The first generation Tracer is easy to forget, given that it was only sold here for a couple of years (1987 – 1989). But Andrew Turnbull has been on a mission to shoot and document them, as one was his first car. In his words:
The Tracer was a true international vehicle; a Japanese Mazda design sharing details with the Australian-market Ford Laser and built in Mexico explicitly for sale in North America. 1988 and early 1989 model Tracers have a chrome stripe on the rub strip and bumpers, while late 1989 models have a red stripe. Given that the Tracer wasn’t exactly a brisk seller, dealers were selling leftover 1989 models well into the next year before the redesigned 1991 model was available.
More of his collection and comments:
Regarding this one, Andrew says:
This is a 1989 Mercury Tracer station wagon: A rare car by any measure, but one all the more coincidental for being an exact clone in appearance to the first car I drove. Even the paint peel-prone alloy wheels look identical on this car. Alas, what keeps this particular example from being a perfect clone is a mechanical detail: A quick peer inside confirmed that it was saddled with a 3-speed automatic rather than the 5-speed manual transmission that I shifted in my younger years…
I rented one of these in Alaska once. Much better than the Escort-clone Lynx indeed. Maybe the Tracer was a test to see how it would be to have the gen2 Escort be based on the Mazda 323 too?
My friend had one of these, a 5-door. I remember thinking it was pretty loaded up for what otherwise looked to be an economy car. Lots of buttons on the dash and stuff, and I think it had pretty snazzy (for the time) amber backlighting to it. He traded it after about a year on a ’90 Mustang LX 5.0 and the Tracer was quickly forgotten.
I owned one of these vehicles(an ’88 wagon to be specific) and they were excellent vehicles. It was basically a restyled Mazda 323 built in Mexico; the build quality was
excellent, it had a great interior. Mercury never seemed to be interested in selling them
and seemed to relegate them next to the back lot of their dealerships, which is unfortunate given their excellent quality.
I owned one of these as my first car. Bought brand new off a dealer lot. “Good quality” they certainly WERE NOT!!! The one I had was a total POS and never ran right. Started falling apart when I only had a year of payments left (go figure). Absolutely HORRIBLE vehicle. Hunk of junk!!!!
I saw a good number of these in the day; a nice alternative (and quite a value) compared to the (then current) Mazda 323 – itself a pretty good car.
These things tended to quickly become 3rd tier used cars in short order. Too bad as the Tracers were good little cars. I never knew of anyone saying anything bad about them.
Holy Coincedence Batman! I was behind one of those wagons on Monday morning. Poorly maintained, I was bathed in oily exhaust…
My experience with the Tracer goes a long time back. My family bought a slightly-used wagon in 1990 that evidently originated as an unnamed Ford executive’s company car. It replaced a 1983 Ford Escort with a peculiar tendency to stall at inopportune moments (such as crowded freeway on-ramps), and whose brakes had once failed on us outright. The Tracer had air conditioning. It had a radio that worked. It had four doors, so no forcing kids to crawl over the front seats to get in. It had velour trim that felt like a lap of luxury compared to the Escort’s blue striped cloth. It never stalled. It never left us stranded. It wasn’t perfect (the interior knobs and levers had a tendency to break off after several years of UV exposure, and the road noise and vibration got unnerving around 60 mph), but compared to what came before, it was 100% better in every way.
But, the car refused to die. Fast-forward a decade and a half. The Tracer has outlived the Escort by a factor of two, and lasted longer than we originally believed imaginable. The car’s been more or less willed into my hands, but the title is still held by another family member and I don’t have permission to do all the work on it that I want. Fitting my 6’4″ frame inside is a bit of a challenge, since the seat only rolls back so far and the steering wheel doesn’t tilt: I wind up making do by wrapping my knees around the steering wheel and lodging at the clutch and brake pedals with my toes. The whole thing is filthy inside and out from deferred maintenance, deferred car washes, and a bad seal in the engine bay. And, I’m regularly navigating some narrow hairpin roads in West Virginia in January.
The January weather in this area usually straddles the freezing point: Ice comes and goes without warning, and sometimes without making itself known. The number of days in a winter with snow and ice on the road are dwarfed by the number of days where the roads are clear as can be, so almost no one bothers with snow tires. Many of these roads are deserted, and it’s tempting to go a bit faster on them than may be prudent. Put 2, 2, and 2 together, and…
I turned the wheel, and the Tracer followed…sort of. There was black ice on the bend. I understeered, and next thing I knew I was barreling towards the left side of the road with nary a second to react. Now, deserted rural roads in this area often aren’t built with curbs or guard rails…so I careened off the pavement, through some brush, and down a 12-foot embankment, eventually ending up in a shallow creek. The car was on its side. The engine was still on (how’s that for reliability?), the heater was still on, the radio was still on, but there was no way I was going anywhere in it. I was dazed and saddened by the experience, but belted in and completely unhurt.
