(first posted 12/7/2015) Today, the Blue Oval brand gets its turn in the Special Edition and Limited-Run Model spotlight. Fair warning: you will not find any Mustangs here and you will find only one F-Series. Those two long-running lines have seen more than their fair share of special editions but very few of those could be considered obscure or forgotten. The following cars definitely are.
Ford Tempo AWD Coupe
Years produced: 1987
Total production: 6000?
While all-wheel-drive, two-door coupes have been offered somewhat regularly by mainstream brands, these have almost always been sporty offerings like the Toyota Celica All-Trac. What about AWD coupes with zero sporting aspirations? That narrows the field down to the AMC Eagle and early Subaru Impreza. Even the Subaru GL was not available as an AWD coupe in North America, unless you went for the sporty turbo model. With such a reluctance from automakers to even bother with this most narrowest of niches, it’s rather surprising that Ford offered an all-wheel-drive Tempo coupe. What isn’t surprising is that it lasted only one year.
The all-wheel-drive Tempo was released in 1987 as either a sedan or a coupe. The Tempo range was available in GL, Sport GL and LX trims, and the AWD models corresponded with the range-topping LX trim and thus came equipped with power mirrors, AM/FM stereo and full instrumentation. All-wheel-drive commanded a $600-700 premium over the regular LX, so the MSRP of the AWD coupe was $9,984 (around $300 more than a Chevy Corsica V6). A driver’s airbag was optional on all 1987 Tempos bar the AWD models and the GL Sport.
The Tempo’s all-wheel-drive was a shift-on-the-fly system, activated via a switch next to the instrument panel. The only powertrain was the “high output” version of the HSC 2.3 four-cylinder, with 100 hp and 125 lb-ft, mated to a three-speed automatic.
One of these turned up recently on the Minneapolis Craigslist site, but unfortunately the listing expired before I could obtain more than this one picture. The seller claimed a 6000 production number figure for the 1987 AWD coupe. Even with almost 300,000 Tempos being manufactured that year, that 6000 figure seems almost too high.
Ford Pinto Rallye Cruising Wagon
Years produced: 1980
Total production: ?
It’s safe to say Ford was the only automaker who sold a subcompact wagon with porthole rear windows, garish decals and blackout trim. This curious melange of visual elements came about in the Pinto’s final season. A “Cruising Wagon” with tape stripes and porthole rear side windows had been launched in 1977 as a little companion for the full-size Cruising Van, to further cash in on the customized van trend. The Pinto Rallye hatchback debuted at the Pinto’s 1979 facelift, offering bold Rallye decals, unique wheels, firmer suspension and full instrumentation. For 1980, Ford mashed those two option packages together.
The only engine available on the 1980 Pinto was the 2.3 four-cylinder, as Ford joined GM in axing up-level engine options in their 1980 subcompacts for CAFE purposes. The 2.3 could be had with either a 4-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic. The Rallye Cruising Wagon retained the full instrumentation, decals and wheels of the Rallye hatch, but added black roof racks that matched the black rear window louvers and other blackout trim.
This picture from the 1980 Pinto brochure shows how Ford was still trying to keep its aging Pinto relevant right until the end. You can spy the featured Rallye Cruising Wagon, as well as the regular Cruising Wagon, Squire, ESS (European Sport Sedan), Rallye and the humble Pinto Pony. Pinto production reached an all-time high in the throes of the fuel crisis, reaching 544,000 units in 1974. By 1980 and despite a rather handsome facelift, sales had sunk to 185,054 units. It was time for Ford to move on. They would never again offer a subcompact wagon with porthole rear windows, garish decals and blackout trim.
