This past summer while at the annual Back To The Bricks car festival in downtown Flint, I came across yet another once-ordinary vehicle which fascinated me more than the much more desirable machines surrounding it. Inexplicably in our General Motors factory town, there seemed to have been an unusually plentiful number of Ford Escorts running around. The above example was an immediate throwback to my high school years, where a few similar to this one were regularly seen in the parking lot of Flint Central. It also took me back to the time from the early through mid ’90s when I had worked on a golf course as both a landscaping technician and also on maintenance of both of the actual courses.
Stories of that fun time of my life in my early adulthood would be several tangents too far for the purposes of this essay, but the ultimate tie-in is that in the parking lot of the large, metal maintenance building of that residential golf resort community in southwest Florida were two Ford Escort GTs of this vintage owned by my coworkers. Mike, another Midwestern transplant, had owned the red example pictured above, and a white one had belonged to Tina, who I had nicknamed the “Grape Lady” for her occasional tendency to start hilarious food fights in the lunchroom by chucking grapes with brute force at unsuspecting people. I liked both of them a lot, and no, they were not a couple.
I had mowed a lot of greens, tees, approaches, and even fairways by my early twenties, by which time I had acquired a certain acumen in precision and avoidance of scalping the perimeters by going or mowing too far beyond the set borders. For all the work I had done on the golf course in the hot Florida sun, I had never actually golfed until the day of some of these pictures. This remains the only time to date that I have attempted to golf on a course that doesn’t have little windmills or miniature moving obstacles on it.
Getting ready to leave some crater-sized divots that I probably had to fill later, c. 1996.
I had been invited to join my fellow blue-collar workers for a round of golf after work one day. Maybe it was compliments of our management staff or something, but rounds here were not cheap, and this was an exclusive club with expensive annual dues. “But guys, I don’t know the first thing about golfing! I’ve never swung a real club in my life.” “Just keep your head down and your arm straight. It’s easy! After a few times, you’ll get it.” Lies. I don’t care what innate gifts one possesses, how much beer is or is not involved, or how much your free round of golf would normally cost you. There is a reason why people pay good money to take golf lessons, and my form above contains exhibits A, B, C, and possibly D of how not to swing a golf club.
Getting back to this Escort GT, when these were new, I had thought they looked cool… for an Escort. The grille treatment with its asymmetrical slats and aero-styled body addenda somehow gave the three-door more of a visual kinship with their European Ford brethren. Those with monochromatic paint schemes somehow looked more serious, as if there was actual performance on tap. At the stage of my life when this car was new, and despite growing up in the birthplace city of General Motors, I couldn’t have been called a diehard Chevy guy. If anything, I was still enamored with the various Fords I had seen just a handful of years before while briefly in western Europe, such as the Mk III Capri and the beautiful, aero-shaped Sierra.
With that said and from a visual perspective, the new-for-’86 Chevy Cavalier Z24 was a knockout (relatively speaking) in either of its closed body styles available at the time. In hatchback form and compared with the Escort GT, there was no contest. It was almost like a continuation of Ford’s and Chevrolet’s respective legacies of more utilitarian-looking (save the first Ford Mustang and a few other exceptions) versus extra care paid to aesthetics. The Escort arguably had a nicer face, but the Cavalier hatchback had the better everything else.
A new ’87 Cavalier Z24 hatchback would have set you back about $10,100 ($28,800 in 2025) to start, which was about $1,400 or 16% more than the starting price of the Escort GT ($24,800 in 2025). What that extra money got you, among other things, was a 2.8L V6 with 125 horsepower and a Getrag five-speed manual which made the Z24 capable of 0-60 time in the upper eight-second to mid nine-second range. The Escort GT came standard with a high-output, 115-horse version of the 1.9L four-cylinder engine that came standard in lesser Escorts with just 90 horsepower in base form. With its five-speed, one could get to sixty miles per hour in something like eleven and a half seconds. Ouch. Now, I’m not the guy to tell you about rear axle ratios or gear spacing, but unless the various numbers I’ve found online are far from the truth, the Z24 would have spanked the GT repeatedly even on the former’s worst day. Both cars had a curb weight of about 2,500 pounds, so it wasn’t that, either.
It really is hard to remember how radical (in the literal sense and not in the ’80s slang way) aero-styled details were at the time of the ’86 introduction of this era of Escort GT. Composite headlamps, for example, had been featured on some U.S. cars for only a couple of years by that point. I could see how some might have had an aesthetic preference for the Escort GT over the Cavalier Z24 for that reason, as the Chevy still bore the increasingly passé, angular hallmarks of the Irv Rybicki era of GM styling, sealed-beam headlamps and all. For me, though, it comes back to the shape of the Cavalier hatch as the more enduring shape in 2025 among the domestic econoboxes of the day. I realize that this is like comparing, say, coffee filters, but I will say this about this generation of Escort GT. It was no VW Golf GTI, but by the sheer number of these cars that I remember seeing on the street, it was clear that Ford, at the very least, had landed one on the green.
