Another wonderful video. Love it when you focus on a European car. And your take on the late 70s / early 80s UK car industry is spot on. The use of footage from Keeping Up Appearances was a true delight. Thank you so much Tofer ❤️
Thank you sir! I love your aesthetic Being a child in Texas growing up in the 80s Gen X all the way! Was a total car NUT … I had all the brochures would study them like my life depended on it 😆 I got the best sense of nostalgia, watching this video Thank you ❤
Excellent video! There were so many on the roads here in South Africa when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. Built locally in sizes from 1.3L up to the 5.0L Mustang sourced Sierra XR-8
Having owned one of these (a 2.0 station wagon) i can tell they were a nightmare in any type of crosswind, but the comfort was great. Having also owned a european Granada 2.8 i can say the aero could be felt A LOT when it was windy. The Granada felt just like the brick it was, while the Sierra tackled headwinds like there were none. I liked those old Fords. 👍🏼 Perhaps that's why i'm so fond of my Grand Marquis 🫣
5:34 i love old Sierra games. My favorite series was the police quest series. I remember one of the funniest moments was giving the drunk driver in police quest 3 a sobriety test only to have him puke on your shoes 😂😂😂
You are still doing a great job with your videos. The footage was excellent and how you conveyed the information was interesting. I am still watching. The John Davis comment was funny.
@@TofersCarTales Tofer, you always deliver and never disappoint. Incredible details with the most amazing images. I truly appreciate the work you put in to showcase this important piece of automotive history. my hat goes off to you my friend 😊
Great video Tofer! Graphics and images are super. I can still remember when this car came to market, I was 10 years old. It was a revolution! 😀 I understand you have based the story mainly on UK market but the 3 door Sierra was available here in the Netherlands for the whole of the production run. In other European countries too, no doubt. 11:55 this is not an xr4i but an RS I believe. Xr4i had split rear side windows and double spoiler, as well as alloy wheels, exactly as the Merkur.
When I was young I wanted a Dodge Shelby OMNI GLH-S (Goes Like Hell S'more) and a 1988 Shadow Shelby CSX-T also deserve a video. I always liked thr Chiseler K car and variants as well. You need to do one on the 1984-1987 Dodge OMNI GLH GLH-T GLH-T and its Charger twin. A lot of car enthusiasts dint know these models exist even the twin Chrysler Lazer (1984-1986) Daytona as well.
When the Sierra was launched in the UK it was criticised for being 'just a Cortina' underneath the more exotic skin. FunFact: The MK5 Cortina, which the Sierra replaced, was reskinned again and became the first generation Hyundai Stellar. The Cortina was previously produced by Hyundai for the Korean market.
Actually yes the cortina was built in korea under license to Hyundai but that was a far older chassis. By no means upgraded in anyway to that of later model cortina's. In other words, Hyundai built their cars on a 1966 to 1970 tooling for a mark 2 cortina. Ford introduced the mark 3 in 76 and sold off its old mark2 tooling.
The most strange thing is that, even the ford sierra looked futuristic, its design never cought up until 1990 when all cars started to adapt the arero design. Most cars of the 1980s looked like mid 70s boxy cars.
Excellent recitation of the good days of ford. The Merkur wasn’t marketed correctly. It should have been a Ford. Aerodynamic styling gave us the Taurus, the Probe and to a lesser extent, the tempo. How sad that Ford now has pretty much given up on cars for SUV and EV.
The Mercur should have been marketed as the German Ford Taunus. Calling it a Mercur and putting it in Mercury showrooms confused the hell out of everyone.
They should've simply called it the Ford Cosworth or the Ford Cosworth Sport and marketed it as "A Muscle Car For The Family" by calling back to the glory days of the torino super snake and the mustang cobra (which perspective buyers would definitely remember from their youth).
@@Hammerhead547 Ford was trying to compete with Audi, BMW and Mercedes so I don't know if that would have worked. In the 50's, they sold "English Ford" at Lincoln Mercury dealers, and in the 60's, at Ford dealers. They should have pushed the German Ford connection more.
I remember Sierra in 80’s when Dick Johnson Racing race against local Holden V8 n world performance cars. I was asking where Falcon but DJR just kept pushing red Sierra for next few years. Been into motorsport with local V8 Supercars I remember out cry from Japanese Godzilla R32 but I always wonder what Leyland P76 could have been.
The reason they didn't is because it wasn't a newly developed car, the Sierra was a reskinned Ford Cortina, exotic on the outside, 1976 Cortina underneath hence the rear-wheel drive.