Ford Escort ZX2 S/R
Years produced: 1999-2000
Total production: 2,110
The Escort ZX2 was a late addition to the Escort line, arriving in 1998. It served as a de facto replacement for the Probe, which died for 1999, as well as the Escort GT hatch discontinued ahead of the revised ’96 Escort’s launch. The first Escort-based coupe since the 1988 EXP, the ZX2 was intended to rival coupe versions of the Dodge Neon, Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cavalier. For 2000, Ford introduced a special performance-tuned model to rival the Neon ACR and Civic Si. This was known as the ZX2 S/R, or “Street Racer”.
Photos courtesy of kovy88 on CarDomain
ZX2 performance was already quite good, as the only powertrain was a 2.0 Zetec four-cylinder engine with 130 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque; Escort sedans and wagons had a less powerful 2.0 CVH four. Handling was also quite competitive, owing to its Mazda mechanicals. For an extra $1,500, the S/R added a multitude of performance upgrades. Power was bumped up to 143 hp, making the S/R good for a 0-60 time of around 7.5 seconds, while the only transmission available was a 5-speed manual with a short-throw shifter.
Rear disc brakes replaced the rear drums. There were also stiffer Eibach springs, Tokico struts, different suspension bushings, a new intake and a Borla exhaust. Visual changes were limited to a silver-trimmed gauge cluster, new seats, exterior decals and a leather shift boot; there were also unique 15-inch alloy wheels, which seem rather quaint now. The only colors were zinc yellow, red and black.
Only 110 S/Rs were sold in 1999 and they were exclusive to the Californian market; for 2000, they were sold nationwide. Although a neat experiment, the S/R didn’t survive beyond 2000. Ford was investing effort in marketing its new compact, the 2000 Focus, which would receive sport variants of its own. However, to keep compact coupe buyers in the fold, the ZX2 was offered until 2003. There would eventually be a Focus coupe, sold from 2008-10, but it was more a two-door sedan and was not aimed at the Civic Si crowd. The performance flame would be reignited with the racy 2014 Focus ST (and the 2014 Fiesta ST); the wild Focus RS is also arriving shortly. Once again, Ford’s pocket rockets are hatchbacks.
Ford Thunderbird Limited Edition 007
Years produced: 2003
Total production: 700
Die Another Day was one of the poorer Bond films if not the worst (in my humble opinion, Diamonds Are Forever is the absolute nadir of the franchise) and it was easily the worst of Pierce Brosnan’s Bonds. However, as per tradition, Bond’s 2002 outing featured some distinctive cars. One was an all-new Aston Martin Vanquish, driven by Agent 007 himself. The other belonged to Halle Berry’s badass Bond girl Jinx: the new-for-2002, retro-styled Ford Thunderbird. In 2003, Ford introduced a limited edition Thunderbird to commemorate its role in the film.
Every 007 edition was painted in the Coral of Jinx’s Thunderbird, albeit with a white top instead of the Coral top of the movie car. Like the movie car though, there were striking chrome wheels. Inside, there were “Performance White” leather seats. Although these were available in other Thunderbirds, the Coral paint was exclusive to the 007 and was not only an homage to Thunderbirds of the 1950s, but also a matching shade to Jinx’s bikini. Each 007 also received a small badge on the instrument panel and a numbered, commemorative plaque in the glove compartment.
Curiously, Ford didn’t offer as many special editions of this final Thunderbird as it did the Mustang. This could have helped maintain interest. As it stood, everyone who really wanted this niche product bought one at the start and sales dropped each year until the line was retired after 2005.
Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition
Years produced: 2008
Total production: 650
Ford decided to embrace the customized truck trend by launching a truck that was already customized. Go figure.
Just 650 regular-length Expedition Limited trucks left the Wayne, Michigan factory bearing the name of the famous DJ, rapper and producer and outfitted with a 3d Carbon bodykit. A shame they didn’t wait until 2010, and launch a Funkmaster Flex Flex.
