The Ford escort over the years, especially in North America, wore many different types of sheet-metal though all were aimed the compact market — which prior to 1981 Ford had for all intents and purposes ignored. Beginning in that model year, however Ford introduced what it called “the world car” for the benefit of its customers in North America.

The Escort had a very successful run of things, lasting through the end of the 2003 model year, when it was finally succeeded by its replacement, the Focus. Initially, the Escort was almost completely based off of a European model of the same name, though it was redesigned before introduction to the domestic market for the 1981 model year.

The Ford Escort was also the company’s first front-wheel-drive car, and it replaced Ford’s subcompact Pinto, which had been in production since 1971 and had been through several controversies which impacted sales of that model. In the 1980s, the Escort was one of Ford’s most successful models. In fact, it was so well-liked that it was the single best selling car in the United States by its second year and for most of the 1980s.

In total, three generations of the Escort was produced by Ford, with each model and body style being a qualitative improvement over its predecessor. Over the life of the vehicle a number of engines and transmissions were offered, including a little diesel engine of 52 horsepower and a high-performance powerplant the kicked out a healthy 120 horses and could propel the small Escort quite capably.

Over the course of the third, and last, generation (1997-2202), the engineers at Ford had put it all together, creating an admired small car that could put out nice performance using its four-cylinder engines and also show off relatively attractive sheet metal that appealed to a lot of customers.

Over the two-plus decades of the car’s life, the Escort appeared in a variety of body styles. There was a hatchback sporting what Ford called “three doors, ” and a station wagon model along with a couple of different performance sport coupes that first appeared on the scene back in 1998. The designers also kept up the car’s appearance, freshening and redesigning it over the years.

The Ford Escort filled a vital niche for the Dearborn Michigan automaker at its introduction in throughout over two decades of life. It’s allowed Ford to experiment with compact vehicles while also delivering healthy sales that The Ford nameplate out in front and in the minds of a great many consumers. For these reasons, the little compact Ford can’t be considered anything else but a success.

Andy Zain is the admin of Ford Escort Forum , a place where fans and owners can get the right information for tuning, customization and general discussions on anything about Ford Escort. Get the information you need when you visit Ford Forum