Ok Topher.... I think we're goin' a little off the rails... this one was VERY light on detail and history... and minutes and minutes of "advertising word salad" and life affirming statements and philisophy. PS- did you ever get a new job?
I've always thought that the XR4T-I would've had a much better shot at being successful in north america if ford had simply sold it as the Ford Cosworth and had the XR4T-i be its top line model, maybe even do a tie up with carrol shelby and build a cobra version or have the folks at ford's SVO division get their hands dirty spicing it up a bit. They could've even marketed it as "The Mustang For Grown Ups" or "A Muscle Car For The Family". Giving it a confusing brand name that was hard to pronounce and an alphnumeric model line that was probably just as confusing to perspective buyers didn't just make it a hard sell, it also made it unpalatable to the public at large.
Your comments about American cars in Europe and UK in particular, the 1980's was not the beginning.. Maybe the beginning of the end? Throughout the 70's the Ford was king in the UK and the by far the largest automaker in Europe. By late 1980's and 1990's Renault would battle Ford for dominance but by late 1990's VW would be king.
Thanks for your support and please do consider becoming a supporter of my efforts... www.patreon.com/TofersCarTales
I love that video of the older couple dancing all out of control with the crowd forming a circle around them. Priceless.
When this & the Scorpio hit the market,. I couldn't believe how futuristic they looked. Really brings back my childhood
I came to own a Merkur Scorpio. A truly gorgeous car. Inside and out!
Awesome video, touchingly personal and yet objectively brilliant.
Great job, Tofer!
Thanks for sharing another very cool video!!! 👍👍😎
Another wonderful video. Love it when you focus on a European car. And your take on the late 70s / early 80s UK car industry is spot on. The use of footage from Keeping Up Appearances was a true delight. Thank you so much Tofer ❤️
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you sir!
I love your aesthetic
Being a child in Texas growing up in the 80s Gen X all the way!
Was a total car NUT … I had all the brochures would study them like my life depended on it 😆
I got the best sense of nostalgia, watching this video
Thank you ❤
Brilliant! Much appreciated Tofer, as always.
Excellent video! There were so many on the roads here in South Africa when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. Built locally in sizes from 1.3L up to the 5.0L Mustang sourced Sierra XR-8
Having owned one of these (a 2.0 station wagon) i can tell they were a nightmare in any type of crosswind, but the comfort was great.
Having also owned a european Granada 2.8 i can say the aero could be felt A LOT when it was windy. The Granada felt just like the brick it was, while the Sierra tackled headwinds like there were none.
I liked those old Fords. 👍🏼
Perhaps that's why i'm so fond of my Grand Marquis 🫣
Those were very interesting and beautiful design !
My dad back in the day owned a 1981 Ford Taunus Guia 2.3 and a 1985 sierra Ghia 2.3 in Argentina .
I still want one.
Cool, I remember these. I like them.😀
5:34 i love old Sierra games. My favorite series was the police quest series. I remember one of the funniest moments was giving the drunk driver in police quest 3 a sobriety test only to have him puke on your shoes 😂😂😂
My new favorite Tofer Masterpiece. As usual I will share with the Merkur community. Thanks for continuing to express your passion for the automobile.
So worth the wait!!! another great video!! Thank you!!
You are still doing a great job with your videos. The footage was excellent and how you conveyed the information was interesting. I am still watching. The John Davis comment was funny.
Hello!!! Watching now 🤩
Of all the folks that support my efforts, this one I most hope you in particular enjoy.
@@TofersCarTales Tofer, you always deliver and never disappoint. Incredible details with the most amazing images. I truly appreciate the work you put in to showcase this important piece of automotive history. my hat goes off to you my friend 😊
Your approval of this video provides me with the ultimate peace I did the Sierra/XR4Ti justice. Thanks so much for the amazing feedback.
Great video Tofer! Graphics and images are super. I can still remember when this car came to market, I was 10 years old. It was a revolution! 😀
I understand you have based the story mainly on UK market but the 3 door Sierra was available here in the Netherlands for the whole of the production run. In other European countries too, no doubt.
11:55 this is not an xr4i but an RS I believe. Xr4i had split rear side windows and double spoiler, as well as alloy wheels, exactly as the Merkur.
