Here’s how the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz were Ford’s forgotten best-sellers 

I bought a used Tempo for my teenagers to drive. They couldn’t kill it! That 2.3 was a good engine. Also, it was that popular 90s turquoise green.

At the height of these vehicles and the Taurus I worked in the repair business. I worked in a ten bay shop and many times during the year we would have 10 of these previously mentioned cars in the shop at one time. These vehicles put food, clothing, shelter, vacations, home improvements, braces, cars, insurance, parties, donations etc. My wife thanks you, my children thank you and I thank you Mr. Ford executives.

I remember using an 86 Tempo in driving school. Then I'd come home and drive my parents' 82 Civic and it was a night and difference; like going from 5 pound hiking boots to running shoes.

I remember my teacher had one. He called it the Tempo of Doom. :D

Had a 94 Topaz GS V6 coupe with 5 speed, fog lamps and spoiler. Loved that car!

It’s interesting how many cars in the 80’s/90’s had an awd version that never caught on. Today most people can’t get out thier driveway in mid summer without it.

The Tempo/Topaz was a stretched version of the Escort. I remember them being everywhere in the 90's. Early models/years were not that great and not many survived. I had a friend who had a '84 Tempo with 4 or 5 speed manual in the late 80's - that car was nothing but trouble. I drove a later model, a '92 or '93 - it was good and I think they lasted longer. I remember seeing a handful of '89's to '94 being on the road until or around mid 2000's.

The Dodge/Plymouth Neon as a suggestion for a future video.

In 1989 my parents were deciding between the Tempo and the Camry. They chose the Camry. It just died recently. They replaced it with another Camry. Haha.

My wife and I owned two of them, and absolutely loved them. I had an 89 four door, and a 92 two-door. They both had names: the Red Baron, and the Blue Magoo respectively. I'd always wished they'd made a station wagon version.

My old man had a Tempo diesel he bought new. He was a traveling service technician for oddball electronics and his company helped reimburse the car payments plus paid him mileage for whatever jobs he traveled to. Initially, that definitely made it a money-maker for him, but I faintly remember some reliability issues long term with the Mazda diesel. It eventually got replaced with a Jetta diesel in the early 90s... put 250,000 miles on that one in about 5 years. Diesel Tempos are definitely very rare ones!

Since you did the tempo, you should do the Aerostar/ Freestar! The Aerostar was pretty unique looking, and I remember my aunt had a freestar

You should do the 1986 to 1991 Oldsmobile Ninety Eights and Delta Eight Eights. They were well made cars that were downsized compared to previous generations. They also were quite high tech comfortable mid luxury large cars that had digital gauges on high end trims, overdrive on some package trims, built in computer voice diagnostic system, and automatic climate controls! Taken care of the lasted and you still see quite a few on the road still in 2021! Fun fact they used these exact cars in the 1987 movie Lethal Weapon. They did have a Touring Sedan version in the late 80’s that was supposed to be a sportier luxury with a few distinct differences from the Ninety Eight Regency’s and Delta Eighty Eight Brougham’s is that the Touring Sedans had Bucket seats with a center console and console shifter whereas the fore mentioned had the split bench with column shifter. The Touring Sedans however had a lighter in weight version of the standard 3.8 3800 series V6 where the touring sedans sport upgradeable 3800 V6’s had nylon timing chain tensioners that broke before 100,000 miles.

My young families first new car was a '93 Tempo 2 door. Can still remember the kids kicking the back of my seat

I was brought home from the hospital in a Plymouth Horizon, the next week my dad went out and bought a 91 Tempo. All I remember about that Tempo was when I was about 5 years old. The AC did not work, the exhaust leaked horribly and scared me anytime they'd start it. In 98 my parents bought a Grand Am, and that Tempo just sat in the garage as a backup for when the Grand Am would break down. I remember the day they sold that Tempo. I was so happy because the exhaust scared me. I can't believe growing up we had to always have a backup car for the almost monthly breakdown's. American cars have improved so much since then.

