Faults:

There were electrical problems shortly after purchase. a short in the wiring harness burned out the fuel pump, ignition module and the engine control module.

The car had considerable rust in the under body and rocker panels from sitting on a used car lot for 2.5 years. There was a wasp nest in the door when I road tested it. The rear fender wells were unexpectedly very sound.

The tachometer only works in very cold weather.

The 4 speaker factory sound system is great.

A.

General Comments:

I drove it from Erie PA to Fremont Indiana, 411 miles on 9.8 gallons of gasoline. It is a 4 speed manual.

This spring, in view of rising gasoline prices, I decided to do renovation work to pass Pennsyllvania's strict Annual Vehicle Inspection. This required rebuilding the rocker panels and floor pans, and minor rust in the 4 doors. It needed both lower ball joints replaced even though the original Ford-scripted exhaust system passed.

The car is small, but comfortable for a smaller person (5'6") like myself. My 6 foot sons find it cramped. It rides well at highway speeds, but is also agile in the city.

Faults:

The Primary Problems I have had with this car, is the cooling system, first it was the heater core, than it was the water pump, but they were very easy to fix, for example, the heater core slid right out from inside the glove compartment, and the water pump took only a few hours with the right tools, also the door handles pretty much popped off and had to be replaced.

General Comments:

The car is very good in the snow, I have taken it over mountain passes in snow storms, it handled very well.

It has not broken down a lot, and when it has, it was cheap and easy to fix.

Good Fuel Mileage.

Lots of room in the back for naps on long road trips.

Good get up and go.

Looks god with a big fat guy (me) or a itty bitty blonde (my wife)

Lots of room for speakers.