The Tracer was pulled out later in the day. It was covered in battle scars. The left front fender was crushed in, and there was a nasty crease in the roof from where the Tracer had come to rest against a tree. I had figured it was forever ruined (and I was ashamed to drive it in public after that)…yet it still ran like a top as if nothing had happened. We kept it as a second car for five full years after the catastophe. It eventually became someone else’s around-town driver in WV, and it just might still be on the road today…
A girl I knew when I was in college in the early ’90s had one of these first-generation Tracers. I think hers was a 2-door (or “3-door” if you prefer) — it definitely wasn’t a wagon.
From Andrew’s write-up, it sounds like there was no 1990 model year Tracer? I don’t think I knew that (or if I ever did, I had long since forgotten….).
There was no 1990 model because 1) dealers had more leftover ’89s on hand than they knew what to do with, and 2) the 1990 model year brought about passive restraint requirements that would have involved changes to the design.
‘Value’ is a good term to use when describing the first generation Tracer. They were well-built and came standard with a lot of features for very little coin. This was back in the day when a tachometer wasn’t included in most econoboxes, yet all Tracers came with one, as well as power mirrors, tinted glass, AM/FM radio, wheel covers, and seats with up-level cloth.
It was another one of those incognito cars that no one knew about (or, if they did, didn’t think much of), sort of like the Mercury version of the NUMMI (Corolla) Nova. I guess everyone thought that since it was a Mercury, it must have been a Pinto or Tempo underneath. As stated, Mercury dealers had a hard time unloading what was really an okay car for the time.
The Escort-based Tracer that followed wasn’t nearly as nice or well-equipped.
I’ve actually seen a fair amount of these things back in the day around the Seattle/Tacoma area myself so knew about these things but I don’t think I’ve seen one in a long time though.
I just saw one in a local junkyard 2 days ago, a 3 door. I thought it was a canadian model or something, I had no idea it was sold here!
We’ve had one of these in the family over the last 20 years – except being in New Zealand, it’s badged a Ford Laser. A 1990 5 door hatchback model was my cousin’s first car when she bought it in about 2002, a bright-yellow 5-speed manual. She loved it, and absolutely regretted trading it later on a 1997 Ford Escort (UK-spec).
At the time my cousin bought her Laser, our Uncle had (and still has) a 1986 JDM used import Mazda 323 GT Turbo sedan, and my sister had a 1987 NZ-new 323 GT 3-door hatch. The hilarious thing was each car’s keys fitted in and operated the doors and ignition of the others…
Studying the photos above, as well as photos of our RHD Laser (and Mazda) variants reveals a fascinating (and trivial!) detail: your Tracer wagon shares the unique-to-Ford door skins and front guards/bonnet that are also shown on the 5 door hatchback above. The NZ/Australia/Japan Laser 3 and 5 door hatchbacks had the same unique sheetmetal as the Tracer, but the sedans and station wagons didn’t – they shared the Mazda 323 sheetmetal. The Mazda door skins are flatter, the Tracer/laser have far more of an inward curve under the rubbing strip; also the Mazdas have a bodyline running from the headlight to taillight, whereas the Tracer/Laser have a less-prominent line that curves down from the door mirror before running to the tailights. I realise this is very trivial, but I’ve attached a photo of a NZ-new 1994 Laser wagon to show what I mean.
Anyway, this model Tracer/Laser was a very pretty design – although the bodyside detailing was more subtle than the 323’s, I think it’s far better. Ours had nippy engines and great gearboxes etc, and were excellent first (and second) cars. I always smile when I see a nice one on the road.
Thanks for your comments! The subtle sheetmetal differences are fascinating.
I know this is an old post, but NZ Skyliner, where’d ya get that pic of that red Tracer? I’m curious to know more about it if you have info about it. I love the look and plan on doing something similar with my Tracer
A car I was unaware of until doing a bit of looking for info on the relationship between the Escort & 323 after the Escort CC. It is an interesting turn of events – Paul I think you must be right with your closing comment, it also probably explains why Mercury got the Capri of the same era (same platform & mechanicals).
The Australian experience tallies with other comments, these were a very decent car & did very well in the market. I would have to look up sales figures to be sure but I think they outsold Corolla by a large margin.
Almost forgotten? No, for me, forgetting it was purely intentional!