My college girlfriend had an 84 Tempo. I had an old 67 Mustang at the time. I loved driving my old stang, but we typically went on our dates in her Tempo since my Mustang had no air conditioning. It was a good looking car for it's time, but it was about as exciting as an unsalted boiled egg, which seemed to be where it's design inspiration came from.

I hope a user named FordTempoFanatic sees this. I miss that guy.

This has become my favorite RU-vid channel! The hard work that you put in for these forgotten automobiles is amazing. I'm glad someone is telling their story. Bravo 👏

The Tempo and Topaz are great low budget cars for first time drivers! I'm interested in getting the 1992-1994 versions with either AWD(with a four cylinder) or the V6 versions! You should do an episode on the Chevrolet Lumina and its siblings!!!!

Loved and missed the 80's

Those X styled wheels look cool and retro.

The Tempo/Topaz were also popular fleet vehicles with, at the time, the best warranty a company could get. A large portion of Tempo sales were for companies like IBM, and Hertz Renta-a-Car (an on/off subsidiary of Ford.)

Dodge shadow Plymouth Sundance! That should be your next video. Keep 'Em come and we love them thank you!

I knew a kid in high school whose parents bought him a brand new one for his 16th birthday. All the kids in my Sophomore class laughed at him: "You could have had any car you wanted, and you got a Tempo? You mean that ugly car with the airline seats that does loops in that commercial?" But he was one of the first kids in class to even get a car when he got his driver's license, let alone a brand new one, so he was taking us all out to lunch, even my history teacher wanted a ride. I remember he commented that it was "peppy"!

I had a 1989 Topaz LTS 4x4 in high school it was a fun little car i hated to auto seat belts

This is great. Our family hauler as a kid in the 90s was an 88' Tempo my parents bought new. My Dad would say it was "Midnight Blue"... Quit jazzing it up Dad, its a freakin Tempo! 🤣

Another suggestion for a video is a popular nameplate that was recently discontinued, the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. The Taurus was once America's most popular and most talked about car, especially throughout the 80's and 90's then slowly fell from grace unit it was eventually discontinued in 2019. The Taurus/Sable weren't really bad cars, they just simply fell out of favor overtime first with the import competition(mostly the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord) and then the SUV/CUV craze of the 2010's which was the beginning of the end for many American sedans not just the Taurus.

Almost bought a Tempo in 84' Got an 84'Escort L instead, first time new car buyer, and the dealer did their best to get me In a car by sundown.

In 1988, there was a raffle at the Base commissary at Homestead Air Force Base. My father was looking for an entry form, but he only could find one. He filled it out and left. A month later he gets a phone call saying that a little boy stuck his hand way deep in the barrel and pulled my father's name out.

Love my 1987 LX 5speed. Parents bought it new in may 87 and i still drive it to work everyday. Little things now and then but original engine and trans. 344,700 miles on her.

When I was a state employee we bought Tempo’s- they fell apart

I had an '85 Tempo. Loved it. Oil changes were so simple on the 2.3 liter. Right in front. Screw it off, screw it on, done. The 1.9 liter on the Escort sucked. I had to squeeze my hand through a loop in the pipes. And the gap between the seat and B-pillar meant having a blind spot mirror. None of that with the Tempo. Super easy to work on. Even the head gasket when it finally ate it. I replaced the gasket, and a week later I got played as a ping-pong ball between a 70's Thunderbird and a Toyota Previa. It was bent, the rear end was nearly on the ground, but I drove it home even though it was totaled.

Ford Bronco II is my suggestion for an upcoming video.

Thank you. I enjoyed this video. I bought a 1994 Mercury Topaz GS in Feb 2008 with under 72,000 miles for $1500. I still own this car today with just under 190,000 miles.

I generally liked the styling of these tempo/topaz twins. I think my favorites though are the first generation with the original grills, square recessed headlights and interiors.

