Who remembers the Ford Simulator?

"505Turbeaux" (505turbeaux)
12/29/2014 at 15:31 • Filed to: None

Seeing any Merkur post around here automatically brings me back to 1987, and running the Ford Simulator as my go to driving game on the PC. I remember almost every car to be a slug except for the XR4TI, so I used to drive in that. For those of us a little too young to remember this, here is a video of the game being played so you can see what it was like being a young gearhead in the 80's with a PC and some marketing swag from Ford

DISCUSSION (32)

HammerheadFistpunch > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:33

I remember that game. Man it was dull.

505Turbeaux > HammerheadFistpunch
12/29/2014 at 15:33

I had to play the video just to remember how totally uninspired the engine noises were

T5Killer > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:34

Kinja'd!!!

Was the LX Fox body a 5.0 or a 2.3?

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:35

Never heard of that.. but I DO remember Street Rod.

Kinja'd!!!

And The King drove a '63 Corvette.

505Turbeaux > T5Killer
12/29/2014 at 15:36

I think it was the 2.3 because my dad had one as a rental when he busted up his Fairmont and I remember him trying to flog it on a backroad. I went on the game to see if it was any better, and it wasn't

HammerheadFistpunch > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:40

its like being "Scanned"

T5Killer > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:44

Well in real life there was a 5.0 option on the LX (which on the later years of the Fox was cheaper vs the higher trims of Escort) but I meant in the game. Honestly I have been thinking of ditching my subaru legacy for a 2.3 LX just because I know the platform and work is easier/cheaper.

ACESandEIGHTS > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/29/2014 at 15:46

This was a great game. After you beat the King once your tires were half bald and you had to race his ass _again_.

Tense moments in video game land.

Kanaric > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:46

ugh, i remember this. probably logged about 5 minutes in it before i never touched it again.

505Turbeaux > T5Killer
12/29/2014 at 15:47

oh I know about the lx 5.0 for sure. LX notch 5.0 might be the only fox body save a Capri RS I would consider owning. But yeah in the game I am pretty sure that was the 2.3

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:48

Didn't have that one, but did have a Jeep one . On 5 1/4" with CGA graphics, natch.

ACESandEIGHTS > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:48

Yeah, sad thing is it was probably not even close to the best available PC game (IIRC this was within a year or so of the first Test Drive). But I drove it. Who didn't? Slim pickins on the old XT.

T5Killer > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 15:49

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Capri RS. That bubble hatch and flared rear fenders rock!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > ACESandEIGHTS
12/29/2014 at 15:50

Good times :) I think I was ten years old when I got that game for my C64, and I thought that there was NO WAY they could ever make a better racing game, two years later I got my hands on Crazy Cars III..

505Turbeaux > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/29/2014 at 15:51

I think Buick had one too IIRC. Nice setup :)

ACESandEIGHTS > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/29/2014 at 15:53

Don't remember Crazy Cars, but highlights of C64 racing were:

1) Electronic Arts' _Racing Destruction Set_

2) Test Drive

3) Street Rod

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > ACESandEIGHTS
12/29/2014 at 15:58

Ohh.. Test Drive :) And Stunt Car Racer.

Kinja'd!!!

ACESandEIGHTS > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/29/2014 at 16:34

Haha, nice screenshots. As if anyone needs to acknowledge how primitive these things were back in the 80s. I remember Stunt Car Racer had a Lancia Delta you could race. Probably fresh off the dominance of the Integrale. Sadly I couldn't play it much because it crashed constantly, owing to its illegitimate origin:

Stuntcarracer1.zip
Stuntcarracer2.zip
Stuntcarracer3.zip
Stuntcarracer4.zip

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > ACESandEIGHTS
12/29/2014 at 16:37

Hehe.. I've still got my C64 somewhere.. But it'd just look like shite on my 4k TV :P

Evil-B > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 16:38

Holy shit i'm old, i remember this

505Turbeaux > Evil-B
12/29/2014 at 16:39

lol gee thanks

Evil-B > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 16:40

LOL, sorry.

505Turbeaux > Evil-B
12/29/2014 at 16:45

I know it is the truth though

Twism > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/29/2014 at 16:49

This was one the best (and only) driving game of the era.

The second one was even better:

Kinja'd!!!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Twism
12/29/2014 at 16:53

Indeed :) I still have the disks for Street Rod 2 somewhere actually.

Twism > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/29/2014 at 17:01

And now to find a computer with a floppy drive...

that or download it and emulate it via DosBox.

Tohru > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 17:04

my dad was working at a Ford dealer when it came out, so I got it for free. It was a neat change of pace from Outrun, Cycles, Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, and Test Drive: The Duel. Wasn't as much fun as Stunt Driver though, and then when Backroad Racers came out I never played it again.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Twism
12/29/2014 at 17:05

I've got a computer here with TWO floppy drives, a 5¼" and a 3½" ;) I'm a nerd yo :P

NoRotorNoLove > 505Turbeaux
12/29/2014 at 18:32

Could anybody find this online? Too young to remember this, but would love to try it.

505Turbeaux > NoRotorNoLove
12/30/2014 at 08:28

http://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-ford-…

just be sure you click the blue download link at the center of the screen, the rest are ads and crappy downloads.

NoRotorNoLove > 505Turbeaux
12/30/2014 at 10:13

Thanks!

theuserformerlyknownasaluminumfoil > Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
12/30/2014 at 11:31

This game really started my love for the Audi Quattro Coupe and the Lancia Delta Integrale.