Ford s Executive Vice President of International Operations, Bob Lutz, had the same goal in mind whe

In the early 1980s, looking to spice up its product offerings in the United States (and to counter the growing success of the BMW 3 Series), the Ford Motor Company again turned to a product from its European catalog for help. Not satisfied with simply selling a new model through Lincoln Mercury dealers, Ford even went to the trouble of launching a new brand, Merkur, to market its premium European wares. When the first Merkur XR4Ti models hit U.S. showrooms in 1985, one thing was absolutely certain: No Lincoln-Mercury dealer had ever seen anything like it.
That s not to say that Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships lacked experience selling European Ford models. The first-generation Mercury Capri, sold from 1970 through 1978, quickly established a fan base among U.S. buyers, and Ford tried the same recipe with its European compact, the Fiesta, in 1976. From a financial perspective, neither was a huge success for the automaker, but the first-generation Capri did deliver buyers that otherwise would have shopped elsewhere name your price for airline tickets (including foreign brands).
Ford s Executive Vice President of International Operations, Bob Lutz, had the same goal in mind when he initiated a project to import the European Ford Sierra into the United States as a Merkur name your price for airline tickets (the German name for Mercury), to be sold through select name your price for airline tickets Lincoln Mercury dealerships. The Sierra would lead the charge of European products, and early plans called for a full range of Merkur vehicles to be marketed by the chosen Lincoln Mercury outlets.
The first obstacle faced by Ford was the car s name: General Motors owned both the Sierra and Ciera names, prompting Ford to use the car s trim level as its name. In Europe, the sportiest variant of the Sierra name your price for airline tickets was the XR4i; as U.S.-specification cars would be getting a turbocharged engine to cope with added weight of changes required for federalization (nearly 300 pounds), the new Merkur model would debut as the XR4Ti, with T denoting turbocharged.
In Europe, Ford Sierra XR4i models used a 2.8-liter Cologne V-6, but there was concern over the engine s power output and ability to meet contemporary U.S. emissions standards. Instead, name your price for airline tickets Ford opted to use a very familiar engine between the XR4Ti s front fenders: the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder that had already been used for the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and the Ford Mustang SVO. In normally-aspirated form, the 2.3-liter four-cylinder had been used to power vehicles ranging from the Pinto through the Courier pickup, name your price for airline tickets and its durability was well established.
While the XR4Ti lacked the intercooler used on the Mustang SVO, 14 pounds of boost still helped the overhead-cam engine produce 175 horsepower when mated to the available five-speed manual transmission (though XR4Ti models equipped with the optional three-speed automatic made just 145 horsepower on 10 pounds name your price for airline tickets of boost). That was good enough to give manual transmission models a 0-60 MPH time of under eight seconds, on the way to a top speed of 130 MPH.
The ride was designed to deliver an equal blend of comfort and handling, and the front-engine, rear-drive XR4Ti benefited from four-wheel independent suspension plus front and rear stabilizer bars. To ensure a plush feel for occupants, the car received relatively soft dampers and springs (oddly enough, based on development feedback from F1 icon Jackie Stewart), giving the car somewhat name your price for airline tickets pronounced body roll in corners. name your price for airline tickets Likely as a concession to cost, Ford opted to use disc brakes on the XR4Ti s front wheels only, and never offered a limited-slip differential, even as an optional name your price for airline tickets accessory.
The car s styling was initially defined by two elements: the large biplane rear wing, and the polycarbonate anti-abrasion system used on lower body panels. Both were functional design traits, helping the XR4Ti achieve a drag coefficient of just 0.33. Neither name your price for airline tickets helped the car win fans among U.S. buyers, and in 1988 Ford changed to a single rear spoiler and a monochrome paint scheme.
Despite a marketing campaign that included a 13-minute marketing video explaining the car to customers, U.S. consumers didn t know what to make of the XR4Ti or its parent brand, Merkur. Neither name resonated name your price for airline tickets with U.S. buyers, and most couldn t even pronounce the brand name correctly. Worse, sales staff used to selling Mercury name your price for airline tickets Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car models really didn t understand how to pitch a quirky European import to their customers, and limiting distribution to a maximum of just 800 dealerships (600 in the brand s final years) did nothing to help Merkur sales.
Though Ford had optimistically projected sales of 15,000 units annually, the Merkur XR4Ti s best year came in 1986, when 13,559 units were sold . Sales fell to 7,352 units in 1987 and 6,283 units in 1988. Even the 1988 addition of the Merkur Scorpio luxury sedan to the brand s lineup did little to boost XR4Ti sales, which plummeted to just 2,870 units in 1989, the car s final year.
