I, as with all of us curbivores, enjoy coming across cars that aren’t seen too often anymore and while I’m fond of the ones that lived a well-lived life, I really like documenting the ones that somehow beat all the odds on the street but then somehow took a wrong turn way to this last stop. After all, I may be the last person able to appreciate it before it becomes a cube. I normally don’t photograph the ones that are so snow covered but I figured that I’d better clear it a bit and do so, lest it otherwise become picked over before I return. As it turns out, I needn’t have worried, I saw it again since I took these photos in November but last week it was gone, the whole time with almost nothing being removed from it. As when new, it was more or less unwanted and unappreciated; if this were a food item it would have been stamped “Best By Feb 11, 1989”.
February 11, 1989 was the day the Mazda Miata officially debuted at the Chicago Auto Show. And the day it single-handedly killed the market for the Capri which wasn’t even introduced over here until over a year later. Curiously, the Capri more or less WAS a Mazda as well under the skin with lots of Mazda 323 bits. Ford decided they wanted a piece of the small convertible action (at the time more or less handled by the VW Cabrio and Geo Metro Convertible) and engaged its Australian division to create one for them, then built it in Australia, slapped Mercury badges on it and shipped it over here on permanent walkabout alongside the Mercury Tracer, which while hailing from Mexico, also had a lot of the common Mazda components.
As it turned out, the Capri was basically a failure. Sold from 1991-1994 the only way it perhaps improved on the Miata was that it had a tiny rear seat, which A) wasn’t really useful and B) perhaps hurt it more than it helped specifically by not being a two-seater. Not improving on the Miata but trying to be a sports car included minus points such as being FWD, persistent quality issues, and a higher price tag. In total there were almost 56,000 sold over the run with another 10,000 or so sold in its Australian home market where it was badged as a Ford. I don’t know if it might have done better as a Ford, possibly, being in the same showroom as a Mustang convertible may have swayed some more people that way. By the early ’90’s, this didn’t seem to really be anything that Mercury intenders were looking for.
I can’t go so far as to say it’s actually ugly or anything, the shape IS interesting and fairly unique without a lot of other cars being seen in it, something that can’t necessarily be said of the Miata. However, I also can’t really say that sort of copying a Lotus Elan was a bad way to go on Mazda’s part either so here we are. I do know that when I decided to buy a Miata of my own I didn’t give one second of thought to getting a Capri instead.
While this one isn’t a top of the line XR2 model, it’s fairly well equipped with the optional hardtop and alloy wheels sporting 185/60-14’s (same as a Miata) , as well as being finished in Cardinal Red, which only makes sense for a small sporty-ish convertible.
Underhood is a 1.6liter, 16valve, DOHC 4-cylinder engine from Mazda producing 100hp at 5750rpm and 95lb-ft of torque at 5500 rpm. (The optional XR2 packed a turbocharged 132hp engine). In this particular example it is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission, although a 4-speed automatic was also available. Base weight was 2385 pounds for our base model with probably a little more for the hardtop and the A/C components.
Looking in the trunk felt a little eerie, I may have only been the second person who ever looked in there. That folded convertible top looks brand new, I have the distinct impression that the owner never took the hardtop off the car. In fairness it was likely not a one-person job, and not everyone has the storage for it. But still, the hardtop is what’s almost always missing from a convertible, I thought for sure it would be gone. An equivalent aged Miata, even in poor condition, is usually stripped to the frame within a few days, literally EVERY piece goes. Not so with the Capri. The piece of chipboard hides a space saver spare below it and also looks brand new.
Looking inside, there is a fairly natty gray cloth that looks pretty durable facing a dashboard with none of the charm that the Miata has. This one could just as easily be in an Escort or a pickup truck.
That’s not to say they were bad, the steering wheel is attractive (to me), I liked this era of Ford stereos with the little knobs at the bottom, everything is pretty intuitive and this car even has the optional A/C (button at the top). The little cubby shelf in the dashboard above the glovebox is useful as well.
74,172 miles is all this one managed, with a very legible set of gauges not containing any blanks or clocks or whatever.
The backseat is pretty useless and a horrible handicap if commuting anywhere that requires three to have a carpool unless it’s a two-seater such as the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and several other places around the country, i.e. not eligible unless you can find someone who’s into discomfort.
In past episodes of this series, some commenters have continually expressed surprise that some of the nicer examples (and even some of the not so nice examples) went to the junkyard, this time I emphatically agree, there was nothing about this one that made it a candidate for this fate, and being a red convertible really should have given it a much longer lease on life.