Shortly after my wife and I were married we came very close to buying one of these new. Instead we ended up finding a slightly used 323. The interesting thing about that one is that is was a stripper so it had a 4sp (gasp). The other interesting thing is that the driver’s side interior door handle was as it should be in the stripper black, but the passenger side one was chrome. It was that way when the person we bought it from got it from the dealer. It was a fun little car that got good MPG around town which is what it was used for. However the wife didn’t “love” it despite it being her favorite color a blue similar to the tracer above. So we only kept it for a short while.
A good friend of mine’s then girlfriend bought a Tracer when she graduated from college, due in part to the fact that my friend’s dad was an local executive for Ford, as noted they weren’t moving that well, so they got a good deal on it. She loved it and kept it until they had a second kid and needed a 4dr.
I remember these, though I have to admit I had nearly forgotten about them before I read your article. Sounds like they were pretty robust! I seem to remember quite a few wagons running around, even years after production ended. I especially liked the wagons, maybe because they reminded me of a compact version of the Volvo 740 wagons my mom drove at the time. My current V50 reminds me of the top photo, especially since it is also white with red accents.
At the time I may have assumed this was a direct Mercury version of an Escort.
Was this an Outdated Version of the 323 when it was a Mercury?
Akin to the Blue 323 hatchbacks they used as Meter Maid cars in LA in the 80s.
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1993 I remember a bro in Law havin his dog in a flea ridden Tracer Maroon …Summer in Nebraska. We Were in a Rented Mitsubishi Mirage Coupe?No sedan I think. But It was Red and The AC had broke in the Nevada desert. Different car.
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I never wanted to get in his tracer cuz of the Fleas. They looked cheap and reminded me of Escorts anyway.
I am the current owner of a 1989 Tracer. Red, two door hatchback, auto 1.6 liter, with 105,000 original miles. needs an exhaust, still my daily driver.
I have one of these ’89 Tracer hatchbacks which I have owned for 15 years or so. I used it as a daily driver for about 6 years, and it has just been sitting around since then. I pull the plugs and squirt a little oil in the cylinders and start it up once in awhile, and it starts right up. It does need some work, and I’ve been thinking about getting it all spiffed up one of these days. Body is not too bad at all. One thing I need to do is pull the head and find out why #2 exhaust valve leaks. It’s always been that way. I’ve removed the valve cover and tried staking the valve stem, as well as try various additives, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to get serious with it. But it was a fun car to drive. Very nimble and reliable. MPG wasn’t all that great – maybe 28-30mpg, but that’s with the automatic. Possibly the stick gets better mileage – maybe around 32 or so. But that was with gasoline without the ethanol. The mileage won’t be as good with the gasohol. Anyway, it’s a neat little car. Lots of room inside for such a small car. In short,It’s a great little grocery grabber.
I got a 1989 murcury wagon a year ago and i have been haveing trouble finding parts for it where i live dont have a pic it looks like the white one one this web page and was trying to find out how much the blue book value of it is it only gots 109259.6 miles on it . never been in a reck but my bumpers are all black and no rust .I live in lewiston id.
I have a ’89 3 door hatchback, it belonged to my friends mom and I just recently got it from them. Its a great little car and in great condition I don’t have any pictures but I will be sure to post some soon.
Love this little car.
I have an ’89 5 door that my mom bought new. This car only has 55k on the odometer and runs great! I got the car to use as a runabout and it is getting 27+ mpg combined.
I need a set of 13″ hubcaps or wheels for my 89 tracer. please email me if you have them
I bought an ’89 5-door LTS hatch in ’96 for $450 because it had been laid on it’s passenger’s side previously. I loved that little car, as my sister-in-law pointed out, it had a “cute butt”, and considering I had just started driving around then I drove that lil f*cker everywhere. Aside from the scratches and dings all down the pass. side it looked great, had the alloys like the one pictured here, but was instead a black five door hatch. I remember thinking the interior was very nice for an econobox, and I loved the not-green-nor-blue instrument lighting, as well as the power mirrors. Mine was also an automatic, but then I am partial to autos. One of the more interesting moments came when my step-father borrowed it to “pick something up” and came back with a refrigerator hanging out of the hatch. I never would have gotten rid of it except my brother drove it one day and as he had it out the tranny went out on it, so I traded for a ’78 T-Bird. I know this is a late reply to this thread but it says dude is collecting info on first-gen Tracers, and I have been looking ALL OVER for pics (hell, A pic would do) of a black ’89 LTS 5-door hatch with the alloys. If anyone finds one (or more) please, PLEASE email it/them to me.