By customized truck standards, the 20-inch wheels were really quite small. After all, 20-inch wheels were becoming available on cars like the Lincoln MKS. What was authentically aftermarket was the bold color scheme: two-tone black and Colorado Red paint with orange pinstriping. The theme was carried over to the interior, with black leather seats featuring red piping and headrests – heated and cooled in the front – and a Colorado Red instrument panel. As befitting its namesake, the FMF also had a 340-watt Audiophile sound system. Total price? $40,910, with options limited to just a few items like satellite navigation.
Although the FMF Edition was to herald the start of a collaboration between the artist and Ford, there would be no future Expeditions bearing his name. The SUV boom time was ending quite abruptly in 2008, as sales of the Expedition skidded by almost 50% and fell further for 2009. Although sales levelled off the year after, they have stayed consistently at that level. It seems the full-size SUV has mostly returned to being the domain of its original buyers: boat-owners, rural residents and government fleets.
Being a full-line, everyman brand, Ford has always offered a wide variety of cars and trucks. We’ve seen a subcompact, two compact coupes, a luxury convertible, and a full-size SUV today. Next week, we will look at 5 more unique and very different Fords.
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Cohort Capsule: Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon
Two Rare Escorts: SS and Diesel
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I’m afraid I have to disagree with your dislike for the movie Die Another Day. You don’t have to like it, but I thought it was Pierce Brosnan’s best James Bond movie. I must say that I was never fond of this version of the Ford Thunderbird. My favourite Ford cars are the Tempo and Mercury Topaz.
While I knew Ford offered the Tempo/Topaz with AWD, I always figured it was of the “full-time” variety. And it never entered my thoughts that it was produced as a coupe, it competed with the AWD Camry so I assumed it was only produced as a sedan. My guess is that the quoted 6000 sold, if accurate is the total AWD production….coupe and sedan, all model years combined. I’ve seen ads for 2 different sedans (including 1 at a Ford dealer), but I’m not sure I’ve seen one “in the metal”.
BTW, another obscure Tempo/Topaz would be the diesel powered models.
Amazing that Ford took a VERY tired Pinto, and by the end of it’s 11 year run spun off about a dozen semi distinct models….and all powered by the same 4 cylinder engine. But then, Toyota would do the same thing in 1980 with the Corolla.
If ever a car seem built for endless special editions it would seem to be the ’02-’07 T-bird. Maybe Ford felt that all this series of T-bird was special? As for that particular Bond edition? I think a black top would have looked better than a white one, but then it wouldn’t have matched the interior.
I’ve seen 1 or 2 Escort ZX2 S/Rs, always in yellow. I might have bought 1 if they hadn’t been so hard to find/buy. Even now, 75% or more of the ZX2s I’ve run across have automatic transmission.
A factory customized “full-sized” SUV? Meh.
Damn William, you are doing such a great job with this series. That Escort ZX2 looks a LOT like the second gen Toyota Soarer/Lexus SC400 from the front.
Nadir Bond: A View to a Kill.
Brendan Saur and I will defend A View To A Kill to the death! I actually put it firmly in my top 10… Yes, I bought the Anniversary boxset, watched every movie again and ended up creating a ranking of sorts. Bit of a Bond nerd here…
And you’re spot on about the SC/ZX2 resemblance. It’s funny how so many companies tried to do the whole quad headlight thing and they all eventually gave up on it after a little while. And thank you for the compliment!
William (and Brendan); I am very much in awe of your automotive writing and perspectives, but there is no way on this earth AVTAK can be top ten. Grace Jones… squandered. Christopher Walken… squandered. Roger Moore hitting on Tanya Roberts… (vomit).
Massive Bond nerd here.
+1
Any Bond movie that features Duran Duran already has a big strike against it.
?!
A View To A Kill is absolutely one of my favorite Bond films. Why? The plot, while simple, is historically relevant for a movie made in 1985. Having Zorin as a product of Nazi experiments was a creative move and indeed the Nazis did a lot of medical experiments on victims of the concentration camps. Tying in Silicon Valley was also interesting, as it was becoming (and still is) a huge gold mine.
