power everything with a/c. Everything works as it should and has been garage kept it’s whole life. the interior is spotless and has been well cared for.” There is no mention of the engine and no photos, of course, but it should be Ford’s 2.3L inline-four with 100 hp and 130 ft-lbs of torque. A 1991 Topaz or Tempo will most likely never be a collector car and certainly never a “classic”, but the 4WD option makes this an interesting and somewhat rare car. The condition makes this one worthy of a peek, in my opinion. Have any of you owned a 4WD Tempo or Topaz?
Not a mini-Sable, since the original design predates the Sable/Taurus by several years. More of a plus-size Escort.
Actually, fwiw, the Topaz did closely resemble its big brother, the Sable. Although it was introduced two years before the Sable, by the time the early nineties had arrived, the Topaz bore a striking resemblance to the Sable… even sharing its rather interesting “lightbar” front grille. It looks like a mini Sable from every angle. This was intentional no doubt, but true.
Great to see this car again after all these years and in such great shape. Love this site! I treasure the variety of vehicles we encounter here. Thanks for bringing that to us each day. Keep up the good work!
Put it in a barn please for say 75 years and let the future decide its fate 👌
It was just a plane Jane car that all engineers made cookie cutouts of boxes and no design or desires by customers.
Similar to today but some cars at least now are retro looking and have horsepower or hybrids or plugs.
1st, it was the diesel craze, then the AWD. A “LTS” ( whistles) who sportin’ that kind of cash? Great idea, sucked a little more gas, but I bet these cars got many folks home when even FWD cars didn’t. I had a Tempo like this, not a bad car, until my ex-wife cooked it, about as exciting as a chess match, but it worked.
Had an ’89 Tempo AWD, was an awful piece of crap. The engine would blow the control modules at least once a year. And the AWD system was great for light use in the winter, but if you used it even a little, come spring the rear knuckles would start banging because the universal joint would wear out, and if you didn’t get those taken care of quickly enough, you needed to replace the odd double rear bearing that nobody ever had in stock. Eventually I took the axles out of the rear of the car and stopped using the AWD feature altogether.
Ah memories. There was a big class action lawsuit over the 1983-95 Ford “thick film ignition” (TFI) control modules. They would fail over a certain temperature and stall the car, unfortunately often at highway speeds. When the car would get towed to the dealer it would be cool and it would start, so no one could figure out what the heck was going on. “Phantom failure”, they called it.
I remember when I was a young buck just starting out my career at a law firm involved in that case and going through all the documents produced in discovery on it in the conference room for hours on end. There were boxes upon boxes of engineering and test documents.
The case settled in the early 2000s. Ford owners got free replacement modules and extended warranties. The lawyers made millions, I’m sure, though I wasn’t one of them!
And why is this car posted here when it was not in a barn and certainly is no “find”? These are the kinds of cars I WISH they would smash in car chase movies.
We’ve been over this and over this, Barn Finds, from what I understand, originally began as “vehicles found in barns”, but has morphed into much more than that. It’s more of a “memory lane” for most folks, at least it is for me. Take this car for example, normally, I’d agree, there’s maybe 6 people in the world that may want this car, but it’s the memories they generate is what I like.
You are spot on Rube. I had an ’88 Tempo when I was in the military… an amazing time in my life. This “barn find” is a great reminder of those days, after a miserable day at work.
Define “pointless opinion”—see karguy james’ comment above.
This has to be the finest example of this model left in existence…
My folks had one of these LTS models, just not AWD. It was a decent car, with the only issue they had mechanically being a flaky transmission that Ford ESP refused to replace until after 2 attempts to repair it. Once it was replaced the car held up pretty well and had over 100k when they sold it. Theirs was a dark red/grey combo. With the tinted windows they had it looked really good and was garage kept, so it still looked good when sold.
So it has true 4 wheel drive? Does it has a 4 wheel low?
Not a true AWD in the sense. From what I read, a switch in the overhead console, just engaged the rear wheels, no low range. It was never intended to be an ATV. It was a poor setup, and if the system was employed on dry roads, there was funky handling and excessive tire wear. Like Jammer says, many people took the rear axles out, and just had FWD.
Any Pa. people correct me if i’m wrong but cars won’t pass inspection if they have any rust right?
Not sure about PA. but they won’t pass in NY. If that was the case in Wisconsin ( or Minnesota) half the vehicles wouldn’t pass.
When did it change in NY? I’m from western NY (Rochester) and if that was true I NEVER would have been able to get a car inspected !
I spent the summer of 2016 with friends near Kingston, and the guy’s son in law runs an Audi ( and others) repair shop. He also did inspections for the state, ( and he showed me the “toolbox cam” that shows him performing the tests, it’s big time there) as EVERY car needs to be inspected every year, and only older ones are exempt from emission testing. and get a sticker, that the cops sorely look for. Like Scott says, if there’s a hole for exhaust to get in, or something structurally, it won’t pass, and they have no sense of humor. I just didn’t see any rusty cars in NY. ( except the one I was driving)
When I lived in NY, I had plenty of well rusted vehicles. Rust is not part of the safety inspection.