Born in the Australian winter, died in the American winter. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and so on…
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1989-1994 Ford/Mercury Capri – Unfashionably Late by William Stopford
Curbside Classic: 1991 Mercury Capri – Birds Of A Feather by Richard Bennett
This car was an EXP for the nineties- A team at Ford identified a potential market segment, then put together the cheapest possible product to fill it, with predictable results.
I briefly worked as a tech in Mercury dealership during the early 1990’s, and these cars were scorned right out of the box. The buff books gave it less than glowing reviews, but driving one was a revelation- Those reviews, harsh as they had been, painted a better picture than the actual car.
I’m sure the Capri fared a little better in the reviews thanks to the market segment it competed in- Enthusiasts wanted a viable competitor to the Miata so competition would improve both cars and increase interest the segment. But as the saying goes, Ford brought a knife to a gunfight.
These may not have been ugly, but I never found them attractive either. I have spent a lot of time looking at Miatas, and this one lacks every subtle bit of good looks the Miata has. These suffered from a wedge-ish shape, more reminiscent of the TR-7. In a world dying for Miatas, these failed to deliver.
I agree – this car is WAAAAAY too nice for “the yard”. The backstory would be fascinating to know.
The pictures actually make it appear *worse* than it looked in person. The couple of minor marks visible on the body are almost surely the result of the yard itself while in the holding area waiting to be placed.
I actually always have found this car to be unattractive – especially compared to a Miata or a Z, say. It looks like a clumsy Western rendering of a Japanese sports car.
“The backstory would be fascinating to know.”
I think if boils down to “A thing is worth what people will pay.”
Viewed as a thing, this car is just cheap wheels for a youngster starting out. Even at a bargain basement price, people can buy similar subcompacts (the thing in question) that offer usable rear seats and a significantly larger trunk.
The Capri’s intangible “fun factor” doesn’t justify the loss of those tangible benefits.
I have a 1991 mercury capri, I love it! I bought it in mint condition 3 years ago, sadly someone side swiped me & there insurance refuses to pay for the damage. I can not find any parts for this car. Its still drivable, but doesn’t look as nice as when I bought it. It sure is a great car!!
That steering wheel looks like the Ford corporate wheel; our ’93 Sable had the same kind of wheel, with the little pod attached that had the cruise control buttons.
The reviews this one got when new were lukewarm at best, and it just never had any visual appeal for me. The back seat that’s there apparently for insurance purposes is basically a glorified package area that makes me think of the business coupes of the ’40s and ’50s.
…and the steering wheel is also the same as in my 1992 Mercury Sable wagon. Probably it was being used so universally because it accommodated an airbag.
It always pains me to see cars in as good a shape as this one appears to be in the scrapyard. The thrill of discovering this “gem” while scrounging for parts for your one just like it, can’t be described! Just imagine, looking for replacement parts for your convertible top, and discovering this like new one, PLUS a matching hardtop AND a perfect spare tire! 🙂
While finding a “gem” is always nice when you need parts like a convertible top, interior bits, etc. on the other hand it’s always sad when I’m pulling parts off of a junked car that’s in far better condition than the car I’m trying to fix up.
Is it just me or does the instrument cluster typeface look identical to the one used by Volvo? If not identical, very close.
Australian built cars never seem to succeed here, this I think was Ford’s only attempt- which is a shame because it would’ve been cool to have some of the higher-spec Falcons and Fairmonts here
The tail lights always reminded me of people who walk around with their pants half falling down. “Hey! Pull up your tail lights!”
Nice find! The Capri was a victim of bad timing, as when planned it was before the passive restraints standards and low cost of AU assembly enable a hoped for $6600 price (if I recall right). But rising exchange rates, engineering issues and then enactment of passive restraints for 1990 all added up to a later on sale date and a price now at $9999…coupled with the surprise debut of the Miata, talk about bad timing! I do think if it was a more attractive design it would have stood a better chance perhaps..
The dash was shared with Mazda 323’s of this era btw.
Dash is nothing at all like a 323 dash, except for the HVAC controls and maybe the vents above it.
Oh your right, my memory was different, thanks!