My first car was a 91 green Ford tempo. It went 0-60 sometimes

My father had three Tempos growing up, love those damn cars

My grandma's last car was an 86 Tempo. We had it for a while after she passed, and I loved it! Mom ended up selling it because she had trouble seeing it without Nana behind the wheel.

I loved my tempo. Then my dodge spirit. Then my "tech-4" Buick century. All these "bad" cars, were useful, inexpensive and reliable transportation. IF MAINTAINED PROPERLY!!! I am always disappointed when cars get labeled so negatively. I only regret buying one car,out of the fifty-two I have owned.

As a geeky Tempo fan I must tell you that the movies Say Anything with John Cusack and Seven Minutes In Heaven with Jennifer Connelly have plenty of 5-speed stick shift Tempo driving around and learning how to parallel park!

The only car I've been upside down in. My friend's 1991 tempo that he rolled in 1998.

My first car was a Tempo and man that thing left me stranded so many times.

I have very fond memories of the Tempo and Topaz. They were plain and basic, but comfortable transportation.

I had 1992 Tempo 4 door with all the options. The V-6 made it feel like a pocket rocket. Cruising down the interstate was never a problem and gas mileage was decent.

92 Tempo was my first new car. Such a thrill at 24 to buy a car that had never been owned by anyone else.

I recently acquired an 87 automatic GL model for free from a friend. Needed brake work and to fix a power steering leak. Burgundy paint with a red interior so it’s fully grandparent spec. I genuinely really like this thing so far! Glad to see people still talking about them

I'd love to do a Contour SVT swap into a Tempo coupe. It would be a true sleeper that no one would expect

I think a good future video to do would be one about the Lincoln Town Car. That was one of the best cars Ford ever built. I remember some of these were sold with manual transmissions. They could be a little notchy but they were much longer lasting than the automatics. GM's four cylinder engines have been mostly junk but that Ford 2.3 was a decent engine. They were simple and easy to work on.

I had a 91 tempo with a manual transmission, was in mint shape to... I wish I still had that thing actually, it was a 2 door, very comfortable and got decent gas mileage and was fun to drive with the stick shift.

From Leo: I bought a 1985 Tempo when I needed an economy car and the little escort was just too small. I have broad shoulders and I hate driving with my shoulders pressed against the door. That 2.3 engine with a 5 speed returned 30 mpg on a regular basis and still could haul 4 adults reasonably well. Good little car. Traded at about 150K miles and it was running great.

I got one: The very short time Daewoo was sold in The United States.

At a Dollar Tree near my work I still see a turquoise Tempo coupe always parked near the back of the lot. Cool to see it still in service!!

My 88 Tempo was the best car I have ever owned. It kept going and cost nothing to run. 400-500 miles on a tank. I scrapped it at 180000 miles and the engine was still going strong.

Grew up as a pre-teen into teen years in a 1988 Mercury Topaz GS. Was my families first Ford product, my Dad was a die hard GM guy until every GM product he bought in the 80s fell apart (1980 Chevy Citation, 1983 Celebrity CL). The Topaz fared slightly better, but IIRC had no power, and at 68K, transmission lost 2nd gear and while my Mom and Dad were on a weekend "adults only" getaway in 1992, they got stuck on the I-16 bridge near Savannah, GA. I remember my Dad calling from a payphone and said "when we get home, we're buying a Honda" and since then, that 92 Accord lasted until 2005, when at 286,441 the engine needed an overhaul and since then he's bought Hyundai's. None the less, I liked the Topaz- it always "felt" like it was more than it was interior wise. It just showed it's true personality on the road, which was an econobox "10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag" that had poor reliability.

I remember these back in the day growing up in the 80s , these were popular just like the Chrysler K cars .The Ford compacts were more stylish compared to the K cars and a lot of car rentals loved them .

