(first posted 2/14/2014) My apologies to the Ford Tempo’s fans, but here is one of the cars I most hated during my childhood. I have to thank pv dave for taking such good pictures of it and allowing me the chance to whine.
I will admit to feeling a little bit of guilt for disparaging such a lovingly preserved car, and will also concede a degree of appreciation for what it is, but I don’t think there’s any denying how truly unappealing the Tempo/Topaz twins were.
They were everywhere when I was a kid and by the time the nineties came around, I’d have preferred to walk around my small town than be given a ride in one of these. Unfortunately, I often didn’t have the luxury of choice. The absolute worst thing about the Tempo was the fact that it was a relatively reliable car kept in production for an entire decade–the original K-car didn’t make it that long. I simply couldn’t get away from them, with their butt-on-the-floor marshmallowy seats, overly color-keyed soft vinyl interiors and strangely high (for the time) belt line. These things matter when you’re still a short kid.
One of neighbors owned a black GL sedan; unlike our Honda and our Nova, which rusted around their wheel wells, his car seemed to develop big puffy spots of raised black paint in the middle of its body panels. He must have been quite a patient man, however, as he would always answer the numerous questions I inevitably asked him as he slathered black Rustoleum over various spots on the body. It was eventually fully covered with dull, visibly brush stroked paint and replaced by a navy Eagle Premier. Incidentally, he had a fat orange tabby cat named Topaz.
My parents’ good friends also had a dark blue early production GL coupe which shared a garage with their ’84 Cavalier wagon (which I vastly preferred) and another brief acquaintance of theirs had a silver Topaz. Our paperboy was caught huffing something in his friend’s Tempo when it blew up after someone lit a cigarette while the interior was still full of fumes. I suppose one doesn’t make the best decisions in those circumstances, but I think he ended up okay in the end. He must have been enjoying his rubber cement in a GL Sport coupe, because I remember finding its streamlined, graphite blue sideview mirror at the foot of a nearby tree after it was thrown off the car. It was a very Stand By Me moment, though finding a partially charred mirror is a lot less traumatic than coming a across a dead body.
A friend of my older sister’s had one also, and it wasn’t until 2004 that the last acquaintance who I knew who owned one got rid of hers. Now that almost ten more years have passed, it’s finally safe to say that I’m out of the woods and will never have to ride in one again, but for the longest time, it truly seemed I couldn’t escape these cars. They were transportation’s equivalent to The Fog.
You have to hand it to Ford engineers for creating such a mediocre car. There was every reason to expect great things from the Tempo, with an up-to-date chassis and fashionable bodywork. But the sogginess that characterized the Escort, which shared most of its fundamentals, also defined its bigger counterpart. Despite a new rear suspension (a preview the Taurus’s design), it was very similar to a lot of other small American cars of the day, devoted to a full-time impersonation of a much larger sedan.
I have a hard time figuring out just what exactly Dearborn did; they didn’t really design the chassis, because most of that was done by Ford of Europe, nor did they agonize over styling, since they could rip off the Probe III concept car (famously used, as we know, for the Sierra). It seems they spent their time and money compromising two perfectly good major ingredients of their new car while phoning in the third, its engines.
Yes, the most lasting memories of these cars for me are of their powertrains. For one thing, it seemed like their cooling fans was always, always running in every example I encountered. To add to that, noisy power steering pumps were the rule, rather than the exception, and with such low power peaks, all I really remember hearing from these cars was a dull, flatulent drone, or during frantic moments, a muted, gritty throb. Everything about the cars seemed to say slow down. If the Tempo were a cartoon, it would have been The Simpsons’ Principal Skinner. Speaking of which, my elementary school principal, Mr. Dugan, also drove one.
It’s said that the 2.3 HSC engine (High Swirl Combustion) was developed using techniques learned from Ford’s Programmed Combustion (PROCO) research project. From what I can gather, this principle was originally supposed to be used for their large V8s, but wound up only in the Tempo. Considering that no other car was so gifted, it wasn’t the most effective approach. Of course, the engine’s origins were of no help either, being that it was simply a straight-six with two cylinders lopped off. High output varieties with sequential fuel injection and less valve shrouding were developed which produced all of 100 horses out of their ample displacement.
