I drove a Ford Probe last night

Kinja'd!!! "WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
11/21/2015 at 11:53 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 13

What a pain in the ass. And a piece of utter shit. I only drove it for maybe two minutes but good lord it was awful. It was one of the later more rounded models. Bad engine knock, kind of hard to judge and I have never driven a vehicle with pop up lights before so that was odd. I hope I never drive one again.


DISCUSSION (13)


Kinja'd!!! Urambo Tauro > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:11

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*Hope you never drive a poorly-maintained example of one again.

I can see how the headlamps would take some getting used to, though.


Kinja'd!!! Seat Safety Switch > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:12

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The first-gen turbo models definitely have their moments but Ford lost the plot really quickly after that. I’m pretty sure I’d rather have a root canal than drive a last-year V6 GT.


Kinja'd!!! Master Cylinder > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:17

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I mean, I’m not really here to defend the Probe, but a POS example of just about any car is going to be pretty miserable to drive.


Kinja'd!!! WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Urambo Tauro
11/21/2015 at 12:18

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Yeah, quite poorly maintained. Crack across the windshield, rough engine, transmission didn’t feel great, exhaust was pretty bad as well. Plus the fit and finish was worse than my cavalier. Super faded paint as well. My in laws are borrowing it, and the MIL needed me to turn it around in my driveway. I didn’t even take it on the road, but in a narrow driveway with a big dropoff, that was enough.


Kinja'd!!! WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Seat Safety Switch
11/21/2015 at 12:19

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This one was a 4cyl, and it sounded so anemic. Very cheap and rough.


Kinja'd!!! WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Master Cylinder
11/21/2015 at 12:21

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Yeah, but I don’t think I could even enjoy hooning this one. I think usually no matter how big a pos a car can be, you can find ways to make it fun but this one, I’m just not sure. But your point is fair.


Kinja'd!!! C62030 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:21

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If it was brown, that would really complete the image.


Kinja'd!!! WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > C62030
11/21/2015 at 12:23

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It was just about identical to this.

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Kinja'd!!! Seat Safety Switch > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:25

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Yeah, when it comes to Mazda-based Fords your quest should start and end with the Escort GT.


Kinja'd!!! Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 12:56

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Oof. Theyre actually great cars if treated well.

That is a good candidate for a KLZE swap, acutally, assuming the body hasnt rotted out.


Kinja'd!!! C62030 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/21/2015 at 18:48

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That is the straight-to-DVD movies of the car industry. Right after the Bentley Mulsanne, of course.


Kinja'd!!! BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/23/2015 at 20:26

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Not fair to judge a vehicle in such poor condition for anything other than it’s poor condition.

I had a 93 Probe GT V6 5-speed. Aside from the dynamics that all FWD cars share for torque steer, under-steer, and weight transfer away from the driven wheels... it was a very nice car. No RX7 or Z32, but good.

I still wish Ford would put the Focus RS drivetrain into a slick fastback coupe like that.

And pop-ups may be heavy and more complex with more moving parts to break... but they are still kind of cool, because cars with actively moving body parts are kinda cool.


Kinja'd!!! Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/24/2015 at 15:44

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I drove a first generation turbo and I loved it, but I was 17 years old so I was jaded. Then my mom bought a 1992 Mazda MX-6 with the 2.3L 3 valve motor and it turned out to be a fantastic car.