The Duran Duran theme song is killer – I have it on my Spotify and listen to it frequently.
It also has Grace Jone’s May Day a strong, powerful (figuratively and physically speaking) capable of making her own decisions and changing sides at the end. Very few Bond films up to this point portray females in such a non-inferior way. (Of course, this is done to Tanya Robert’s character – lost cause there).
The locations of Paris and San Francisco are also add interest, there’s a blimp, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade’s Alison Doody and Christopher freakin’ Walken. Need I say more?!
Count me as a Bond nerd too. Now I’m curious about your Bond ranking list. Like Don, I’d place AVTAK at or the near the bottom of the list. What are your top 10 Bond picks?
Also, I’d at least put Diamonds Are Forever mid-pack. While not the best, I just can’t see it as the worst of the franchise–though I’ll readily admit that part of the appeal is seeing all the old FoMoCo products featured…
License to Kill was my worst. Not a fan of Timothy Dalton’s version of Bond, seemed to come across as if he thought he was too good for it, and License to Kill seemed to have him in the DEA chasing street thugs instead of world dominating arch villans.
Licence To Kill was definitely inspired by the Miami Vice craze, but it’s actually one of the most believable Bond films (which I guess you could view as a negative) and I thought it was a refreshing change from fighting the Russians and KGB.
Ah, but “License to Kill” had the awesome theme song sung by Gladys Knight. One of the better Bond theme songs.
An ordered Top 10 list is a little excessive for me, given there have only been 24 films total, so I’ll give me Top 3 favorites:
1. GoldenEye
2. A View To Kill
3. Licence To A Kill
Among others I really like are From Russia With Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, and Skyfall.
Ones I like not so much: Diamonds Are Forever, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, and The Man With The Golden Gun. Live and Let Die is my least favorite and in my opinion the lowest point of the series. I apologize, as I know many will be offended by this, but personally, I find most of the Connery ones a bit boring. It’s not him, just the period in which his films were made.
The great thing about the Bond franchise is that there is something for everyone! My tastes gravitate to the early Sean Connery ones, as well as some of the more recent ones, like Skyfall, which I think is excellent, and would be in my top 10. I’ll happily watch any of them though.
I have a soft spot for Live and Let Die, as much of it was filmed in New Orleans and the surrounding bayous. In the boat chase sequence, the scene where the boat crashed the wedding and into the pool were filmed at the country place of some friends of my parents, and I’ve been there several times. Plus I love all the ’73 Chevrolets. So my rose-colored glasses account for this one ranking unusually high on my list.
My top three would be this:
1. From Russia With love
2. On her Majesty’s secret service
3. The spy who loved me
I find a lot of the “bad” ones ones incredibly watchable however – Diamonds are forever, Man with a Golden Gun, (hell pretty much every Roger Moore Bond for that matter). Personally the Craig ones I find totally boring and predictable, I opted not to see Spectre in theatres this time round. Which may have been a mistake from what I hear, people seem to slam it for reverting back to the old bond style, which I am A-OK with!
Excellent series William!
Don, I totally see the Lexus front end on the Escort as well!!
There are also striking similarities to the short lived JDM Mazda “Autozam” Clef sedan, which also debuted in 1992. These were basically a reworked North American 626/JDM Cronos sedan:
I find myself a fan of the late edition Pintos. The late ones are badly remembered for the heavy bumpers made of flint, but as with many things (news) reports were ambulance chaser fed hoey. The volume was not that great at the end, but production cost must have been low on the old tooling, to keep up sales, here came the personalizarion options. Detroit was always good with that and the imports not so much due to the need to minimize certification costs.