I remember my neighbor across the street had a blue Tempo; this was circa 1985 and I was in 3rd grade. This was west Texas; she had the stereotypical big Texas bouffant (her hair was red, though). Sometimes she would give me and her son a ride to school in that thing. I remember it had blue cloth seats, and always smelled heavily of perfume LOL

This really rams home the point that a vehicle doesn't have to be good to be a success. Chevy sold tons of Vegas, so even though it was a crappy car, was it really a failure? Not to GM. In fact, they reused the Vega platform for other cars, so they really got their money out of it

I owned a 94 Tempo in high school, coupe 5 speed. Bought for $500. Looked like warmed garbage but man was that thing a tank and a reliable friend through one of the coldest winters I've lived through.

You missed the clip from Encino man Where he drives one on 2 wheels in drivers ed

I'm not a huge car guy but think it's interesting seeing the Specs and history about them.

Loved this. Our family owned like 8 of them over they years. Do the Lincoln Mark VIII next.

My first car was a 1985 Tempo GL. Blue, 2 door, stick shift. I look back on it very fondly.

If I was a car shopping customer in the US in the 80's I would have considered these models, 2:13, for its time they are kinda handsome. But according to masses 5:18 I might be considered boring :)

I've had 4 of these in my family over the years. My aunt owned a blue 1984 4-door 5-speed bought new, my grandmother owned a red 1985 4-door auto bought new, ironically, she actually was wanting to buy a new Escort wagon at the time, couldn't get financed on that but was able to buy the larger Tempo GL, an uncle had a first gen Sport 2-door bought used with a 5-speed, I loved the seats in that one and my grandfather had a light blue 2nd gen bought used 4-door with an auto. The 4-cylinder engines in these had a very unique sound. As I recall, the V6 AWD Tempo could out-accelerate a Porsche at the time, I remember reading an article about it.

My grandmother had a Tempo... I remember her taking me to see Titanic in theaters, lit cigarette with the driver-side window cracked open. Ah, Clinton's America...

I had a 1985 Ford Tempo GL. I bought it used at Ford dealership in Anchorage, Alaska in early spring 1988. That's where I was stationed at then Elmendorf AFB. I say then before it became joint Elmendorf and the Army post it linked up with. Anyway I bought the Tempo, which was my first Ford, for a cross country road trip to New Jersey that summer. It had 15,000 miles on it, color was dark green with red pinstripes, gray cloth interior. It had no AC, crank manual windows. But interestingly power door locks. I needed a low mileage car to drive cross country. I had two of my sisters flown up to Seattle to help me drive. I being stationed at Pope AFB, North Carolina. It was hot but a nice trip. That Tempo ran like a champ. Didn't keep it long though. No air took its toll. So I bought a leftover new 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS.

Informative video. The more I learn about these cars the more I'm convinced they're just as boring as I found them when they were for sale.

Mother had a brand new 90 Topaz, our first car with air conditioning! Stolen out of our driveway one Saturday night in '92 in El Paso. It had an overheating problem at the time, and probably broke down at or shortly after crossing the border. Replaced with a minivan, which the thieves came back and tried to steal the first night we had it, only to find it had a car alarm. They broke out the back glass before running off.

Nice video on the Tempo& Topaz, my Aunt In Vancouver B.C had one for many years , could a video on the 1982 - 84 Dodge Rampage and 1983 Plywood Scamp ,be possible

My second front wheeled drive car (after the 82' Escort) was a blue 1986 Ford Tempo LX 4 door with the newly restyled front and rear ends, it was very roomy and had a nice ride. I remember they compared the back seat room to having more space than a Mercedes 300d (a friend confirmed this, his parents had a 300d).

Do one on the Nissan 240SX series!! My black fastback is still one of my favorites!!

My mom had a 1987 Tempo from 1988 to 1997. In 1991, I passed my driver's test in that car. Afterward, I drove it every chance I got. I enjoyed it whenever I could, 'cause I knew I had to get back home fast before my mom got upset!

