The Ford Sierra Story
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ย. 2019
- By the late 1970s Ford of Europe could do no wrong. Over 20 years they’d built up an unrivaled collection of popular small, medium and large cars. And with Ford’s unparalleled marketing muscle behind it, it’s easy to see why they were the sales leaders. But they were sent into a tailspin in 1982 with the Cortina’s successor.
Intro music: Manchester Dream from the TH-cam Audio Library
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#FordSierra #MerkurXR4Ti - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Erratum: Yeah, "Toni" isn't the name for mountain in Spanish. My Spanish isn't good, and I read the research for this incorrectly.
I think it is Los montanas.
@Big Car
You've been watching Techmoan and his puppets at the end of some of his videos? Why don't the two of you do a collaboration on the history of car electronics?!? Love your channel. In the USA we miss out on many interesting and GOOD cars, Ford and GM US don't want to promote the European division products because it took influence and sales away from the usually crappier domestic vehicles. The Ford Sierra was a GREAT car, as were the European spec Escorts, and Fiesta too. Sad we missed out for the most part and were stuck with lower quality and worse performing products.
En muchos sitios llaman a la parte alta de la montaña sierra en si me encanta este auto tengo uno del año 86 v6 2.8
Watershed44, as a detroit boy for 2/3 of my life fords were always inferior in every way compared to gm, Chrysler, an even amc back in the day.
@stratman 1966
Except the European models were usually much better than all US domestic models in comparison. Even back in 1966 the Capri MKl was far nicer (if not faster) than the US domestic Mustang. Handled better, rode better, interior better...everything better except for absolute quickness.
Life is strange: one minute you're busy on the production line in Dagenham making Sierras, 30 odd years later they're history stories on TH-cam.
"Strange"?
Straight!
Not really. That was 30 years ago!
They were also built here in Belgium (Genk plant)
@@giuseppelopresti3740 the cosworth (4x4)that won the GT championship was developed in belgium, regards
@@giuseppelopresti3740 assembled in lots of places
Nice one
I once hired a ford fiesta at Hertz in Manchester
On arrival at Hertz, they said sorry don't any fiestas left but we do have a ford sierra.
The result was I felt like the king of the road for a weekend.
Four words said it all: Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.
The greatest car of all time!
They're legendary, but I was always more partial to the Sierra Saphire... the sleeping monsta!
@@Nemoticon very truth. However, I am still sticking with the RS Cosworth.
If not because it is near impossible to get parts and support this side of the pond, I will definitely bring 1 in without a second thought.
@@kennycheung1743 No, lol... don't take them away from my country! We have precious few of them as it is, do'nt poach our british rhinos!!! xD
five words
I love the styling of this car, one of Ford's best imo....and the RS Cosworth takes it to another level!
Wish I still had my XR4i now, absolutely loved that car
"Toni" is just short for Antonio... Sierra is mountain range in Spanish... and saw.
and somewhere in spain there´s a ford factory i live near the spanish border in the south of Portugal ,180 km´s from sevilha as the cadillac seville, in the early 90´s i drove to madrid and lot´s of ford probes i saw, and an old man getting out of a red ford escort with no extras at all ,but notice the air grills on the bonnet ,when looking in the back it was a early 90´s RS2000 completly undressed, regards
One of my favourite Ford designs. Beautiful car, I wish I had one of these today.
Just traded my w211 mercedes for a clx sierra, and im really happy
Saludos desde Argentina. Aquí tuvimos el Ford Sierra desde 1984 a 1993. Rompió con todos los moldes y fue revolucionario . Llegué a tenér un XR4. Todavía lo extraño mucho 😭
Really enjoy these stories, as I grew up in the 80s as most of us did with these cars on the road , it's nice to now have a complete reference to the history of the vehicles that we all took for granted back in the day, just subscribed , keep them coming !
That's the reason I started doing these videos, because I was curious myself. Glad you like them!
As weird as it looks, I loved this car in my childhood because of it’s rounded and modern design.
Me too ...
The independent back suspenson was the best part of Sierra. And 5-speed gearbox.