It is strange to me that the late Lima engine retained a 2 barrel carb while the fox body Lima’s had gone to a 1 barrel. Ford was not showing a hp advantage, but it would not do to have the Pinto have more horsepower than a Mustang, and it is not like C/D or R/T would waste their ink on end of the run Pintos to find out that it was faster. A four speed Rallye might have been a little bit of a durable sleeper, available for a song. With Japan Inc. getting expensive in 79-80, a late Pinto or Monza might have been a good choice.
I’m with you, John – I also liked the ’79 Pinto restyle. The red Rallye coupe in the brochure photo looks great.
I owned and drove a 1980 Pinto wagon with Lima 2.3 and 4-sp manual for 6 years. I can tell you with complete authority that nothing about it could be classified as a “sleeper”—performance or style-wise. It was hopelessly lethargic, un-refined, thirsty, and nerdy. I did drive it past 132,000 miles however…though well maintained on schedule, it was beginning to fall apart–burning oil, pinion gear noisy, door hinges sagging, and Duraspark module failing.
Mr Henry, style wise and performance wise, I was comparing to what was available in the price range in 1980. !32k was I am sure longer than any of the economy automakers intended the entry level vehicles to last, and the catalogue cover shot conclusively proves that the 1980 Pinto was available in any style or none at all. I further assert that the retention of the two barrel and lower weight made the four speed faster than a 2.3 Mustang or Fairmont, and I suspect a 81 Escort. Says a lot to me in favor of the end of the line.
I quite like the T bird and the shaggin wagon. If it’s rocking don’t come knocking!
Just a quick correction the final model year for the probe was 1997. Great article!
The ZX2 was a really good bargain in its day, attractive looking with great performance.
The AWD Tempo was a good idea undone by the archaic 3-Speed Auto – the HSC engine was an underrated mill that was badly hamstrung by a lack of gears to work its decent torque.
In my high school days (graduated 1995) our parish priest had an AWD Tempo sedan which he considered essential for having to cover a two rural parishes and having to do two masses in two churches each Sunday morning (one at 8 am and the other at 10 am) with roughly 10 miles of country road between them (20 mile round trip.)
It never occurred to me that the system was “shiftable” either. Although it makes sense that it would be cheaper for Ford to not have to design an AWD system that could handle the transfer case slippage required on dry pavement.
I don’t think any car other than those Pintos ever had a factory-supplied bubble window (as opposed to round but flat glass).
What is that otherwise plain wagon with the bubble porthole window that is not a Rallye or Cruising Wagon?
That facelifted front looks very early-80s modern but sets you up for a modern car to go with it. Like many late-period front facelifts, the new front end clashed badly with the obviously-old rest of the car.
The plain wagon is called Pinto Cruising Package Without Graphics.
Wonder what the intended market was for the Pinto Cruising Package Without Graphics – people who wanted a very small commercial-type vehicle like Vega panel van that was offered a few years earlier? People who wanted to paint their own murals on the side? People who just preferred not having loud graphics, but wanted something more unique-looking than a regular Pinto wagon?
These apparently still had rear seats – kids must have loved not having an outside view. Also, I like how the inside of the filler panel containing the porthole was carpeted, which is so ’70s-tastic.
Out of all the Pinto Cruising Wagons, the Without Graphics is the one I’d pick. on looks.
If memory serves, a stripper version was sold as a compact commercial “sedan delivery” type vehicle. It was not equipped with rear seats, just a flat deck, and no porthole in the side panels. I have never seen the sales literature on such a car, but have seen one at a car show.–perhaps the rarest of all Pintos.
It was an almost-free way to sell more sedan delivery Pintos.
The 1978-79 Ford Escort Sundowner is another, also released during the van craze.
There was a Falcon Sundowner also, but the brochure shows blind/solid side panels, as do the equivalent Holden Sandman and Chrysler Valiant Drifter panelvans; it would be left up to owners to fit their own bubble windows!
Couple of housewives still driving those ugly FMF Expeditions round these parts… I think they went with the crummy wheels because they knew every one would have their own tacky 22″+ wheels put on it.