Back in those days my dad was an "executive" with Southern Bell, the telephone company in my area of the southeast. His company car for a brief period was a tempo. It had an early mobile phone system in it. I remember riding with him to his office on a special day and him talking on the phone on the way there. I remember thinking the phone stuff was super awesome but the car was a piece of sh.... It was buzzy, underpowered even for then and smelled of different chemicals Ford used to make it. I hated it.

Used to drive one of these for three years as a company car -- gold/beige. Seriously underpowered but comfortable and decent driving on long hauls. Never once had a mechanical problem with it, drove about 13K miles a year.

Funny how I never see these on the road, a lot like the dodge intrepid (insipid). They're simply gone.

I had a 94 Tempo bought in 95 , finally sold it in 2002 , only major repair was replace a radiator , Best small car I ever owned , That thing would run even when it was broke down .

If Hyundai made a sporty version of the Tempo, it would be called TempoN 🤣

I had a second gen topaz 20 years ago when I was broke. Bought for $800. Never left me stuck. Best part was the automatic shoulder belt, worst part was having to open the trunk to reset the fuel pump circuit breaker every time I hit a good sized pot hole.

Mitsubishi Mirage Dodge colt as a suggestion. Or my Galant e50

My sister had an '84 Tempo GL coupe. Those "crosshair" wheels were 365mm diameter. They were porous and constantly lost air. The Michelin X was the only tire available for them, and they were $$$$. Most Tempos were fuel injected. Hers was a 1bbl carb. The torque steer was so bad, you couldn't let go of the wheel. At 62mph, the entire dash board would visibly shake up and down. At 65k miles, the A/C compressor froze up on a road trip and sheared all the rivets in the magnetic clutch. A day later, the radiator hose went. Five days later, the fuel line came loose, contacted a pulley, and wore a hole in itself. I had to push the car over a mile home. Then it was CV joints. Then a sway bar bolt broke and the entire right front corner of the body cracked over a foot in each direction. We patched it up and promptly traded it for a Cavalier. I drove the Cavalier for 14 years.

My parents had twin 1990 Tempos. We called them “Pimpos”

My Aunt Sandra had a maroon 1991 Mercury Topaz with red interior, can't remember the trim, 5 speed manual, manual windows/locks, AM/FM radio and cassette player, that she brought brand new in the spring of 1991 and owned it for a little over 10 years until the fall of 2001 when the harsh Michigan winters took it's toll, and it was scrapped. Final nail in the coffin for the car was the automatic seat belt stopped working in the forward position on the drivers side, leaving them without a shoulder belt. She hated those auto belts with a passion and wasn't even worth the time and effort to try and find parts to fix it at that poin . When I was a small child I always thought only rich people could afford cars with the electric shoulder belts and was expecting far more Christmas presents from her than I actually got, for that reason 😂😊 I would have been about 18 months old when she brought the car.

Their was SHITTY cars from day one! My late father had the Ford Tempo AWD sedan the the power was a joke and we had the twin the Topaz under power! At lease the Ford Escort has the BALLS to move!

We had two of these little cars. The first was a nicely equipped 87 Topaz Sport sedan, which was plagued with starter problems, and grippy Michelin tires that wore out in no time. The second was a 93 Topaz V6 LS. The V6 made a so-so car into an entirely different experience. We put about 290,000 km's (180,000 miles) on it.

Imagine if Lincoln made their Tempo.

I had one of these, other than the goofy transmission slipping out of gear when you took a hard left turn under power, pretty nice and reliable car and very comfortable.

I used to have a 1987 Topaz GS AWD. The most unreliable car I've EVER owned!

I have a twin brother, our father test drove a used tempo with my brother and I, but the tempo had rear tires that were worn out, so we ended up with a P.O.S. cavalier. The cavalier's engine blew up in about 14 months. One of our classmates got the original Ford Probe as her first car, i thought that this 4 cylinder car was the most awesome car ever, it was so smooth, and so quick. But most of all, it was very sexy.

