Contrast To Ford of Europe
The Sierra was introduced as a replacement for the aging Ford Cortina/Ford Taunus, which was a bold move at the time considering that the Cortina/Taunus was one of Ford's best-selling cars. Despite Ford's initial misgivings about the styling, Sierra went on to be the second best-selling car in Europe, second only to Ford's own Escort.
European Sierras were available in 3-door hatchback, 5-door hatchback, 4-door sedans, 5-door station wagons, and even a pickup truck called the P100. Engines were available from a 1.3-litre 60 hp 4-cylinder, to a 160 hp 2.8-litre V6, or a 2-litre, 16-valve, turbocharged and intercooled 4-cylinder as fitted to the Sierra Cosworth. According to British government test figures, fuel efficient models such as the 1.6 Economy could do 51 mpg (5.5 L/100 km; 42 mpg) at a steady 56 mph (90 km/h), and 30 mpg (9.4 L/100 km; 25 mpg) simulated urban driving.
At the other end of the spectrum the Sierra Cosworth would do 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds and go on to a top speed of almost 150 mph (240 km/h) (and still be capable of over 20 mpg (14 L/100 km; 17 mpg) if driven gently). Oddly, the Sierra XR range and the Cosworth models are not viewed as sales flops in Europe, despite individual models selling fewer cars than the XR4Ti.
Like the Sierra, the Scorpio was also introduced to replace another popular model, the Ford Granada, so popular in fact that in the UK and Ireland the Granada name was still used with the Scorpio name reserved for the top of the range Granada models. The Scorpio started life as a 5-door hatchback, and it later became available as a 4-door sedan and a 5-door wagon. An "executive express" in the form of the Scorpio Cosworth was produced, powered by a 2.9-litre, 24-valve Cosworth V6 motor. This featured 16" aluminum alloy wheels similar to the AMG Mercedes wheels, a rear spoiler, and additional ground effects.
|
| Merkur road car timeline, 1985–1989 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | ||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||
| Compact | XR4Ti | |||||||||
| Mid-size | Scorpio | |||||||||
Read more about this topic: Merkur
Famous quotes containing the words contrast, ford and/or europe:
“In contrast with envy, which usually occurs between two people and is focused upon another person’s qualities or possessions, jealousy occurs when a third person becomes a threat to a dyad. Jealousy involves the loss or the impending loss of a relationship that one wants to hold onto, a relationship that is vital to personal fulfillment and claimed as one’s own.”
—Carol S. Becker (b. 1942)
“Love is dead; let lovers’ eyes,
Locked in endless dreams,
The extremes of all extremes,
Ope no more, for now Love dies.”
—John Ford (1586–1640?)
“Humanism, it seems, is almost impossible in America where material progress is part of the national romance whereas in Europe such progress is relished because it feels nice.”
—Paul West (b. 1930)