The Ultimate Pony Car

[Fast_Eddie]

That, Sir, is a seriously great looking car!
Ford really got it right with the Capri. TOo bad they screwed up the marketing so badly in the US. Amazing too, that the next generation (1979 Fox based) was a big step back. I had a 79 with the TRX suspension and the 5.0 with Automatic. Was a nice enough car, but seriously over- engined and under suspended. Then again, Ford never had a clue what to do with the good stuff it brought in from Europe. They had some seriously great iron they brought over, namely the Merkur XR4ti, Scorpio and the sensational early Contour. All more than competitive with anything in their class and all throughly screwed up by Ford in the US.
I always had a soft spot in my heart for the mk II Capri, especially in the black and gold. Pretty cars!
If I ever make it out to Colorado, we need to go for a spin!
Erik

You're always welcome in my Garage!

Hope we're not hijaking this thread too much, but the Capri actually sold well. In 1973 it was the second best selling import behind the VW Bug. As the 70s moved forward, trade issues moved the price up quite a bit. That hurt.

The real story, so I'm told, has more to do with politics. The Capri was a much better car than the Mustang II (I don't think anyone will disagree with that). US Ford didn't really know how to make a small car then. In reality, the Mustang II was just a small version of the bigger car. The weight was amazingly porky for it's size, and the 302 made barely more power than the Capri V6. It became a real problem when the car they imported for "economy" started making their flagship "sports car" look bad.

They were getting beat up pretty bad in the press too for making the Mustang so horrible. They had a lot riding on the Fox chasis and were't about to take any chances. Didn't help any that the MkIII Capri that was introduced in Europe looked light years better than the new car. They didn't want to risk undercutting their big investment with this now pretty long in the tooth import. The badge engineered Fox Capri was born. A fine car, but nothing like the real deal.

The Merkur was indeed a marketing disaster. They sold them at Lincoln dealers- what were those guys going to do with this BMW 3 series competitor? They folks looking for a new Continental weren't interested in the odd looking car who's name they couldn't pronounce. Again, they tried to make the Mustang compete with it in the guise of the SVO, a very neat car with the same engine. Mustang fans didn't know what to make of that either. Just one poor decision after another.

The Contour was an amazing car. Really got lost in the Ford line up. How a car that was so much better than anything else they had sold so poorly is beyond me. But the styling was a bit too bland and they didn't know how to explain to people what it really was. That's too bad. They're outstanding cars.

Take care,

Ed

 

[qboneus]

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They had some seriously great iron they brought over, namely the Merkur XR4ti, Scorpio and the sensational early Contour. All more than competitive with anything in their class and all throughly screwed up by Ford in the US.
I always had a soft spot in my heart for the mk II Capri, especially in the black and gold. Pretty cars!
If I ever make it out to Colorado, we need to go for a spin!
Erik

Second the xr4ti, that little car ran like a raped ape on roids.
Had a great little xr but my brother highcentered it in a barrow pit and assumed that the smoke coming from underneath was from a damaged radiator, and walked off to go find a tow..well he is an idiot and wrong, it was the cats in the brush.
When he came back there was a cinder left.
Tal