To be fair to the Tempo, a lot of Ford’s powertrains of the era were lackluster, and it wasn’t only in the US that this was the case. The most charitable conclusion I can come to is that finances were really screwed by the late ’70s, because it wasn’t until the mid ’90s that even the European Escort was given something decent under the hood. The HSC also served as the base engine in the no-holds-barred Taurus, whose three liter Vulcan was designed with very old technology for the time. But while acceptable for a medium displacement six, iron heads and pushrods had no place in a large displacement four cylinder. Even when Ford began to make more money from the Taurus, along with the Tempo, its trucks and the Mustang–all of which were huge sellers–they still saddled it, and Continental, with the 3.8 Essex V6. Engines were clearly at the bottom of Ford’s list of engineering priorities, and even the Escort sedan ended its life without a competitive, indigenous powerplant, so perhaps Dearborn was being stingy.
None of this mattered to the equally stingy people who bought the Tempo, but cultivating an allegiance to Ford’s most mediocre product in this segment meant no one was interested in the suave (though unreliable) Contour which replaced it. It’d be interesting to see how an earlier Tempo replacement conceived in good faith could have impacted the 1996 Taurus. Just as the ’84 Tempo set the stage for an up-to-date, fashionable sedan from Ford, both products’ overstayed existence likely created an audience who expected conservative, cheap designs from the company. Only now does Ford seem to have properly addressed the issue with the new Fusion, giving us a competitive midsize sedan for the first time in nearly thirty years, rather than simply restyling a platform from poor, exploited Mazda or decontenting a car from Cologne and Dagenham.
All of which goes to show why in those days, I might have preferred to get my front-drive American sedan fix from GM. For one thing, other than the four-cylinders, they offered some decent powertrains and for another, they were designed with a whiff of Brougham and packed with gimmicks like Kenmore-blue digital displays. If not a Grand Am or Skylark, I would have probably chosen a Shadow or Sundance over the Tempo and Topaz, since they answered the Japanese question a bit more resolutely.
Still, I can’t necessarily blame the people who bought a Tempo. As one of Ford’ first “aero” cars, it was thoroughly contemporary in appearance; progressive, even. It was a decent value and there were less reliable options out there, all of which made the Tempo a car which helped save Ford during some of its darkest days, or so the story goes. Still, it was never especially competitive, and as much as we like to savage GM for its cynical misdeeds, when looking at the Tempo, I can see why someone may have chosen an N-body or a J-body (or a better engineered K-car). Paul might even agree, having almost named the Tempo a Deadly Sin.
I’ve never seen one in the flesh, but they came out about the time I became interested in American cars.
My thought then, looking at the pics in car magazines, was ” I hope it looks nice when they take off the camouflage, and show the production model”.
I still feel the same looking at that white 2 door.
My 1988 Mercury Topaz just simply, absolutely, completely failed to start in temperatures below -12 to – 15 C unless I had the block heater plugged in. The problem from what I recall was Ford’s new for 1988 fuel injection system that would trickle, rather than spray, the fuel into the cylinder when cranking the engine in cold weather, causing engine to flood. Apparently, something was changed in ’89 and problem was mostly corrected. Don’t know if it’s true, I just remember a Ford tech explaining this to me…In any case, it was by far my Worst. Car. Ever.
I got talked with a car mechanic lad who spent some time in the U.S. He joined to an organized tourist group for a kind of sightseeing tour. Their schedule contained a brief visit at one of Ford’s assembling plants. Later when he came home he recognized that some of the operations were far from accuracy. As a former owner of a used Tracer (assembled in Hermosillo México), I can tell: that car was the far more reliable vehicle that I’ve ever owned. The plush upholstery has never ripped out, the dash and the plastics never broke. Everything worked fine and stood in good condition. Only the necessary services had been done on it. It’s been used as a daily commuter for familiar purposes and occassionally for longer biz trips throughout Central- and Western-Europe…
It could always be worse. Back in ’96 my buddy had a ’91 Hyundai Scoupe, his fiancé had a ‘ 92 Tempo 2-door. I much preferred the Tempo on our semi monthly one hour trips to the casino when it was his turn to drive. However I would have much rather used my ’91 Spirit everytime and have them pay for gas.
I had the Mercury cousin to this car, the Topaz. I’ve mentioned it before on this blog, but I was a true blue Ford fan back in the day. This car was one of the reasons why I gave up on Ford products. I’ve also outlined my continued disappointment with Ford product planning here and this car was a prime example of how Ford cheaped out.