I am from PA. Vehicles can pass with surface rust, if there is rust-through in the body it can not be in an area where exhaust fumes could enter the cabin of the car. the frame can not be rusted through either. It seems about 20% of the RAM trucks around here have rust (some through & even newer ones) on the rear fender upper lip of the wheel well and they have stickers.
Given its condition, its originality, and its rarity, I would think that $2000 doesn’t sound like a bad price for the car.
Nothing really about the car, but I think the auto safety belts are neat! They remind me of the first car I ever remember riding in, my mother’s gray/black 1991 Honda Accord. (I was born in 1999) It was her first new car, and it ran forever, serving as a 75 mile a day commuter until 2010, when we sold it at 269,000 miles. My parents didn’t want my older brother (who was 15) to have a car without airbags. It’s still a hot point between my parents, my mother would’ve kept it forever. It’s ironic now that I, the 3rd child, drive a 1965 Mercury Comet.
The above sounds like a discussion about old Ramblers 40+ years ago…
The 4wd system was very simple. The trans pan was replaced with an aluminum housing that had a vacuum operated shift to engage a gear driven right off of the atx final drive gear. No low range, just 2 or 4wd. I believe the rear axle was a limited slip. I worked at a Ford dealership, and as mentioned most had the rear half shaft’s removed. The choice of u-joint’s instead of cv joint was a mistake.
The 2.3 HO was very underpowered.
I don’t know if I’d call the 2.3 HO underpowered—101 hp was decent for the time, and you have to remember, it’s been out of production for nearly 25 years. I drove a five-speed 1990 Tempo two-door from 1992-2007, and sure it wouldn’t do a 6 second quarter mile, but it could chirp the tires in first and second. I also briefly owned a ‘93 Topaz sedan, and it was so slow it couldn’t outrun its own shadow. May have been partly due to the archaic 3-sp auto.
werent these sold as the cortina in europs
No. The Cortina nameplate died in 1984 with this model.
I wish they sold that one here. I loved the First two generations.
This is a horrible car. On the other hand, it’s a cheap 4WD car.
May it find a home where it rusts in piece.
Keep it in the barn. I had a Tempo, worst Ford I ever owned.
There are times when I look at cars from the US and lament the fact that we never received them in Australia. Then I see any US car with automatic seat-belts and read what a pain they were and I always think “well, we dodged a bullet by not getting that one!” Automatic seat-belts were something we never received Down Under. There are certain advantages to isolation.
In the late 80’s, I worked/managed the shoe department in a couple of branches of a local department store here in Utah.
We hired a woman who’d moved here from CA with her newly retired husband–he had kids in town and she was tired of CA traffic. She was the 2nd wife.
They had an early 80’s Honda Accord that had 100000+ miles so they decided to get something as a replacement and since they had never lived in snowy area, they wanted 4 wheel drive. About 2 years of driving it 10 miles each way every day, she was really tired of it not running right. I don’t remember what they did with it. I didn’t work there much longer and I think they went back to CA.
Had a 92 Tempo LS. Was a very good car until the electrical/computer bugs started. Had to park it then and when I was finally able to get to working on it found that the SW florida gangs (fireants) had decided to move in and wine and dine in the electrical system, rendering the car useless with a hurricane getting rid of fireants but also the rest of the electrical/electronics. Anyway, the Tempo and Topaz actually had an optional 2.9 (I beleive) V6 option also but it actually made the car front heavy and sluggish as hell with all kinds of nosedive and oversteer. I did have access to one (V6 w/ AWD) to use for a couple of weeks while mine was having the transaxle rebuilt and hated the thing. It was sluggish as heck even though it only has 52k on it and made speeding across alligator alley a whole new experience at the least. Kissed the Tempo when I got it back.
Prettttty sure V6 and AWD were never offered together, seeing as AWD was discontinued in ’91 and the 3.0 Vulcan wasn’t an option until ’92…
I had several Tempos over the years. 1985, 1989 Company car and 1986 Topaz that belonged to my sister in law. The 1985 was a 5 speed. All were pretty reliable. The 1989 lasted over 200K. The 2.3 Engine was not the same as other Ford 2.3 since it was based on the 200 6 Cylinder If i remember right. The only problem I remember with the 1989 was the Alternator which was made by Mitsubishi and was very expensive at the time. I always thought the 2 Door model looked like a 3/4 scale T-Bird. The Topaz had a Factory Two Tone Blue/Silver special edition package and was sharp. It was a 5 Speed too. All got decent mileage Mid-20’s. I still see some on the road here in MD occasionally. I wish we could get more cars in Manual Transmissions again.
I grew up poor. My aunt had a brand new 91. Champagne color. One day she drove me to school and I felt like a million
Bucks in that car. It looked nice in its day. Mini Sable…
I have the identical car only a 1990 4wd, has the dealer optional chrome strip between the wheels , thats the only difference
They usually wait until the snow stops before doing the roads around here. For that price, it could be a decent daily for winter. 4.5 hours away though.
Can’t be many left and probably none in this condition, got to be worth the money even to use as a driver during nice weather or even in snow if you have a power washer.
The Tempo/Topaz twins were rental car specials in the late ’80’s & early 90’s for Hertz and Budget. They were actually pretty durable. There were several manufacturing goofs which rental car companies got, like a Topaz steering wheel on a Tempo or a Tempo trunk nameplate on a Topaz.