What a world it was back in 1989. Today, Ford makes one solitary traditional car, the Mustang. Back then, it introduced a second sporty car to compete with the likes of the Toyota Celica and Honda Prelude. Between the Mustang and the Probe, Ford sold over 350,000 sporty cars in that single model year. Although sales of all sporty cars have drastically tapered off over the last three-and-a-half decades, you can relive those heady times with this rust-free Probe GT.
Everyone knows the story about how the Mazda-based Probe almost became the first front-wheel-drive Mustang. The reaction of Ford enthusiasts was angry and definitive, so Ford decided to rename the car and give it a go anyway. It wasn’t a bad decision; Probe sales throughout most of its run were respectable, even if they never matched the success of the inaugural 1989 model. And the Probe was actually a pretty good car.
My sister had a used Probe LX back in high school, and the interior was nothing like the non-Mazda-based Fords I was accustomed to. The whole instrument cluster tilted up and down with the steering wheel for a clear view of the gauges, and the dashboard elegantly wrapped around into the door panels. Hers was a non-turbo automatic, but it still felt as if it were more powerful than its 110 horsepower would suggest. The flip-up headlights were a neat trick to my teenaged sensibilities.
Our featured car is the far more potent GT, and this one has the five-speed manual as an added bonus. If you want a Probe, this is probably the one you want.
The gauge cluster is comprehensive, and the odometer shows under 100,000 miles, which means that our featured Probe has plenty of life in it.
The heart of the Probe GT is the 12-valve 2.2-liter Mazda turbo four, producing 145 horsepower and 190 ft./lbs. of torque. The zero-to-60 time was usually somewhere in the seven-to-eight second range, which was pretty quick back in 1989.
Even the undercarriage of this Probe looks almost new. The seller says that this car came from out west, and it clearly has not seen one grain of salt in its lifetime. Since Probe replacement panels must be unavailable, this is the kind of Probe to buy. Side note: Changing the alternator on an ’89 Probe is not fun – I replaced one in my sister’s Probe in a 7-11 parking lot when I was 19. This view brings back a few memories.
The Mustang survived the Probe scare of the late-1980s, and although the Probe lasted through two generations, it has never really gained traction in the collector market. When was the last time you saw one on the street? Every once in a while, a nice one will come along and remind us that it wasn’t a bad-looking little car. It might be a fun, practical car for you. This one is for sale on Marketplace for $7500. Thanks to Kiwie49 for bringing it to our attention.
Good write-up Aaron. I agree with your theme: that it wasn’t a bad car, but it has been almost forgotten and is seldom seen today. Probably, simply because (for Ford fans) it isn’t a Mustang. Being contrarians, I have a couple friends who have one among their collections of Fords, because…. it represents their time period and isn’t a Mustang.
Looks like a very nice example for not much money.
It isn’t a mustang but started development as a mustang. The faithful having just come off of the mustang II were having none of it. Of course, GM had just scraped their GM80 fwd F-car project due to similar outrage. All in all the Probe was a good car in Ford, Mercury and Mazda form.
Well said, Aaron, and these were a heckuva lot better car than the Escort.
My dad bought my mom a brand new red Probe in 1990 for their 50th anniversary. She drove it up until she was 96 when she passed a Dodge 3500 on the right-just before it turned right into his driveway.
Totaled the car but remarkably no one was hurt.
She didn’t drive after that, but wanted to have the car fixed because she’d enjoyed the all those years. Still drivable afterwards but they’d devalued by then to make it uncostly to repair. It was a fun car to drive in its day but the automatic shoulder belt system was, literally, a pain in the neck.
Hers had the analog dash as my dad he been told by the salesman that a static electrical charge could short out the system!
A good stopgap car that never really got a lot of recognition. Pity.
True! I’ve driven a lot of miles in Escorts, and I’d prefer the Probe, too.
Super clean, especially considering the 95k miles. This seems like a bargain at the asking price. Would probably win an award at Radwood. Great find Kiwie49.
These were really pretty cool cars. I think they’d have sold much better if their name didn’t instantly turn ones thoughts to the tools of a proctologist.
This particular car is in decent shape, but the front seats appear to be filthy.