I bought an '85 Tempo to replace my '77 Mercury Monarch, and I felt like I'd really gotten modernized--the aerodynamic styling, fuel injection, front wheel drive, etc. It was a decent car and it cost a lot less than the overpriced Hondas of the day. I never had any major mechanical issues with it and when it did need repairs, they were cheap. It was comfortable to ride in and it did well during the cross-country road trips I took in it. I kept it till 103K miles. It was good economical transportation that fit my needs at the time.

I had a 91 Tempo. Put 150k miles on it. Sold it to my sister who drove it 2 years and sold it to a friend. She drove it 2 more years. It was a comfortable, affordable, and fuel efficient auto that was very durable.

My very first car was a light blue 91 Ford Tempo in the year 2000, and yes, it was slow and boring, but it was a low profile car, (which a Mexican teenager needs to avoid getting pulled over all the time), and since it was my first car, I loved it, and kept it clean and shiny. I also got GTO smoke headlamp covers and a vinyl 'bra' bumper cover, and it looked way better. During the year I had it, I had to change the alternator, battery, motor mounts, brake pads, wheels, and fixed the transmission. I later gave it to my father, but he crashed to a wall during a snow storm, and he did repaired it later, then drove it to Mexico, but sold it at the border for $1000 USD (which was more than I had paid for it). I still have some pics of it, but they are not digitized yet.

This makes me happy :-) My first car was an '88 Tempo 2dr with manual trans which taught me to pull wrenches before I even had a driver's license. That was followed by a '93 Topaz 2dr manual. The Tempo / Topaz was in my life for about 8 years, which for a teenager is forever, until I bought my first new car a focux ZX3. I won't try to tell you that they were great cars, but they still hold a "1st car" special place in my heart. Thank you for the walk down memory lane!

I had a blue 1985 Ford Tempo. It was my 1st car after joining the us Navy in 1992. I hated that thing lol

My mother had a 1985 Ford Tempo. It was white cat with blue interior. It was an automatic transmission. I remembered that my high school had 2 of these cars. It was easy to drive and I was nervous in driving for the first time. I drove a red one in the beginning of the semester. They got new driver’s Ed cars during the semester. I did drove 1986 Ford Tempo in class.

I had a 5 speed tempo and I treated the rev limiter like a shift light for 150k miles and ramped it all the time solid car

Bought a nice condition tempo for $600 as a teen. The car rode better than most cars today and the interior was comfy. It was no speed demon but it was roomy enough and overall a good car.

I had a hand me down 84 topaz In High school complete with a house speaker in the trunk and a radio out of an Isuzu held in with duct tape. I remember my dad buying it new in Baltimore. It was a great metallic blue called the "blue max" I wanted him to get the red one called "the red Barron" I think it was our first car with ac. Thanks for the vid, brings back memories.

Back in the early 90s my sister's in-laws gave my dad a 2 door 1988 Olds Delta 88. White with a blue fake convertible top. They had hit a deer and didn't want to deal with it anymore. I remember helping my dad repair it, taking the fiberglass roof cover off and painting it instead of having that stupid cover. My dad used it as a shop truck for a few years before giving it to another relative. To this day it's the only 2 door Delta 88 I've ever seen. Probably because the doors were 3 feet long and made it next to impossible to get in or out of in a tight parking spot

I have a 85 model rigth now. Very well restored, it looks like brand new!!

My mother used to have a 1985 Ford Tempo. It was a good car to practice in driving. Even in my high school in Driver’s Ed they used a 1986 Ford Tempo,too. I had a 1998 Ford Contour was my first car in driving. I got it in the fall of 1999 before I gotten my driver’s license. The Contour was a good car in driving. The car was the prefect size for me. It was a little bit bigger than the Ford Escort.