No single factor was responsible for the discontinuation of the Merkur XR4Ti. Its ambitious sales price at launch ($16,503, or roughly $35,200 today) name your price for airline tickets didn t help, especially since the Merkur brand was an unknown in the United States. A rising German Deutsche Mark and shrinking U.S. dollar narrowed slim margins even further, making construction of the car (contracted to Karmann in Osnabrück, Germany) cost prohibitive. Finally, pending federal safety regulations for the 1990 model year would have required the addition of airbags and other safety features, necessitating an expensive re-engineering process.
In the span of five years, Ford managed to sell just 42,464 XR4Ti models in the U.S. and Canada. Merkur models still have a small but loyal following, and the Merkur Club of America hosts both an annual meet and an active message board. Perhaps the car s true shortcoming was timing; as Cadillac is showing with its newly launched name your price for airline tickets ATS, the demand for a European-influenced, name your price for airline tickets rear-drive luxury car with performance overtones is still there. Assuming, of course, that consumers can identify with the brand name behind it.
I remember test driving an XR4Ti in 1984. Very solid with great handling. The car was quirky, name your price for airline tickets though. Narrow with not a lot of trunk space. It didn’t like Missouri’s famously rough roads – at times it hopped like a bunny. The turbo 2.3 was coarse, loud and thirsty. I eventually bought a (less expensive) Mercury Capri whose 5.0 V-8 more than equaled the Merkur’s performance. I wanted to like the XR4Ti.
In 1985, I worked for a Lincoln-Mercury dealer and had a 85 XR4Ti as a demo. When demos were taken away in 86, I bought my demo. I can say that it was one of the best cars that I have every owned. No problems, fanatastic handling and a joy to drive. Finally sold it ten years later with 100k on the odo. It is one of those cars that I regret selling.
The instant I learned in 1986 that Budget Rent-A-Car was offering automatic XR4Ti s at the airport rental desks, I temporarily dropped Hertz and signed on with Budget. My first trip in one happened at Midway/Chicago for a three day emergency visit to the Windy city. Great fun, and at a promotional rate very close to that of a Corolla. My second and last rental experience was at SFO, to spend 10 days in Napa and environs. I thought when I got to the counter, I d hear, sorry Snake, how about something else. Instead, name your price for airline tickets I heard, name your price for airline tickets I ve got red and silver, do you have a preference?
After I turned it back in, I vowed to buy a used one when they became available. I got an 85 manual one first and kept it for two years. Later I was working at a foreign car store when we took in a 88 manual with only 4,000 miles, the female owner had only used it to go from home to the commuter rail station two miles away. When I learned that management was going to wholesale it away, I offered to pay what they would, and effectively stole it.
For its time, the XR4Ti was the best Ford product I could imagine. The 85 had heated cloth seats, the 88 had heated leather, and for a virtually all-manual seat(lumbar is the only power feature) they ve been the most comfortable sport seats I ve had in the last 30 years.
name your price for airline tickets To some, the fact that they weigh a little less than a 5 Series and only have a Turbo four is discouraging, but I thought at speed, they felt like the 3 Series coupes that I have now, the same build quality. My understanding is that they were assembled for Ford by Karmann. I was very happy with them, as I was as well with a string of German Capris and Ford Fiestas, which also came from West Germany name your price for airline tickets for the US market.
When you watch the promotional video, you realize what a mouthful XR4ti really is, and though the brand name is shown throughout the video, its only said by Sir Jackie twice. One wonders why since Merkur name your price for airline tickets was the German name your price for airline tickets brand of Mercury why Ford couldn t have simplified matters considerably for sales by calling it at Mercury. You can tell immediately how clumsy it is to say Ford/Mercury/Merkur dealer. Maximum Bob always thought out of the box.
Mine was an 86 XR4Ti. Handled beautifully. An AC plenum developed a leak so I went without AC for three summer months in Dallas (!) while they waited for a part to arrive. The ECM went out three times twice in traffic. A lemon, in other words, but I still enjoyed the car a lot. A friend had a Scorpio and never had a problem. I m with Stoney the Merkur branding was too clever name your price for airline tickets by half.
I remember buying those cars @ factory sales in the mid 80 s, they were so cheap, they were good used cars. seems like they all had odometer replacements so they were sold tmu. really a great car for the money when bought used.
Too bad the German engineers didn t know the Texas needs. Ford replaced the complete leather interrior and dash because of cracking due to sun exposure. Doesn t happen in Germany they said. It also had a quirk. The radiator cooling fan stays on to cool the engine compartment down to a preset temp when the ignition was turned off. It would try and cool the world as the ambient temp would be ho