WOW, so cool reading the post, even though they are few years old. Still own ’89 tracer. 5 spd, still gets 37mpg as daily driver! 260,000 miles. Body in real good shape for age, only small spot of surface rust. Replaced shocks, struts, fuel pump. Otherwise all original. Love my little wagon!
I still have a 5spd. I have so much love for this car. It’s the first car I learned how to drive. 89 with under 200k miles
I’m still driving my early 1989 (chrome stripe, Mexico assembly) 3 door hatchback. She’s been with me since I picked her up new off a dealer lot in New Mexico. I bought her new, sight unseen in one state, just picked my color, RED, so I’d have a car when I got off the plane in my new state. Her original paint is faded, but she’s still rolling me to work at least once or twice a week……
I’ve had several other vehicles but I just love my Tracer. It’s good to know she is looking to become a real classic. My friends make fun of me, but I’ve taught my kids to drive a stick (and a few of their friends!) In her. However, I don’t let a dealership near her. She goes to a shop where they don’t mind her age and take good care of her, I just wish I could get that darn belt to permanently squeaking!!
Good to know others love their Tracers also!!
I still run a 1989 5 door hatchback with just 58k miles. This little car has been in the family for 26 years and runs very well. Just did a timing belt replace along with the 2 accessory belts added brembo rotors and did new pads as well. I expect this car will run for years. To all the people who now nothing but ignorance about these first tracer’s, I spent just $100 for all my parts, did the work myself in just an afternoon and on my test drive clicked on the air cond and cruise control which still works perfect after 26 years. A person could spent $20-$40k for a new car to soothe the ego, but I doubt if you will find the vehicle running perfect after 26 years or the air cond working. 🙂
Had a 88 black 5 door with the tan interior. It was a manual and I loved it . The interior was styled very well. It was such a upgrade from other cars of the time. I had a pop up sunroof installed . The solid and houndstooth interior looked great. The back seats had Thunderbird like curves that gave it a very comfy touch. Traded it in for a 91 Capri. What a mistake!
I’m working on a story and need to find someone with an ’89 Mercury Tracer hatchback – for this purpose ANY car of that year/make/model could help. If you have one, could you please contact me? @guster4lovers on Twitter or same username at gmail dot com. Thanks!
I’ve sent you an email from a.r.thomas1984@gmail.com. I currently own the car you are looking for.
Hey, I am looking for a 1989-mercury-tracer in Canada which will pass a provincial minister of Transport test for Quebec Road use is this a model wealthy of my inquiry as money is tight and I have had one twenty years ago, and I yearn to purchase a model safe to drive today.! 🙂 Mr. Anthony Thomas if you would contact me as to my home landline is the only service connection to receive a direct response to me, Geoffrey Trivett please Telephone (514) 684 8552 asking as of 15h20 April 09 2018. found on Search Curbside Classic.
I have a 1989 tracer, white, 3-door, 5spd, w/ under 150k mileage. How do I possibly find the value? This car is in superb condition all the around, also passes smog with flying colors. Please help!
p.s. cant find any online for sale, so its very hard to compare. Thanks!
I have a 1989 mercury tracer wagon. We have had for yr and half. Love the car but now I am looking for a left driver rear spindle. To get it back on road. I have looked every where. Can anyone help plz. My email is lorettabarrows@yahoo.com
One of my best friends drove that exact white Tracer wagon as his first car, too. Bless his soul. He passed away in 2000 when a 16 yr old that was speeding excessively t-boned him in his Mazda MX-6. Rest in Peace, brother.
Bought the 89 tracer 12 years ago for $750.00. It just won’t die.
I recently bought this 1989 Tracer from my neighbor. He had left it sit after the left rear strut broke. It’s now back on the road!
I am trying to help a friend sell a mint 89, 3 door Merc Tracer, it’s got 75K and one owner and its in amazing condition, she’s a bit excessive. Know anyone interested>. Dec 2021
Wow! I guess my wife and I had the only lemon! We leased an 89 Tracer wagon. It had all the goodies including the three speed automatic. We had rented several before our lease and found them to be well built. However, ours was troubled. The automatic allowed the engine to run at very high rpm’s. If I recall, 60mph was roughly 3900 on the tach. Ford claimed it was fine but none of the rentals turned anywhere near that high. After a year and half of being jerked around, I told the leasing company it was coming back. We leased a 91 MX6 that was night and day different
I got my 89 tracer wagon in 1996 and unfortunately had to let it go this year.
And I had to hug my baby good bye.
She was my first cat, got her in 1997 and said goodbye in 2023. And it was still driving around great, unfortunately would not pass state inspection anymore.
Saw this one today Walmart parking lot Morganton NC