Downtown Flint, Michigan.
Saturday, August 16, 2025.
Paul Niedermeyer has also expressed thoughts and feelings about the first-generation, U.S.-market Ford Escort.
A very ugly car. The European Escort was much better proportioned.
When I was younger, I had to flip back and forth between pictures of the U.S. and European Escorts of this era to be able to more clearly identify the external differences (besides the bumpers).
I personally don’t think the U.S. version of Project Erika is ugly, but the European car has a lightness and a sportiness that just didn’t translate over here.
Really? One could say various things about the differences between the Euro and U.S. Mk3/Mk4 Escorts, but I don’t really think the Euro Mk4’s stubbier nose improves its proportions, which really were not that different at all — slightly shorter nose, shorter bumpers.
The European Escort was definitely better proportioned. And better-looking in XR3 trim (that was the Euro sport, complete with some funky looking alloy wheels)
However, this was not a bad-looking car. It was an improvement over the original US Escort. And with the 1.9 engine, it was vastly better car than the anemic 1.6.
The featured GT had the hi-output 1.9. It was not a bad performing car at all. At age 22, I test drove one, and drove it HARD. Acceleration was brisk, maybe even brisker than an 8v GTI. Exit ramps–stuck like glue. And it cost considerably less than the VW. And it was an American car.
But it felt unrefined compared to the VW. The mix of brougham fabric in a small car. The plastics. The rougher engine. And the VW’s steering, clutch, shifter, and brake feel were on another level.
Still, this was a good car in 1986. IMO.
Not just the Escort. The european Granada was also much better proportioned than the american one.
The mid-70s and the entire decade of the 80s were quite sad for the american automotive industry.
The cars that came in from Europe and Japan gave the market a breath of fresh air.
The European Granada ≠ the U.S. Granada, so there’s no comparison in my mind between the proportions of either. Not even the lettering on the nameplate badge compares, though I’ll say that the script font on our North American car seems to fit it perfectly, all curlicues and extra-ness.
That said, I feel a certain nostalgia when I see one of our U.S. market Torino-lite Granadas in good nick, and an early four-door Granada Ghia in a good color and with those road wheels would make a nice choice for an entry-level classic. The Euro Granada was cleanly styled, traditionally tasteful, and still looks good today. Completely different-looking cars with different proportions. Just my opinion. 🙂
I’m blown away that this car survived! I’m also unsurprised to learn from your article that this was mostly an appearance package. My bog-standard Chevy Beretta kept pace with this GT 0-60.
Jim, I’m pretty sure I had stood there slack-jawed for a few seconds when I had first seen this Escort. It’s a survivor, for sure.
Reading your comment also made me re-edit the text – base Escorts had the 90-hp version of the 1.9L. An increase of 25 horses was substantial, but still. Between a hopped-up Escort and the gorgeous, new Beretta, there would have been no contest if cost was no option. The Beretta was one of the few stylistic slam-dunks of the Rybicki era at GM. Not a bad line on them. I have even come to appreciate the super-low window sills.
By coincidence I saw a late ’80s 3 door Escort last week, the first for a long time. By the undercoat and the assorted add-ons it was obviously a project car and very unoriginal, but even so. Sadly no camera with me.
From the first time I saw a US version of the ‘word car’ generation it struck me just how different the ‘same’ car was. I’m not sure there was ever one identical external panel (maybe the roof?).
I’m pretty sure that no exterior body panels were shared. This is an old, but fascinating read here from CC https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1981-1990-ford-escort-you-never-get-a-second-chance-to-make-a-good-first-impression/
If only the Ford 2.3L Duratec 23 engine.
I bought a very early production ’86 Escort GT, it was the first car I bought new. It still had the oval sport mirrors and operating vent wings, both of which were changed later in the model year. The engine had fully machined hemispherical combustion chambers with larger valves, a different cam, an extrude-honed intake and a stainless steel header. The suspension came with different springs and dampers as well as larger tires.
Yes, the Z24 was a nice package (I always thought the Baretta looked funny), but the pushrod V6 wasn’t interesting technically, and with GMs of this vintage you’d have to accept the awful interior quality and cheap, cartoonish switchgear – I never could get past that. In contrast Ford had made good strides with quality and the interior of the Escort GT had nice materials.
This vintage of Escort GT handled pretty well, with a bit of bump steer due to the rear suspension (nothing horrible), and I pushed it plenty. The engine was a bit peaky – there wasn’t much power down low, which was probably due to emissions tuning and only being a 2-valve, but it was still quite fun to drive. It was also a very practical car to live with, as is true with all the hot-hatch designs. I did a lot of long distance trips when I first bought it and it was very nice on the highway.
The seating position was great, and I loved the position of the door armrests – until they nearly killed me. I was in a horrendous wreck with this car 35 years ago, hit on the front left by a car crossing from the other side of a divided highway when I was going at least 75. The Escort is a narrow car by today’s standards and there wasn’t a side that wasn’t smashed in, and that door armrest came in right over my hip – the things you never think about!