This looks similar to my dad’s 1994 Capri convertible (also a red 5 sp stick, black interior) which my dad got just over a year ago (he’s 83 and sees it as a chick magnet). What is remarkable is that this car hasn’t been stripped because when he bought his used (bought it from the first owner in TX, 40K miles, still had its original tires which he promptly changed once he drove it back to ATL because they were hard as rocks), he’s complained that spare parts are hard to come by, and when he was looking for new shocks, he found that someone was hoarding parts and charging exorbitant prices. I had to tell him it was FWD (he didn’t know that when he bought it). He did get a new top for it, but keeps it down year round because it’s a big PITA to get it up and down as one person, and still a hassle with two. He also said that when the top is down, there’s about enough room in the truck for a “tray of beer and that’s it.” I don’t remember seeing the seat belts in that penalty box of a back seat, I thought it was storage to toss in a suitcase or two. He’s driven it to-and-from the summer house in Western NC (about 140 miles) while styling with the top down. I’m sure he was going back in time because when he was a young Navy pilot, he had a 1959 MGA (BRG/white) in the mid-1960s. The Capri has been a lot more reliable than the MGA.
The big problem stylistically was its tall cowl, which was no lower (as far as I can tell) than the one in the 323. I’m quite sure this is 323 structure, just modified for the purpose. As such, it has the same tall sedan cowl/belt line that made the Ford EXP so awkward looking.
That is exactly the problem, that and trying to fit four seats and a trunk into such a small car (the back seat resulting in very ugly vertical softop and hardtop rear).
The suspension is demonstrably 323, as is the gearbox and engine, and without digging to confirm, I’m sure I recall the firewall and floorpan and other bits are reinforced 323. Or, strictly, Ford Laser, as the locally-made version of the 323 was called.
Its a GLC/323 Cabriolet restyled
My freshman college roommate, whose parents were local, had one of these Mercury Capris (this was in 2011). The roof leaked, the warning lights were constantly on, and it was cramped. Nevertheless, that car is one of those fond memories we’ll remember. I believe his was also red.
It eventually got traded for a second-generation Saturn SL with a 5-speed.
That went away for a brand-new, loaded V6 Challenger for $800/mo, which eventually got repossessed (as my roommate earned minimum wage as a Sonic carhop, proving that FCA and its dealers will finance anyone with a pulse).
As for the Capri itself, I liken it to a downmarket Buick Reatta Convertible, and that’s basically what it was. It certainly lacked the charm of Mazda’s own NA MX-5 Miata.
$800/month. For a V6 Challenger. I dread to think what the interest rate on that bad boy could have been.
Oh, the Capri? Never really took to the shape. It was and still is too clunky for my tastes. The Miata really nailed the British sports car look and ethos, proving yet again how the Japanese automakers keep knocking it out of the park simply by sitting down and figuring out what customers really want and going from there.
If Ford wanted to fill a “product hole” in the Mercury lineup with a small little roadster, why oh why did they build the product based upon the Mazda 323? They were already in bed with Mazda and had produced the Mazda 323-based Tracer, which was about to be followed up by the Mazda 323 based Escort/Tracer in 1991.
Why didn’t they just make a badge engineered version of the Miata out of the gate (like we have with the current Fiata)? Did Mazda bogart that model all to itself?
The 1.6L engine in the Miata (B6ZE) was in the same engine family as the 1.6L engine in the Capri (B6D). Hell, even the updated Miata 1.8L engine was the exact same engine (BP) that was used in the 323 based Escort GT/LX-E.
Why didn’t they just make a badge engineered version of the Miata out of the gate
Because the Miata was red hot in its first few years, so why would Mazda give it to Ford? It’s quite a different story now; Miata sales are less than half of what they were at their peak back then.
Fiata! That explains it. I was looking at the Fiat 124 this weekend at the auto show. I expected it to be built in Italy, like the low volume Alfas sold in North America. I was perplexed that it was built in Hiroshima! My wife thought it Miata like. Little did I know.
Oddly, the mostly discontinued Fiats were featured at the auto show again this year, and FCA’s local dealers didn’t bother with the Alfas that were present last year. Every Dodge or Chrysler model, what’s left of them, were present.
I so remember wanting to like these when they came out (when I was a newly minted driver). It didn’t even register that one of the fundamental differences between it and the Miata was FWD vs. RWD.
Seems a shame this nice-seemimg example, complete with hardtop, met this end.
“It didn’t even register that one of the fundamental differences between it and the Miata was FWD vs. RWD.”
My wife owned a Miata at the time these came out (in fact, still does) and a surprising number of people assumed the Capri was a re-bodied version of the Miata.
Explaining that the Capri drove a different set of wheels usually cleared up that misconception very quickly.
