El Cheapo: 1990 Ford Escort GT
I’m not sure if I have enough life left in my keyboard to rant about how badly the 2009 Cash for Clunkers (CARS ACT) ruined the used car market for the next 18 years (and counting), but I might save that for a future post. TL;DR: In 2009 the US federal gov’t spent $3 Billion dollars to scrap 700K vehicles in a misguided attempt to boost the economy and save the environment by ruining perfectly good cars and making generations of cheap car drivers pay beaucoup bucks for their cars in the future. To say Cash for Clunkers was a disaster is like saying the Titanic was a boat that sunk. Watch this video for a pretty basic analysis of the program. Anyway, this next car reminds me of a time when $1000 could get you something that you could drive with basic maintenance. Sigh. Find this 1990 Ford Escort GT offered for $750 in Mertztown, PA via facemarket escortclunk.
From the seller:
1990 Ford escort gt
$750
Listed 23 hours ago in Mertztown, PA
About this vehicle
Driven 150,000 miles
Manual transmission
Exterior color: Red · Interior color: Grey
Fuel type: Gasoline
Fair condition
Clean title
This vehicle has no significant damage or problems.Seller’s description
1990 Ford Escort GT, 1.9 L. H.O., 5spd
Was my daily driver until about 6 years ago when it needed a clutch (new clutch included with sale) and potentially a transmission. Has been parked since then for that reason. Ran great, though. Has rebuilt and machined cylinder head with Cometic gasket, upgraded stiffer springs all around, custom exhaust.
Sounded great, was alot of fun to drive, and economical. Engine was doing great, could certainly be a parts vehicle after sitting for so long, but should also be able to be an easily revived driver
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Not really sure how the rant about cash for clunkers relates to a manual tranny Escort.
IIRC, vehicles targeted for scrapping were low EPA mpg ones. this ‘scort, still listed as 27/33mpg consumption on ‘da Feds fueleconomy dot gov site would not have been eligible for the program.
As an owner of wagon version 1st gen lumps, i can attest to their still having no market desirability.
The $750 ask here is what knowing FEOA dot net denizens might expect for such a fine example (half-irony) of Escort goodness.
This brings back some memories, thanks for the post. Those GTs were pretty decent basic transport, especially the later models with Mazda engines. I recall a bunch of similar cheap & cheerful modestly fun cars back in the day. As for the CfC program, it has resulted in a massive number of 2010ish used cars on the market right now. I could not figure out a way to trade in my eligible ’89 525i (M20 5-speed) when the program was in effect. Up here in the rust belt, that program did a lot of good, seemed to pull a lot of downright unsafe cars off the road.