Off Target: 1988 Merkur Scorpio
The Merkur Scorpio was an abject sales failure for a number of reasons — first it was sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers to elderly and confused Lincoln & Mercury buyers who had no idea what a Merkur might be and zero interest in something with a hatchback. Put my groceries back there?…I’m not letting my servants drive this car, now show me something with a landau top and curb feelers please. Find this 1988 Merkur Scorpio offered for $3,995 in Suwanee, GA via craigslist. Tip from Matt.
The Scorpio was powered by a 2.9 liter version of the Cologne V6 that put out 144 horsepower which may have seemed like decent power to the Ford of Germany folks who built the Ford Scorpio and Sierra for the European market…but over here in the land of the red/white/blue, this thing was down on torque and arguably gutless compared to V8 powered competition. However, it is an interesting piece of automotive history offered for a bargain price on the used car market today.
See a better way to drive a German car? tips@dailyturismo.com
I'm surprised they're parting with it after dropping $5k rebuilding the engine. Seems like you would have to really love the car to drop that kind of coin on it.
"Trick shift fluid." Okay, I'll bite: what is trick shift fluid?
Taurus on crack! My neighbor across the alley actually had one of these back in the early nineties. He was a school teacher and I always thought it was a weird choice for him. Never bothered to ask why though.
Taurus on crack from the design point of view (I definitely preferred the 4-door sedan versions of this body style, before someone in Ford got really on crack when they designed the last chrome/baroque restyling), the funny thing is that Taurus was FWD but this one and Sierra as well were RWD.
Alberto