If ever there was a deadly sin, this car should have been one. It’s been interesting to read other people’s experiences with these cars. Many of them mirror my own experiences and very few were good. This car’s reputation only speaks to the “phoned-in” nature of the Tempaz.
Granted, in the late 70’s, early 80’s when this car was being developed, Ford was in serious trouble. I can understand a strained development budget. But with compelling alternatives available within the same corporation, the decision to soldier on with the same old same old is as cynical as anything from Ford’s crosstown rivals.
Perry, “progressive” isn’t a word that comes immediately to mind when I think of the Tempo, but I have to admit it is fairly accurate. The Tempo seemed to signal a new direction, in some ways at least, for American cars. But it was backward and dull and dopey at the same time. When it came out, I remember feeling along the lines of, “If this is where the world is headed, the future isn’t a very enlightened place.”
CC Effect, I suppose. I encountered a second generation Tempo on my drive home from work. And then a bit later a second generation Topaz while out running errands. Both were in pretty decent shape. Didn’t have my phone handy to snap any pictures though…
The Ford Sierra (Merkur Sierra) and the Mondeo (Contour/Mystique) had been very popular all over the european continent and British Isles. On the other hand the Tempo/Topaz duo had been a popular North-American private import especially in Central- and South-Eastern Europe.
I was actually envious of the new(at the time) Tempo.
I was thirteen, and my parents had recently purchased
Motor Trend’s Car of the Year – Renault Alliance 4dr. I was
impressed by all the literature and publicity at the time
regarding Tempo’s “aerodynamics”. And with the launch of
GM’s latest F-bodies a year prior, what’s a salivating car-
worshipping teen to do? LOL
Renault had published the drag coefficient of its Alliance
in its print brochures, which I was in the hobby of collecting
as a teen. “.39” as I recall. Imagine: I’m probably the ONLY
13-yr old who actually knew what “aerodynamics” or “drag
coefficient” even meant! I later read, in magazines and
other brochures, of cars with drag coefficients lower than
Alliance’s. The ’82 Camaro: .29. The Tempo: .36. Even
the squarish K-cars, .37.
Suddenly, that Alliance seemed like the boxiest thing on
four wheels! I felt awful, even embarrassed that I was
riding around in, albeit a decently appointed, BRICK
on wheels. So now you understand why I worshipped the
Tempo – aerodynamic queen of the highways.
I always thought the pre-facelift Tempos looked like a turtle. They probably weren’t much faster, either…although I do remember later when the came with an optional V6 they were not quite as bad, and the facelift (around 89-90?) did freshen them up a bit.
“My parents’ good friends also had a dark blue early production GL coupe which shared a garage with their ’84 Cavalier wagon (which I vastly preferred) and another brief acquaintance of theirs had a silver Topaz”
Wow, were they really so bad the Cavalier was a better option? I just assumed the Tempo was a better call all-around than the Cavalier but having never lived with either I wouldn’t know.
They also wasted an opportunity, IMO, with the ’89 GLS, the second-gen Tempo, and the Escort on which it was based, weighed a little over a ton at the curb, had they adapted the turbo 2.3 OHC powerplant from the SVO and Turbocoupe to FWD, and paired it with a quick-shifting manual gearbox, Ford could’ve easily made a rocket out of an econobox, and given Mopar a run for their money in the sport compact segment at the time, which would’ve also turned the GLS into a true little brother to the SHO at the time. Actually, a turbo 2.3 OHC-powered GLS could’ve even had the potential to dust the bigger SHO keeping the low curb weight of the second-gen Tempo and its Escort stablemate in mind, there being a 562-lb difference in curb weight between the second-gen Tempo and first-gen Taurus.
Low curb weight, paired with a high-powered turbo OHC 4-banger, you get the picture, I take it, pretty much, Mopar saw something in their econoboxes that Ford never did, until decades later on.
I am surprised most of you put GL model down.
I got a V6-3L with 483K in it and since 1992 I only changed alternator 3x + gas tank and fuel pump + 1x water pump…..
It still runs like your new Toyota,,,
Is it a ’92? I’d expect a late V6 to be the best of the bunch, all the bugs worked out and an understressed engine.
I have driven more than 1,200 cars since getting my learner’s permit 49 years ago. I have never hated driving any car as much as the Tempo. Not the Pinto, not the K-Car, none of ’em.
It probably had less to do with the car itself than what an example it was of how far Ford, which 20 years before (1964) had managed to put Galaxie 500XLs, Thunderbirds, Mustangs and even Falcon Sprints into showrooms, had fallen.
