Lipstick on a Pig, or one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals

LIPSTICK ON A PIG

The more common the car the easier it is for it to go extinct before anybody notices. Think of the Passenger Pigeon being hunted to oblivion without any public outrage. Here's the final pigeon:

This is a 1992 Mercury Topaz in Cayman Blue Poly. I took these pictures because I was surprised to see one at all in 2017.

The Topaz is the twin sibling to the Ford Tempo. Both were built from 1984-1994 and picked up where the Fairmont and Zephyr left off. This is one baby step above the basic transportation of the Escort/Lynx. The full width front light bar is much like that of the larger Sable so you have to give it up for design continuity across different models.

YAWN.

This is a GS; the commonest Topaz. It is the mid-tier trim level with nothing remarkable about it. There were a few interesting variations including the GL-AWD which was all wheel drive, and the XR5 and LTS; both high performance versions with the former being a coupe and the latter a sedan.

If you have trouble sleeping here's a dealer training video of the 1990 Tempo.

This ride is similar to several smaller cars built around the same time that weren't quite as popular. The Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance look very much like the Topaz even though they come from a competing company.

The Ford Taurus is widely regarded as being a watershed, game changing design. It heralded the arrival of a bulbous, rounded shape in which the windows and doors were integrated seamlessly for a slippery drag coefficient. The Tempo/Topaz line shares many of those traits and is a transitional shape from the boxes of the '80s to the bubbles of the '90s.

I was feeling a bit too exposed to really press up against the glass but suffice it to say you're not missing much. 2 things are on display in this pic that are very much of the era; stereo and cruise control buttons being located on the steering wheel, and that automatic track-mounted shoulder belt. Anyone who's experienced the shoulder belt automatically trundling back until it pinches your neck hates it. Thankfully they disappeared when airbags were deemed standard equipment, but they reigned in some regard from 1975-1987, and on all new cars from 1990-1995.

Topaz the gemstone is one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals. The Topaz has a MOHS hardness of 8!

Oh yeah this little punk has been around. I was happy to see at least a little tape repair to liven things up. Being on the passengers front corner I'm gonna go ahead and blame the driver 100% for this one. Taking a corner a bit wide or not quite noticing how close the parked cars are can do this easily.

Well there you have it; an utterly forgotten luxury version of a car that might as well be called BASIC TRANSPORTATION.
Mercury as a brand is no longer with us in 2017, which is kind of a shame. From its beginnings before WWII through the 1970s Mercury built so many amazing cars. They were always a luxury offshoot of Ford but they even managed some unique and awesome muscle cars with the Cougar and Cyclone. By the time this little Topaz was sold new Mercury was relegated to only producing cars identical to Ford but with slightly better trim. Their last big hit was the Grand Marquis but the demographic buying them grew older and died off (if that sounds harsh I assure you that their own internal research found that this is how it went down!). In the very end a gussied-up Ford Explorer called the Mountaineer was the first called to the chopping block. Within a year all other Mercury products followed suit, bringing the 72 year old nameplate to a finish in 2011.

A car of tomorrow forgotten today

A CAR OF TOMORROW FORGOTTEN TODAY

"Ahead of its time" is a term offered as an excuse for any number of automotive flops. I once owned an Edsel which some people say was too ahead of its time. In reality the Edsel was aggressively futuristic but it was released into a now-forgotten mini recession market saturated with cars from the postwar shopping spree. The following car, while ahead of its time, was just too pricey and didn't quite have the doo-dads enthusiasts wanted. It was also too pricey. Regardless I was surprised to see one parked on the Carroll Gardens/Gowanus border recently:

This is a 1992 Subaru SVX in Pure White (as opposed to the also available Polar White).

In the background you can see the highest elevation subway station in the world. I realize this sounds like an oxymoron, but so did the notion of a high performance Subaru in these pre-Impreza and WRX days. Subaru was known for their quirky 4wd wagons, frumpy DL sedans and coupes, and bizarre BRAT in the '80s and early '90s. Seemingly out of nowhere came this exciting grand tourer.

The design of this ride came from the pen of Giorgetto Giugiaro who was responsible for such landmark vehicles as the DeLorean, Lotus Esprit, and VW Golf. That doesn't change the fact that this wrap-around window glass reminds me of the Ford Probe.

There's no secret code to break here folks - the SVX stands for Subaru Vehicle X. It was available with only one drivetrain option; a flat 6 cylinder mated to an automatic transmission. The engine was remarkably powerful and efficient but the lack of a manual transmission kept the SVX from being an immediate widespread success with the high-horsepower rally set.

 This example has been around a bit with scuffs and scrapes all over.

This ride was perhaps a bit too ambitious when it came out and sales were sluggish. To top it all off this car was no joke expensive at the time. They've always been scarce but now are truly rare. Like anything high performance and obscure the SVX now enjoys a cult following. Many owners elect to swap in a 5 speed manual to complete the sports cars they think Subaru only started.

*No matter high high tech your ride was when new you can expect to see jumper cables on the back seat when it hits 25 years of age,

Perhaps the most unique design feature is on display here with the window within a window treatment. Subaru bragged that it was airplane technology and helped immensely with the drag coefficient, etc, but the public thought it was weird. This car is the successor to the Subaru XT which was also an aerodynamic 2 door coupe. It was much more angular in design and looked like the rest of the Subaru lineup.

Over the span of 1991-1996 only 14,000+ were produced. At only 2,333 per year it can be a tough ride to track down. Some people do search them out as the performance was fast and tight, and you'll never be lost in the classic Japanese crowd. I'd like to drive one for a couple hours and give it back. Replacing parts on 25 year old computerized cars can be ruinous. Take a good look though as you might not see another!