Author: Andy Zain
Title: The Relatively Short-Lived Ford Probe

Article: The Relatively short-lived Ford Probe, a model that was quite daring when it was first introduced by the Dearborn, Michigan automaker in 1989, as a replacement for the aging Ford EXP. Based entirely off Mazda's G platform, the front-wheel drive Probe was at one time contemplated as a replacement for the much more well-known Mustang, though this vision on the part of the manufacturer never was fulfilled. Ford engineers and executives had also conceived of the Probe as being a model that would do well once oil prices rose, which the company believed would be soon. With that in mind, engineers developed in conjunction with Mazda a couple of different 4 and 6 cylinder iterations which managed to deliver good performance and good fuel economy, though the car never managed to live up to sales goals set by Ford. The Probe's design was always sleek and modern over the two generations. Initially wedge-shaped and futuristic in design, the car attracted many but also spooked a few who weren't used to a vehicle that resembled the Probe in design. The car shared much of its mechanical underpinnings with its sister Mazda 626, both of which rolled off the same assembly lines at the company's Flat Rock, Michigan plant, which it and Mazda had jointly developed. After 8 years of mostly-flat sales (only 32, 000 were sold in its final year of production in 1997), the Probe was dropped from the lineup. This is a shame, as its 1993 redesign was sufficiently robust enough to deliver it Car of the Year awards from a number of different automotive magazines. As far as performance went, the Probe always managed to deliver, even with a 2. 2 liter four cylinder engine, which put out a decent 110 horses. The turbocharged version of that engine could spool itself up to 148 ponies, which was quite nice, and the V6 offering came in at just 5 horses less than the high-performance turbo 4. For its time, and taking into account the Ford corporate inability to be fully responsive to changes in the marketplace in a swift manner, the Probe was a quite surprising vehicle from the Blue Oval folks. It came loaded with advanced - for the day - technical features in engines, chassis and other components, and the first generation design was anything but staid and utilitarian in appearance. As far as time has shown, the years since the discontinuation of the model have demonstrated the essential goodness and durability of the redesign inherent in the second generation. The hot-rod version -- the Probe GT -- can still be seen on many a road even today, with its normally aspirated V6 putting out 164 horses quite often being modified and tuned to put out tons of additional power. Andy Zain is the admin of Ford Probe Forum , a place where fans and owners can get the right information for tuning, customization and general discussions on anything about Ford Probe. Get the information you need when you visit Ford Forums

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