I don’t imagine that Ford’s product validation/approval processes would have been too happy with >20″ wheels either.
My pick of this bunch would be the Pinto Rallye wagon. I had no idea this thing even existed, as I had only seen just Rallye Runabouts before. Its disco-era graphics were concocted probably with no idea the popularity of that musical genre would nosedive after ’79.
As far as “Diamonds Are Forever”, love love love that movie – especially that ’71 Mustang Sportsroof that tears it up in Vegas. The James Bond-A-Thon used to come on TNT right around finals week when I was in college 20 (gasp!) years ago, and I developed an appreciation for the Roger Moore era. I’d say the low-point of the series might be Moonraker – even though I love all things 70’s.
I also like the 1970? Tbird, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint drive in Vegas with a body in the trunk, did not even seem to make the cool taillights point low. Honorable mention to the Triumph Stag that Bond steals from smuggler Peter Franks for the car ferry ride to Amsterdam.
I remember that marathon being on the TBS(then the Superstation) 15 years ago or so, I too loved it. I was tween age when those ran so naturally the car chases, girls, over the top action, and corny one liners couldn’t make for a more entertaining movie series for me! Diamonds are Forever was THE car guy’s Bond movie as far as I’m concerned, of course my American and somewhat Ford leaning bias probably influence it.
The chase with the Mach 1 was the only chase in the bond franchise that I found entertaining in the vein of Bullitt (ignoring that massive error at the end in the alley), most of them prior films were hokey green screen affairs with accelerated frame rates for speed, and not particularly well shot at that. Man with a Golden Gun is a close second…until the end stunt.
The stunt itself was pretty cool, I thought. It was the stupid slide whistle that ruined it, and J.W. Pepper (the Jar Jar Binks of the James Bond franchise) in the passenger seat. And the fact that because the stunt had only ever been performed in a Hornet, every car in Thailand had to be an AMC…
The Matador coupe turning into an airplane and taking off was no doubt lifted directly from the AMC business plan for 1974.
Matt, you are 100% correct! The marathon was on TBS (not TNT). And until you mentioned it, it never occurred to me about Diamonds appealing to car buffs. Totally. I liked Man With The Golden Gun for all the AMC’s (especially the Hornet and the flying Matador), but yeah – it was a stretch to suspend my disbelief at all the AMC’s in Thailand – even for a Bond film.
What, no mention of the only successful limited run Ford from AU the XC Cobra stripe kit thought up by one Bill Ford to get rid of 400 unwanted 2 door body shells, paint em white put some American racing colours on in blue stripes and number them they eventually sold and are now collectors items.
Who knows, they might make an appearance in the next 5. On the other hand the Cobra is not terribly obscure or forgotten, especially with the 30th anniversary model back in 2007.
Well they certainly look awesome at least, I wish we got those. The Cobra America got at the time with those EXACT graphics was the Cobra II!
It was Edsel II, not Billy, who ran Ford Australia in that period. For some reason, the Aussie motoring media developed an irrational and vapid hatred for the man, even to the extent that Wheels magazine completely withdrew their Car of the Year award in 1979 when the XD Falcon was a shoe-in for it. That’s typical of press down there from what I gather. Hostile, petulant and petty, and maliciously hateful just for the sake of being hateful..
NBH
It was not the first nor last time the award was withheld. I gather that some aspects of the Falcon that were carried over such as the leaf-sprung rear end, and that it was less of a “driver’s car” than the more compact, rack & pinion-steered Commodore were major factors, ignoring the fact that the Falcon equaled the fuel economy of the smaller Commodore and of course was a lot more roomy as well as stronger for towing in a pre-SUV world.
While there were no doubt some of the motoring media that did not like Edsel II, that was by no means universal.
No FEMI equipped Torino? I recall reading about it here on CC.
I have to say, I’m a bit baffled by the praise of the ZX2. When I met my wife she was driving one. She bought it new off the lot in 1999, I believe.