I owned a Sierra 2.0l GL estate 1989 model from 95 to 03 and it took me my wife our 2 sons and 2 dogs all around the UK on holiday as well as 2 trips to northern France. Loads of space in the back comfortable and for such a big car the sohc (pinto) carb engine was reasonably economical. It never let me down and had covered 140,000m when it went to the scrap yard, only reason I scrapped it was no one wanted it even though it only had rust on one rear wheel, some bubbling on the bottom of the drivers door and tailgate.
Many good memories of family trips telling the boys to get back in their seats as they loved climbing in the load area and using it to play in as I drove along. 😊
At *last.* Thank you for creating this video. I owned three of these gorgeous cars when I was younger and miss them to this day.
Just a little correction, all standard cosworths, 3dr and sapphire, were rated at 204bhp, the power didnt get bumped up to 220 till the introduction of the 4 wheel drive sapphire cosworth in 1989. The limited edition rs500 had 224bhp but came with a stronger block, bigger t4 turbo, a bigger intercooler and 8 injectors so was capable of much more power when tuned. So there you go!
I had a (German-built) 1.8 Sapphire which definitely didn't have as much as 204bhp, although it was a lovely car to drive.
You've just got to love that Rover sd1 design.
Aye, herself inspired by the Ferrari Daytona :) .
Well they both stole design from the Ferrari Daytona, I preferred the Sierra XR4 hatchback, nothing beats a whale tail.
"Stole" being rather the overstatement, as no secret was made of their source of styling inspiration ;) .
(in contrast to Disney with The Lion King, where they just flat out lied)
@@jimtaylor294 fair point
@Bjorn in Gulf City. "Nothing beats a Whale Tail". Apart from a tight corner at speed!
I had an RS Turbo with Whale Tail & 1st corner I took at speed I nearly ended up on the opposite side verge. Too much downforce on rear & not much steering. Might have been better with a front splitter but I removed the Whale Tail 1st day I bought the car. Escort looked better without it imo.
I have always liked Ford Sierra, it was such a futuristic car back in 1982. Drove my driver's license with Ford Sierra sedan in 1992. I also have some Ford Sierra modelcars and toys from the 80's, for example the Matchbox white Sierra XR4i, Schabak 1/25 Ford Sierra sedan, etc. :)
I worked for Ford's Lincoln Mercury division when these vehicles showed up on US shores. The Merkur XR4-Ti (Ti stood for Turbocharged, Intercooled but NONE were Intercooled) Coupe' came first with a 2.3 Turbo 'Pinto' engine in late 1984 with 5 speed or C-5 Auto gearboxes. This was the only engine it ever had here. The early models had the double 'Whale Tail'. Quite a peppy vehicle. In 1987 the Sierra was sold here as the Merkur Scorpio with a VERY highly tuned 2.9 Cologne V-6. These cars were easily capable of cruising at 120 MPH+ and all had EEC-IV electronic controls.. As I remember, the Scorpios were recalled before they even got off the freighters for power door locks, Speedometers and radiators. The Aluminum radiators were a first ever seen on US shores and I sold all of my recalled radiators to fellows in North Carolina where they put them to work as condensers making illicit Whiskey. The driveshaft 'Gobbo/Guibo' joints all failed after time and parts were in short supply so many owners had one piece (Repairable) driveshafts made as the factory Universal Joints were non serviceable. We stopped importing them in 1990 or so as the Mercury Sable looked quite similar and could be has for much less money and exchange rates were changing. I always liked these fascinating cars.
This video was recommended for me even though I’ve already watched it. My dad has a Sierra. It was a D reg and he said it was a 2.0. It black with pepper pot alloys and the writing on the boot lid was red. They were stickers instead of badges. It had sport seats and a kind of rubbery spoiler. It was fast. The only one like it I had seen. His pal crashed it and that was it gone. But years later, on a coach back from a school trip in Glasgow, I could’ve sworn I saw it on the other side of the motorway. Same black D reg Sierra with a spoiler the wheels appeared the same colour. It was on the opposite carriage way obviously speeding so the wheel ms were really just a blur. I was gutted when it got crashed and had to go. My dad was the only one around where we lived. It was nice. First car that ever burned me when I touched it on a really hot day. I miss it. It’s been about 25 years and I still think about it.
Did you see it crashed? Maybe it hadn't been but your dad couldn't say that for some reason.