That wreck does sound horrible, and I’m not sure I want to now search for YouTube footage of side-impact crash testing for these! I’m always happy to hear of great ownership experiences with vehicles featured here. I’m trying to remember what ’80s GM switchgear looked and felt like. I remember that by the time of this ’87 Escort GT’s introduction, Ford was really on their ergonomics game with European-inspired interiors and instrumentation.
The difference in the interior of the ’87 Mustang vs. the ’86 was like night-and-day. I can imagine that when the “1985 1/2” Escort had been introduced that it featured a similar magic inside.
This version of the Escort GT did have a few flaws. Some of these might have been early production issues that were fixed later.
There was a heat shield on the header that vibrated and I had to modify. The throttle pedal had no feel and I had to add a return spring, snd the pedals were not well placed to heal/toe work. The seats lacked lumbar support.
Overall though I think it was a decent effort, and enjoyed driving it for the time I had it.
Nice find there, these must be very rare nowadays, both in Europe and in North America.
I also had one from 1987 (Euro-edition) in that exact shade of metallic blue/gray that Aaron posted above. But the rest looked much simpler, no red accents, no rear spoiler, and simple refrigerator-white, plastic wheel covers. Manual everything, 5-speed transmission, choke (a sublime anti-theft device), and window cranks. Power: a mighty 75 DIN-hp from a 1.4 liter engine.
Nothing special, just for transportation. Which it did well.
There’s something great to be said for a basic, reliable car with a low cost of ownership, maintenance, and operation – which it sounds like your Escort had.
Joseph, this one hit my bullseye. This was one of the hottest cars of my youth, and I, too, would have admired this far and above anything else there. Especially in that color. These were thick on the ground when I was in high school, and a few popular (“rich”) kids had them. When considering the cheap thrills options available at the time, It was well known that the GTI was a better performer, but they were known to be a pain in the ass to own due to frequent and expensive unplanned repairs, and the Z24 was fast but crude and felt cheap. Beyond that, the Toyota FX was cool but didn’t have much cred (although I’d love one today) and the colt GT was weird looking (again, I’d love one today). The Omni GLH priced itself out of this market, and Nissan didn’t have a great entry until the Sentra SE-R that came a bit later, and that wasn’t a hatch. The Honda CRX was a two seater, which took it out of consideration for many. And let’s not forget that the Japanese cars were all selling above sticker, while the domestics were offering sweet discounts and cheap financing. Comparatively, the Escort was cheap, not the fastest but still fun to toss, and felt like a higher quality product in terms of materials and build quality compared to the actually fast Chevy. Personally I would have picked a Sunbird GT for purely aesthetic reasons, but the Ford probably scored highest on the value equation and likely provided several years of cheap fun.
Brian, I really hope I didn’t step on your toes (so to speak) by featuring this car, as I’ve been enjoying and looking forward to your COAL entries. I remember all of the cars you namechecked – including the Corolla FX16. This was back when it seemed like every other Toyota, regardless of platform, was called a “Corolla” of some sort. “Corolla” was to Toyota at one point what “Cutlass” was to Oldsmobile – almost like a sub-brand. I liked the Sunbird GT with those cool half-doors over the quad headlamps. I wish I knew more about the reliability factor of these Escort GTs over the long run. Maybe my bias toward the Cavalier Z24 had actually been shaped by growing up in my GM town.
The Escort jumped out at me as well that day. Every time I see something like this I’m reminded of the comments that no one will want to collect cars made after X date, and how that date has been moving forward for 6 or 7 decades without the hobby coming to a crashing halt. 🙂
Dan, exactly. I feel like even if the technology keeps getting more and more advanced to the point where it will take so much to keep a vehicle running and in good running order, there will always be vehicles from any decade that people will find interesting. I found this Escort as compelling as the drag-car Pinto at the show this year.
I like the Escort but I love the golf story. It took a college golf class (a course I took as part of the 6 phys Ed credits I needed) but I’m still not much more advanced than you.
JP, I’ll just say how good it feels to know I’m not alone.
I owned a 1986 Mercury Lynx XR3 which was the same exact car as an Escort GT except for the alloy wheels and some decals. I remember it as having a reasonably nice interior.
It was great on the highway and good on gas mileage. I drove it once in the NECC time trials at Lime Rock and, although it didn’t handle badly, it wasn’t exactly nimble either even though it had true four-wheel independent suspension with anti roll bars front and rear.
It served me well until it hit around 100,000 miles on the odometer. After that, it began to nickel and dime me, so I traded it for a Mazda MX3. That was in 1996, so I got ten years of good service out of the Lynx.
100,000 miles is impressive, I think – for any U.S. car (especially a compact) of this era. I had almost forgotten that there was an XR3 version of the Mercury Lynx. It’s funny, because the performance version of the European Escort of this era was given the XR3 tag.