Hell, it was a drop from ten years before (1974) and the LTD, T-Bird, Mustang II and Pinto.
These were the epitome of “drabmobiles.” They had flaccid and no fun factor to drive. They were big on the rental car circuit. Especially the insurance rental car markets. They did sit low and unless you had external back support pillows/pads they weren’t the most comfortable on a drive lasting over an hour. I remember the Contour. They looked snazzier and drove much better. More of a European feel. I didn’t realize they had poor reliability issues. At least with the Taurus if you ponied up for the SHO and other sporty editions you could get a fun to drive handling car. The base Taurus/Sables also had that dreck boring feel as the Tempo. But wait! There’s more! I’ll always associate the Tempo with the family show Life Goes On. The episode where Corky takes drivers Ed with less than stellar results. Corky, the star/hero had Downs Syndrome. After he crashed the Driver Ed Tempo later in the episode, Corky passes another Tempo Driver Ed car with the keys in the ignition and windows open. What is Corky to do? Take her for a test drive, final destination the high school dumpster. Poor Corky he got no respect. Corky’s mom played by Broadway actress Patty LuPone showed motherly love hugging Corky and singing The Wind Beneath My Wings (You Are My Hero)
Ford seems to get a lot of guff around here and other places for building VERY mediocre cars (Falcon, Escort, Tempo) that they sell the snot out of. Usually more than the competition. What conclusions can we take from this? That they know the car buying public, who are not very smart car buyers? That they are better than average at building what they know will sell? That they were more reliable than their domestic competition? You tell me.
Actually, I think the idea from the PROCO project regarding the head design DID make it into a V8… for one year. The 1986 MFI 5.0L has a high-swirl combustion head has a very similar combustion chamber design to the HSC. It was gone by 1987 when Ford switched to the E7TE heads.
These always looked filthy to me even if they were washed.
People who bought these would have bought the ’60 Falcon 4 door with the 95 hp (gross rating?) 144 Six and the 2 speed Fordomatic. Ford knew it’s customer base, that’s for sure.
As I mentioned. These were big with rental car companies and other fleet sales. Ford always did well with fleet sales. Though I’m a car enthusiast, I forgot, was their even a sportier package available for the Tempo/Topaz like on the Taurus?
Oh man, every time I see one of these, I think of the burgundy ’90-’91 Mercury Topaz I saw outside the back door of a theater in Fullerton, Calif., almost certainly a rental.
In 1991, Daryl Hall and John Oates had just finished a concert in the round, and I was a young go-getter and decided to try to interview them for my college paper. Sometimes the simple approach is best – wait by the back door, wait for the initial wave of lovesick girls to wash over Daryl (he was about 42-ish and beyond handsome at the time – and treated those girls very kindly, like a gentleman) – and them call out, “Mr Hall – CaliCajun from the University Press, may I ask you a few questions about the show?”
Next thing you know, Daryl snaps into interview mode and gives me a minute. When I published the article, everyone thought I was making up the quotes, and that there’s no way I actually interviewed Hall & Oates, until I played my cassette tape for them 🙂
And I say “Oates,” because I also caught a couple comments from John. He was terse and kind of cranky – not nearly as media-friendly – but likely tired from the show and wanted to get his job over – and at the time I remember thinking that THIS was why he was cranky:
While Daryl was busy taking care of the fans, John Oates, ’80s hero, was busy cramming a whole bunch of his and Daryl’s stuff into the trunk of a burgundy Topaz, and the trunk was too damn small and John kept having to move it all around to fit…. and finally Daryl climbs in the passenger seat and John takes off and I had this little tire-screeching moment in my head about how they were playing Live Aid in front of the world only 6 years before – how their last 2 albums had not caught on – and how Oates was now stuck with this POS, too-small, shrunken-excuse-for-a-Sable-TOPAZ … and yes, by then, we always knew what a depressing hunk that car was – at least statuswise.
Well, to this day it remains one of life’s clear mental photos you keep along the way … Hall and Oates cramming into a ghetto car and putt-putting away ……. 🙂
‘Engines were clearly at the bottom of Ford’s list of engineering priorities,’ and not just in the late-80s/early-90s……
-points to the 5.4l 3-valve Modular’s penchant for cam phaser malfunction if you were neglectful with oil, or for sparkplugs breaking in two inside the heads, and that engine came out in 2004-