{"id":49404,"date":"2023-05-11T09:03:14","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T13:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=49404"},"modified":"2023-05-11T09:03:14","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T13:03:14","slug":"ford-probe-future-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=49404","title":{"rendered":"Future Classic: 1989-1997 Ford Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ford<\/a> Probe of the late Eighties was a litany of pluses and minuses.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, chalk up the looks: svelte, sporty, aggressive. Put a check mark next to the intent box: the Probe initially was seen as an ambitious replacement for the Mustang<\/a>. Then there was the involvement of Mazda<\/a> in the Probe\u2019s genesis. It would be built as part of a joint venture known as AutoAlliance International near Detroit, and offered with a 2.0-liter Mazda four cylinder, a similar powerplant boosted by a turbocharger, and later a 2.5-liter V6 generating<\/a> 164 horsepower. The platform, drivetrain and suspension were all reliably Mazda, based on the company\u2019s popular 626<\/a> sedan.<\/p>\n

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Now to the other side of the ledger. There were these reactions, more or less, to the \u201creplace the Mustang\u201d approach when Ford fanboys learned of the changes coming:<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you kidding?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be nuts!\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is the Ford Probe a future classic?<\/h2>\n

In the mid-Eighties, Ford\u2019s scheme to introduce a redesigned Mustang \u2014 a classic in its portfolio for decades even then \u2014 was a dicey proposition, even before the redesign came to life. Because of exorbitantly high gas prices<\/a> around 1980 \u2014 when the Probe-to-Mustang concept was conceived \u2014 Ford predicted gas-eaters like Mustang would soon disappear. Plus, it was deemed by Ford\u2019s bean counters that a Probe would be cheaper to produce.<\/p>\n