The Australian built Ford/Mercury Capri was listed in the Detroit Free Press article "10 most significant cars and 5 worth forgetting"...alas the car was listed under the 5 worth forgetting section...
1991 Mercury Capri
It seemed like such a good idea at the time: Have renowned Italian design houses Ghia and ItalDesign create a little convertible, use Mazda parts for quality and build it in Australia to keep it affordable.
The best-laid plans . . .
The front-wheel drive Capri was repeatedly delayed within Ford, eventually hitting the market about the same time as the vastly superior and more attractive Mazda Miata.
"It was almost free of redeeming qualities," said David C. Smith, editor-at-large of Ward's Auto World magazine. "It had absolutely no curb appeal."
In addition to a design that had grown old before the car ever went on sale, the Capri was burdened by quality problems.
"Ours was in the shop all the time, and it was no fun to drive when it was running," Markus said.
i remember 60mins and those shows doing a thing on them because they were such a lemon. But that kerb appeal problem, nothing a 351 and blower cant fix !!
,In Oz, apart from the initial leaking roof which the press really had a field day with, the capri is a great car to drive. Especially the Tickford Clubsprints...yummy. But by the time the revised versions hit the market the damage has already been down in Australia...also the MX5 is a much better vehicle.
The US-delivered capri...well that is a strategic disaster. Ford US have themselves to blame putting the Capri under such and UNASPIRING brand - mercury...translated as old fart brand.
Capri - public relations and marketing nightmare that Ford Australia should forget. But I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the later versions with the blower and leather seats.
My mrs has a late 93 XR2 non turbo... and it is nothing like the media portrayed it. Sure it ain't no MX5 but it's not that bad.
We have no major issues with the car except with the bottom of the roof. The car has been serviced at Ford from new till about 90,000 ks till I got it.
I'm sure if people knew how to maintain convertables from new, we wouldn't have a problem now. I'll fix it when I get the time though. All we've done is service it... new tyres, brake pads and that's it. All it needs is shocks and a exhaust and she right as rain.
Goes to show you how marketing can kill a product. I agree the early Capris 88-89 models were uninspiring. I also agree with Ford4Eva and say the later versions were nice eg XR2/Clubsprint. These should of come out first!!!
Goes to show you how marketing can kill a product. I agree the early Capris 88-89 models were uninspiring. I also agree with Ford4Eva and say the later versions were nice eg XR2/Clubsprint. These should of come out first!!!
Yes the XR2s are lovely you are very. It is interesting to note that Trevor Worthington dabbled in the makeovers of these lovely vehicles when he was still one of the engineering boys at broady. I'm actually looking for a Clubsprint to buy later this year when its summer and my finances are back on track.
the concept was great, but the early models were uninspiring and the styling was already 5 years out of date. the clubsprint was a lovely car, much rounder than the original.
Had a Clubsprint Capri for about 18 months - was a brilliant little car, and was by far the best looking, with some Australian design input, and on smooth roads a good handler.
I was also unfortunate enough to drive an early non-turbo single cam model, I couldn't believe they were essentially the same vehicle - horrible is one word I would use to describe it.
I just wished they didn't call it a Capri. They have no resemblance to the original Capris. And give they name bad press. There's a million different names they could have used instead of ruining a great one. Did Ford Australia just have heaps of Capri badges to use up since they never built the original Capris? Who knows.
The problem was they were more expensive than rival convertibles like MX5 and the roof leaks.
They were actually a fair wack cheaper then the MX5s when new & had an extra 2 seats & more grunt in turbo form but no they were definately not as good a car
Parts are getting hard to find in the states for them not sure in australia. So I guess in the near future interior and exterior parts will be swap meets and auto recyclers for them as I doubt repo stuff will be avaliable.
Kind of a sad story. Most comments on this car re positive. I don't know too may who have had major problems with this vehicle, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The car is not a tank, granted, but from my experiences it is also an extremely reliable vehicle and owning two of these have had no troubles with finish, mechanics or leaks. Dollar for Dollar they are well priced and extremely economical. Body parts are a little hard to pick up in OZ, which is a bit of a worry down the track, but hey, the cars are over 10 years old now. No rust problems yet and the only danger is other drivers. I have had a number of vehicles over the years, many from new and this one rates up the top. Shame about the (mis)coceptions.
I'm new here, and nearly died when I saw the original post. I have a 91 Xr2, and I can't believe all the bad stuff I'm hearing! :twitch: :twitch: I love my car man! Yeah the top leaked, but thats cause to jerk who had it before me didn't know how to care for a convertible. I have no issues with my lil bumble bee. I mean yeah it'd be alot nicer if the car had more power, but what more do you want for a 4 banger? ((lol)) Plus, this gives me the cance to make it more powerful myself. Yeah I mean the car didn't sell well at all... but I think it is perfect. Only issue I had, besides the top falling aprt (mind you it was the original top making it how old?) yeah but besides that, only issue I had was the water pump, and needless to say... not too hard to fix. ((lol)) Still can't get over how people don't like the car at all. I guess of you don't like it, it's a good thing you don't have one. ((lol)) And if you DO have one, and don't like it? Then your not too smart for owning a car ya don't like. ((lol))
the ford capri were a better car than the media gave credit for.and putting the mercury name tag to it. IS there a good mercury
I have a 91 model non turbo with 182.000 km's which has been really good no problems just minor normal repairs and servicing ( maybe lucky I got a good one)
Convertable roof getting a bit sad now, getting due for new one.but in all the years I,ve had this car I have never suffered from the leaky roof everybody claims them to have,could do with some more grunt though. thinking of trying a 2.2lt transplant with blower if I can get it to fit.and a roadster body kit for a facelift
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