Looks good !
No catalytic converter on this one anymore.
1990 for Ford was a good performance step up year, with the SHO, the T Bird SC and Mustang GT as well.
Worth a look and not a lot of money for an inspired, 3 pedal driver with some decent GO.
Maybe a bargain- worth a look!
I haven’t seen a Probe in the wild since who knows when! I almost bought one in the early 90’s, but opted for the Mustang LX 5.0. Couldn’t beat the bang for the buck!
How would you know?
Clearly one of the top five worst model names for a car.
I had a ’93 GT, V6 & 5 speed in hot pink. Got it with 250k miles on it. Taught one of my sisters to drive a stick with it after her car was totaled. After that I gave it to my dad, he drove it until he couldn’t see any more. I always thought they were a joke of a car until I drove one, I was impressed how much power it had and how comfortable it was. We all had fun just driving that cheap little fast car around.
Rarely seen on the roads anymore but a good car for sure. It’s amazing how many of these there were and then poof- they were gone! Even here in dry/no rust Arizona. You don’t see their Mazda counterparts either.
Bingo, and to think it was primarily designed with women in mind. I knew a gal that had one, and I doubt she ever made the connection, so clearly, a mans point of view,, :)
But extremely popular in Northern California. That’s strange.
My urologist had one…sick sense of humor
My daughter had one as her first car. It was a 94′. We bought from the Ford dealership it was originally sold from. In fact, the car originally belonged to the mother of the salesman we bought it from. The color was Tangerine Frost. Everywhere she went people asked her if it was the original color. It really wasn’t a bad car, but I hated working on it. Even an oil change was simple!
My wife won a new probe in 89, was able to chose the one she wanted, drove the GT but didnt like the turbo lag and torque steer, got a loaded LX with a 5 speed, great little car.
v-6 stick here- drove it for 4 years and gave it to my eldest daughter- 45000 miles on it, she sold it 4 months later,and bought a SAAB, drove that for 2 months when the rear fuel pump said adios- replaced that which blew the front fuel pump. not to mention the engine being in backwards – have to love your kids. Did I mention the water pump?
I ordered one of these when they were first announced and got it in late ’88. God, it was fun. You neglected to mention that the GT came with a switch that allowed minor changes to the suspension (soft, firm and auto) and speed sensitive power steering. Pretty advanced stuff for what amounted to a hopped-up economy car. While not fast compared to what’s available today, it kept right up with the 5 liter Mustangs and would do 140+ on the top end. Good times.
Judging by the comments, I had the only POS probe. I see a lot of people saying they were good cars. My 92 was the only car I ever owned that I truly hated! I went thru more head gaskets/exhaust gaskets/ turbo gaskets than I care to think about. All while making something like 6psi of boost. It was a neat looking car especially when Bob Glidden campaigned one with a boss 429 but I’m pretty sure the only thing his and mine had in common was the ford badge. I’d almost dare say that mine cost more to operate than his!
Me thinks it was hatched by some clever auto journalist who might have just visited his proctologist.
Ah, the funny comments have been memory holed.
I loved showing my pink probe to people. My girlfriend liked riding my pink probe so ,much, she married me. Everyone that saw my pink probe complimented me on its cleanliness and size. My pink probe was just the right size to fit wherever you wanted to stick it.
How’s junior high school going this year?
Sometimes the staff goes a bit overboard on what they remove. Nothing bad was said, we’re not children.
First time I’ve ever disagreed with you, Howard.
Typically, I agree with you, HoA, but I think they do a reasonably good job at keeping the BS at bay.
Sometimes, however, staff has to be reminded of their own posting rules (see below) by direct contact.
I remember reading somewhere back in the day that the name really turned off female potential buyers for the car.
There were several comments pointing that out removed, apparently the staff hasn’t gotten around to removing yours yet.
I always thought that Probe was an awful name for a car, sounds too much like a prostate exam.
What many dont know is that the 145 hp of this four cylinder equaled that of the camaro and firebirds 305 of the early 80’s but with half the weight. They were good cars ahead of their time meaning most Americans had no idea what they were looking at or that it was the future they would later embrace in future cars.