Who knows what it was I saw in Suzie McGillicuddy (name changed to protect the guilty) all those years ago. Amazing what we see or don't see when we see through whiskey glasses. I guess the same can be said for what I once saw in Ford's EXP. This '85 popped up on Facebook Marketplace recently and suddenly a rush of bittersweet memories came rushing back.
I really liked the looks of the EXP like I did old Suzie, I thought its lines alluring in ways its primary then-current corporate rival, the Mustang, were not. That it was a two-seater struck me as odd though; it looks like a 2+2 but it only seats two? And in many ways provides less performance than the car it's based on? They say love transcends but only to a point. Seems something got lost in translation.
The "inspo" for the EXP was, allegedly, the 1981 Ford of Europe "Super Gnat". Drawn up by Ghia, the "Super Gnat" was a two-passenger, three-cylinder "commuter" or "city car" that didn't pull any punches - it was as utilitarian as a plunger. Albeit a plunger you might display in your foyer because this thing has some swagger. The Super Gnat never saw production in Europe.
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The Ford EXP, later the "Escort EXP" was based on the 1981 Escort that was Ford's first domestically built front-wheel-drive subcompact. Supposedly, it was a "world car" since it was developed alongside a Ford of Europe Escort but it's as "Euro" as a Royale with Cheese. In a market desperate for an affordable practical, fuel-efficient car, the Escort quickly became the best-selling car in this country.
Despite their virtues, because I thought they were homely, I wanted nothing to do with them; not that I could have afforded a new one. I stuck with my gas-guzzling 1975 Chrysler Cordoba, thank you. This young turk had Suzie McGillicuddy to impress. For the record, she wasn't. Just as well in the end.
As is if tapping into my inner-psyche, Ford rolled out the better-looking-that-a-Mustang EXP for 1982 that disguised its humble underpinnings. The fly in the Jack Daniels' bottle was I couldn't get over the two-seater thing. Not that my Cordoba had a "usable" back seat, but it was doable in a pinch.
Another sore spot with the EXP was its lack of beans. Somehow and someway, the "sporty", two-passenger body for the EXP made it some 200-pounds heavier than an Escort further boat anchoring the industrial grade, 1.6-liter, cam-in-head (a what?), 70- to 80-horsepower four-cylinder engine. There was no upgrading done to suspension tuning either. Upside, though, Motor Trend claimed they got 44-MPG in one they test drove. That's seriously impressive even today.
Our Marketplace gem here is for sale in bucolic Lodi, Ohio about 40-minutes south of Cleveland. Asking price is $1,500 and for that you get a Reagan-era two-seater that's in pieces and has a seized engine.
Bonus, since it spent most of its life in Arizona, there's no rust, but the interior is sun baked or bleached to oblivion. Comes with another interior and whole bunch of other parts, a running engine is not part of the booty. Their loss, your gain! Message below if you're interested and I'll hook you up. I'm sure the seller is flexible on price.
Some say "EXP" stood for "experimental" while others say some Ford marketing wonks just liked the way E-X-P looked together. A 1981 Popular Mechanics article cited that it was an acronym for, "Erika Project Personal": E-for-European Escort, X-for project. Spotters will note the rims are not EXP's but Ford Contour alloys.
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