I seem to recall these as having a reputation for being a mediocre design, poorly assembled out of cheap materials, with a famously leaky top….
Of course we old Alfa Spider owners love to have somebody to feel superior to.
OUR tops don’t leak…
A friend of mine drove one of these in the summers well into the 2000s. It was very creaky and tired, but it still looked fun for local driving.
I remember the original Capri.
The Capri was a favorite of mine.
This is no Capri.
The only similarity between the first and last Capris was that they were both cars that had no business being sold by Mercury dealers, who didn’t want to sell them, and Mercury buyers, who didn’t want to buy them.
It’s very similar to GM trying to sell Opels at Buick dealers.
Great find! The rear three quarter view is especially unflattering. Such a disappointing overall design. I recall being so underwhelmed given they dared apply the Capri name. The rear taillights and sheet metal reminded me of the similar look and feel on the Buick Riviera from the previous 10 years. The rear seat looks like a piece of IKEA minimalist furniture.
Summer of ’91 convertible cruising music, I probably would have played something like this.
That would have been in my case o’CD’s as well but that summer was all about Jesus Jones “Right here, right now” as well as EMF “Unbelievable!”
hehehe. JJ also had the superb International Bright Young Thing but the older I get, the more I rate this as the best track off that album.
Given the milage on the clock and the year, I can almost guarantee what did it in was a shredded crank shaft nose. The keyway that locates the harmonic balancer/accessory drive/timing belt drive fatigues and fails spectacularly at 70-90 thousand miles like clockwork. IIRC this issue plagues the first 7 months of the 1991 model year. Somewhere I have a photo of the aftermath of this failure, but it seems to be lost to my filing system (which is “Why do I need a system? I can easily browse the entire contents of a 60 gb drive, and no sane person will ever need a drive bigger than that”. Ha!)
As a consolation prize for failing to find the photo, heres a photo of a 1.8L Mazda engine getting yee-haw’d into the hole shortly after the crankshaft blew apart on the original 1.6L
retry for the pic
Try reducing the picture size… I usually reduce the pictures to 1,200 pixels max, and they will post.
Or for those less tech inclined if your program gives you the four choices with a file size to reduce to or save as but doesn’t mention pixel count, pick the second smallest one, it’ll be fine on a monitor.
Thanks for the pointers.
Managed to snag this baby for $100 from a scrap pile, hauled it home in the back seat of my old Nissan Versa. The seller managed to set it in the car with forks on a Bobcat. That was nerve wracking, but pretty wild to see.
I should have loved this car. My Mazda 323 (which this borrowed heavily from) was a wonderful car, and I appreciated the Carpri’s Mazda heritage… I like Mercurys… and the oddness alone of a car for sale here that was made in Australia should have been enough to reel me in. But these Capris just left me cold. And I guess I’m not alone in that sentiment.
At this time, Ford Oz made the EA Falcon, a better-looking car than any sedan in Ford’s entire world line-up. (As an actual drive, it wasn’t great, though the basis for development into a perfectly decent car later on). So I was rather looking forward to this Capri, Australia’s great Leap Forward, off into the maelstrom of the world car industry. At minimum, it would be a looker.
Then they took the covers off what appeared to be a sensible shoe wearing a black hat.
What a silly-looking car, fronted by bland blindness and ended with huge see-through Lego blocks. Perhaps it drove up a storm? The 323 and local Ford Laser version here were rightly very well-regarded.
It didn’t. The 323/Laser felt a bit flexy with a roof welded in place. It was, for example, not a car to fling along dirt roads with abandon, as that would leave it feeling permanently loose thereafter. Without admitting anything, they were available to hire on Tasmanian holidays and I do know of one then-young hirer who spent the remaining days of his holiday worried if he’d get his deposit back after a good go on the gravel backroads…
The Capri was veritably like piloting a waterbed. It seems only a slight exaggeration to say that if you turned, say, hard left, the right front would bend up as high as the screen. I feel it is only a slight overstatement to say that big bumps were actually fine, as you sat in a sort of rubbery sling effect when the front and then back wheels crashed over them, the hood briefly blocking the forward view and the trunk briefly the rear.
And the build quality was appalling, a real Ford Oz low point in the low point that was Ford Oz quality at the time. The roof leaked, and could not be made not to. It even LOOKED like it leaked, never clinging closely to back. The leaks caused predictable further issues. Ford were typically parsimonious on warranty claims, despite a national TV show virtually campaigning at their door.