Maybe some of the ponies left the stable by the time I got behind the wheel some 6 years later. But when I drove it there was little to praise. In fact, it cautiously holds the title of worst car I’ve ever driven. It felt dangerously slow to accelerate while trying to merge into traffic and the interior was… I’ll just say: spartan.
And this was at a time when I was driving a Scion tC, so it’s not like I was feeling overly lofty about performance.
Land Ark,
You don’t say if your wife’s ZX2 had the manual or the automatic transmission, sources say the difference between the 2 was almost night and day. Then there is the fact that the engine in the tc was about 20% larger in displacement (with 25% more horsepower)…not quite an “apples to apples” comparison. But then, the Scion cost more to buy, too.
I’m not saying the ZX2 was a great car, but for what it cost new it was a decent proposition and the S/R added to that for a not outrageous amount of money….something that can’t always be said about the Scion “special editions”.
I find Pintoes unexpectedly fascinating and like the 79-80 restyle – makes sense that as these vehicles would be seen at dealerships alongside the upcoming Escort and Mustang that they should share similar noses.
Does a Cruising thing have rear seats? And were there two different sorts of hatchback?
I’ve always thought the 2-door Tempo was a nice-looking car, and it looks great with the pictured wheels. Were those actually available? I only remember seeing that style of wheel on EXPs.
Yes as part of the TRX handling package, which included specific Michilen tires. It was not able to be paired with AWD. Mustang offered a similar package as well.
I don’t know how I missed this post, but thank you for not decimating “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Everybody loves to lambaste George Lazenby, but TBH it’s my favorite Bond film.
OHMSS is definitely a curiosity, but mainly for George Lazenby (a car salesman before he met Cubby Broccoli at a barbershop) who actually turned down Diamonds Are Forever because he thought the Bond franchise was dying out.
Most underrated film of the series. Fans just cannot get past not-Connery, but the story is excellent, the tone is unusually dark for the series (starts with an attempted suicide and ends with a tragic murder), the bond girl (Diana Rigg) is the best in the entire franchise, the action sequences are top tier, especially the ski chase, and there’s actually suspense – probably partially by way of the discomfort of having an unfamiliar actor playing the part but there are moments you actually can believe James Bond may be in real mortal danger – and I absolutely love the all instrumental opening theme.
I love Cougar’s so the chase is awesome, and despite it likely being product placement by Ford it was done fairly believably, being the lone Ford product in the film and there is some believeability a wealthy impulsive and resentful daughter of a crime boss might make such a vehicle choice, just to be difficult. Stark contrast to the next three films that shamelessly jammed their entire US product lines into them(Ford, Chevy then AMC)
Only flaws I find in that OHMSS are audio, Lazenby’s voice sounds dubbed through the whole movie, and the car chase sound effects are all wrong(the Cougar’s 428cj sounds like an inline 6).
I really like the two tone of the Funkmaster Expedition, as well as the regular Expeditions with the body colored grille. I used to pass one parked in front of a historic mansion since converted to a law office. It was all white with chrome wheels and I thought that it looked quite restrained and elegant. Actually much better than an over chromed Navigator. My own Flex came with 20” black wheels, not something that I would have chosen to add, the 18’s seemed big enough to me. Surprisingly the ride, is not bad.
I’ve read a lot of bad things about those little Birds, which shared their platform with the Lincoln LS and Jaguar S Type, actually all three. I do like the two tone turquoise and black interior that some had.
Bah to all of these.
The Pinto Cruising Wagon.
Ick.
I really like the center console of the Funkmaster Flex. I often read complaints about the lack of interior colour options in modern cars, which makes me wonder why this type of thing isn’t more common. The interior is otherwise unimpressive, but I had to go back and look more closely to determine that. The chrome accents around the transmission selector and cup holders look fantastic, though I expect that might not remain true once they begin to show wear.