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The North American variant of the Ford Escort is a compact car introduced by Ford in 1980 for the 1981 model year. Adopting the "Escort" name used by Ford of Europe since 1968 along with the general design and layout of the third-generation European Escort, it was the successor of the Ford Pinto, which had a tarnished reputation for quality and safety after a widely-publicized fuel tank defect. The Escort was one of Ford's most successful models in the 1980s, earning a much better reputation than the Pinto, which faced widely publicized safety issues. In fact, the Escort was the single best-selling car in its second year in the United States and during most of that decade. The Escort was Ford's first front-wheel-drive car built in North America, a design popularized by the Volkswagen Rabbit. It also effectively replaced the smaller Ford Fiesta, which was imported from Europe from 1978–80. In 1990, the North American Escort would switch to a Mazda-derived platform and essentially became a twin of the Ford Laser, a compact car sold in Asia and Oceania that has always shared a platform and some powertrain options with the Mazda 323, and whose progenitor was available in North America as the 1988 Mercury Tracer. Redesigned on the same platform for the 1997 model year, the Escort was succeeded by the Ford Focus in 1999 for the 2000 model year in North America, although Escort production continued until 2002. ==First generation (1980–1990)== Introduced in 1980 for the 1981 model year, the first American Escort was intended to share common components with the European Mk III Escort (as with its sister, the Mercury Lynx). It was launched with a , 1.6-liter hemi overhead cam inline-four. It was available as a three-door hatchback and as a five-door station wagon, with a four-speed manual or a three-speed automatic.〔 The five-door hatchback followed a year later. It had considerably more chrome than the model sold elsewhere (except for the 1981 SS model/1982- GT models which featured blacked out trim). 1981 models never had the Blue Oval logo; on the front fenders there was an Escort badge which included a globe representing the earth, which implied this was a "World Car". The car was freshened in 1982, and added Ford's Blue Oval logo for the first time along with a newer grille. For 1982 models, the base price of the Escort 3-door was $5,518. In 1983 (MY1984), the GLX model was dropped and replaced with a fuel injected LX model, available as a five-door hatchback or wagon, with a GT engine, blackout trim, and "Butterfly" styled cast aluminum wheels. The interior received a new dashboard, and a new rubber shift boot for manual models; automatic models received a new gear selector lever with a straight line for gear selection instead of the twisting "?" mark pattern of the previous models. Flush headlamps, revised taillamps and restyled steel wheels appeared when the Escort was revised and introduced as the 1985.5 Ford Escort. There was also the Ford EXP, and sister version Mercury LN7, targeting the sports car market, essentially a two-seat hatch with lower roofline which was not as successful as other body styles. Although the basic silhouette was the same, it was almost completely different from the European version, apart from the Ford CVH engine. There was a 1.6 L engine, a 4-speed MTX-2 and a 5-speed MTX-3 manual transmission as standard options, and an optional 3-speed ATX/FLC automatic transmission. A 1.3 L engine was designed and prototyped but did not see production due to lack of power, and an inability to get it certified.〔 Beginning in 1983, a GT model offered a multi-port EFI version of the 1.6 L four-cylinder that increased power by 20 hp over the base carbureted version. It also came with a 5-speed transmission, TRX handling package, front and rear spoilers, metric-sized alloy wheels and fog lights. Also beginning in 1982, the Ford EXP had the option of the turbocharged 1.6 L four-cylinder rated at and matching torque, a fairly sporty package, considering that the Mustang GT of that period was rated at and was much heavier. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ford Escort (North America)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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