I was amazed 10,000 Aussie ever got one, but am gobsmacked still that 50,000 Americans parted with actual money for one. Perhaps they liked the lovely engine and transmission. They were made in Japan, those.
Alright, the timing of the thing was unfortunate, but really, the entire vehicle was just nowhere near good enough. And I resent it because it queered the pitch for Australia’s export chances for years after, export of some really good cars.
Mourn not for this one, Mr Klein. Carefully preserved it may appear to have been, but it was ever destined to end obscure and abandoned and then crushed, no matter much some optimistic owner tried to preserve it. Time was never going to make it any better.
Justy the flex in the Laser is because they left out some stiffener pieces on the Ford version its actually lighter, BIL working in Mazda panel spares at the time let that cat out of the bag the two cars were not quite the same under the skin, a Laser is very capable off road due to that flex it wasnt all bad news.
Oh and in Tassie you are not allowed rental cars off the bitumen, its in the contract you sign but theres some nice stuff to see miles from any blacktop
What a dog of a car. It’s in the ever-expanding backlog of CC articles awaiting my writing, but the Mirella TS230 was styled by then-Ford Oz employee Clive Potter as a one-off for a wealthy doctor. In 1983.
It quite literally beggars belief that Ford didn’t go with shaping along these lines – albeit topless – for the Crapi.
That thing is very similar to the (displayed in 1985) Saab EV-1, the color combo immediately made me think of it. Crossed with a first gen Honda CR-X and something vaguely British that I can’t think of right now gets you to your image that is apparently older. Very interesting.
There was already a Ford Escort convertible on the books in the UK some are in NZ and the 323 cabriolet they could have rebadged but NO.
Ah, the Capri convertible, Ford’s version of the Pontiac Fiero commuter car. Unfortunately, while the Fiero initially had a terrific initial sales year, this version of the Capri never sold well.
I’m a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the concept upon which the Capri was based, the Ford Ghia Barchetta. Usually, the concept car looks better than the production car (the Pontiac Aztek is an example) but neither the Barchetta nor the Capri looked all that great.
In 1983, the only cheap two-seat convertible that had been released in over a decade was the TR7. The Barchetta suggested that the ideas behind the Sprite, the Spitfire and the 850 spider could coexist with FWD sedan platforms. Maybe you didn’t particularly like the design, but I think it was going to be dirt cheap and simple when it was based on the Fiesta and had a British-style ragtop of sticks and a tarp.
Ford OZ took a perfectly useable Mazda 323 cabriolet and did that to it, they were advertising hourly on the radio in Melbourne at the time for workers to assemble them expecting a huge demand that simply didnt happen, the were quite a useful mobile pool if you needed one they leaked terribly I can quite agree the soft top has never been used on that wrecking yard example probably why its lasted so long. at the time a drive past the Broadmeadows Ford plant would reveal numerous Capris and EA Falcons with large lemon stickers on them parked all over the place, Have you driven a Ford lately the TV ads proclaimed, have you driven a lemon lately inscribed on those stickers, Ford Dearborn thought seriously about closing its Australian operation around this time the warranty claims were biting the bottom line hard, instead they left it going but sent the fish faced Taurusable lash up for comedy value, Falcons improved with each subsequent model and the Crapi was axed.
Great find! This generation Capri always puzzled me as an interesting choice for Mercury as well as a peculiar vehicle in general. Its value proposition always seemed lacking as it wasn’t particularly cheap, sporty/engaging to drive, comfortable, or luxurious. Apart from its DSM coupe-like pop-up headlight/exposed running light treatment, it wasn’t particularly stylish either.
Tons of these still around in australia ( no rust !) – though when i see them I always think – they chose that instead of a miata …….
Someone can correct but, AFAIK, the Miata MX-5 was a clean-sheet design, which goes a long way to explaining its success. It was engineered as a sports car from the ground up.
OTOH, all of the quasi-small, affordable sports car competitors (Fiero, del Sol, MR2, Capri) were all parts bin specials to keep costs down, and none of them were up to the Miata’s performance level. The only exception might be the Honda S2000 but, even then, the S2000’s engine was a bit too ‘peaky’ for daily-driving.
I can only surmise that no one, not even those manufacturers with deep pockets, was willing to gamble the amount of money it would take to develop and engineer a true sports car since, normally, that market is much more of a smaller specialty niche where the return on investment takes a lot longer than anyone was willing to tolerate.