When I was young I wanted a Dodge Shelby OMNI GLH-S (Goes Like Hell S'more) and a 1988 Shadow Shelby CSX-T also deserve a video. I always liked thr Chiseler K car and variants as well. You need to do one on the 1984-1987 Dodge OMNI GLH GLH-T GLH-T and its Charger twin. A lot of car enthusiasts dint know these models exist even the twin Chrysler Lazer (1984-1986) Daytona as well.
When the Sierra was launched in the UK it was criticised for being 'just a Cortina' underneath the more exotic skin. FunFact: The MK5 Cortina, which the Sierra replaced, was reskinned again and became the first generation Hyundai Stellar. The Cortina was previously produced by Hyundai for the Korean market.
Actually yes the cortina was built in korea under license to Hyundai but that was a far older chassis. By no means upgraded in anyway to that of later model cortina's. In other words, Hyundai built their cars on a 1966 to 1970 tooling for a mark 2 cortina.
Ford introduced the mark 3 in 76 and sold off its old mark2 tooling.
Mk3 Cortina was launched in 1970.@@foreverinteriors
yay 1:00 William Woollard, longtime Top Gear presenter, also some Drive-In video in there too.
This car was the original Taurus. Although the front drive Taurus has disappeared into obscurity this two and four door car lives on.
best music all of youtube
In South Africa these were for sale with a V8.
Yup, I have seen a few. XR-8 with the 5.0 Mustang engine.
The most strange thing is that, even the ford sierra looked futuristic, its design never cought up until 1990 when all cars started to adapt the arero design. Most cars of the 1980s looked like mid 70s boxy cars.
You can tell this had a heavy influence on the styling of the Tempo and Taurus.
Excellent recitation of the good days of ford. The Merkur wasn’t marketed correctly. It should have been a Ford. Aerodynamic styling gave us the Taurus, the Probe and to a lesser extent, the tempo. How sad that Ford now has pretty much given up on cars for SUV and EV.
The Mercur should have been marketed as the German Ford Taunus. Calling it a Mercur and putting it in Mercury showrooms confused the hell out of everyone.
They should've simply called it the Ford Cosworth or the Ford Cosworth Sport and marketed it as "A Muscle Car For The Family" by calling back to the glory days of the torino super snake and the mustang cobra (which perspective buyers would definitely remember from their youth).
@@Hammerhead547 Ford was trying to compete with Audi, BMW and Mercedes so I don't know if that would have worked.
In the 50's, they sold "English Ford" at Lincoln Mercury dealers, and in the 60's, at Ford dealers. They should have pushed the German Ford connection more.
@@Hammerhead547 except an XR4 Ti and Sierra Cosworth are not the same car
I remember Sierra in 80’s when Dick Johnson Racing race against local Holden V8 n world performance cars. I was asking where Falcon but DJR just kept pushing red Sierra for next few years. Been into motorsport with local V8 Supercars I remember out cry from Japanese Godzilla R32 but I always wonder what Leyland P76 could have been.
The biggest flaw of early Sierra (speaking of style) was its front end. Should've been exactly like Probe III concept.
How about the Old Mercury Mercury Scorpio 🏁🏁🏁
They should have given the Sierra front wheel drive like the Taurus, that would have been something.
The reason they didn't is because it wasn't a newly developed car, the Sierra was a reskinned Ford Cortina, exotic on the outside, 1976 Cortina underneath hence the rear-wheel drive.
@@dcanmore the only carrry over parts are the engines the chassis are totally different.
Did you ever buy an Xr4Ti?
Ok Topher.... I think we're goin' a little off the rails... this one was VERY light on detail and history... and minutes and minutes of "advertising word salad" and life affirming statements and philisophy. PS- did you ever get a new job?
I've always thought that the XR4T-I would've had a much better shot at being successful in north america if ford had simply sold it as the Ford Cosworth and had the XR4T-i be its top line model, maybe even do a tie up with carrol shelby and build a cobra version or have the folks at ford's SVO division get their hands dirty spicing it up a bit.
They could've even marketed it as "The Mustang For Grown Ups" or "A Muscle Car For The Family".
Giving it a confusing brand name that was hard to pronounce and an alphnumeric model line that was probably just as confusing to perspective buyers didn't just make it a hard sell, it also made it unpalatable to the public at large.
7:55......eff off John!
My ultimate goal is to meet John Davis
Your comments about American cars in Europe and UK in particular, the 1980's was not the beginning.. Maybe the beginning of the end? Throughout the 70's the Ford was king in the UK and the by far the largest automaker in Europe. By late 1980's and 1990's Renault would battle Ford for dominance but by late 1990's VW would be king.