Awesome video! I've heard of the Ford Sierra. We got the Sierra in the USA. It was called the Merkur. The sporty version was called the XR4ti, whilst the 4 door liftback was called the Scorpio. Why neither sold well is beyond my understanding. But sadly, there have been many cars over the years that were cancelled after only a few years here.
The XR4ti and the Scorpio are based on two totally different vehicles.
The Scorpio was based on the Granada and was in a size class above the Sierra/XR4ti.
@@williamegler8771 The Granada was always called Scorpio in mainland Europe.
I owned a Scorpio. Great car.
It's explained why in the video.
I love the looks of the Sierra. The headlights and the crazy rear end are awesome!
I bought a brand new Ford Sierra XR4i it was a very fast car and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Great car and very reliable.
I'm British and I've had meetings with Americans that went exactly like that!
One of the most import cars Ford has made in the last 40 years.
Yes true, but the Focus was more important I think, it was even more radical, and Ford wasnt doing very well and The Focus really nailed it and was a huge financial succes.
Really enjoy your videos! I've been a car geek since I was about 8 and I vividly remember being absolutely dazzled by the sleek, futuristic design of the Ford Sierra when it was first released. They were so common on Dutch roads in the 80s that I had always assumed that the model was a huge sales success!
Completely agree with you on the sleek, futuristic styling...I thought they looked amazing inside and out!
I believe these were a sales success, they just never lived up to the sales numbers of its successor though.
An urgent warning to Australia 🤔
th-cam.com/video/ewb8fwtfMfw/w-d-xo.html
I so loved the styling of the Merkur XR4TI when it landed here in the US! It was my last car model I ever built, the most well done model I ever built, and I painted it in metallic sapphire blue.
zimbraben ...Somebody a few blocks away from me has three and a Capri. Around the block from him there’s another guy with two XR4ti’s . I always walk my dog over there just to look at the cars.
I have an 86 and an 89 xr4ti both fun cars to mess with. Almost free to keep these on the road.
My Dad had a Sierra 1.6 in 1987, a red company car, I thought it was great. My favourite feature of the car (to my early teen sensibilities) was the little joysick on the centre console for setting up the balance for the 4 speaker stereo, witchcraft! Never seen anyone else comment on this, was it only me that appreciated it I wonder? Great review, subbed.
Wow, memory unlocked!
@@JK_Clark Glad it wasn't just me then! 😁👍
Sierra's where absolutely fantastic car's decent to drive simple to service absolutely loved the few I owned many years ago, rust killed most unfortunately !
Man, I simply love you, what a strange feeling, I am surprised myself but this is just the right word in return for the pure perfection you craft here - a well balanced and the most reasonable tone of voice I have ever heard, such a fine reasoning and precise commentary. My students just learn how to [go speaking the King's" listening to you. A job constantly well done, sir!
I like your engaging style of delivery which is paced just right. Plenty of visual content too. Great work!
Cracking video as always, love them.
Great video, really enjoyed this. I had 3 Sierras and they were great cars.
You deserve more subscribers man. Really interesting and detailed videos on weird and cool cars, some of which I’ve never even heard of until now. Keep it up!
Great work on this Channel Mate - Was very pleased to see this new Sierra video in my feed . .
2.0is was by far most legendary model here in Finland outside of cossies. Oh and we had quirky tax special too known as stockmann turbo with turbocharged 1.6 ohc
Yes the "Cosser" was the one to have. I briefly had a diesel estate with the Peugeot engine, it was OK, slow but very spacious.
Thanks, very informative, I never realised there were so many variants.
Interestingly enough I have an MGB which I built using rear running gear from a Sierra, it uses the diff,shortened drive shafts, the hubs and discs, some of the later models had the rear disc brake assembly.
Wow - that's quite a frankencar!
Another amazing video, can’t get enough of these!
I had a 1992 1.8GLX in diamond white.
Bought it in 1998 and it was spotless. Sold it in 2000 to a friend who ran it for another four years and it was still spotless when he sold it.
Lovely car. With headlamp wipers! Fab.
Man, as I was watching this, I was thinking "Isn't this the boy racer car?" - glad you mentioned that!
Never liked the Jellymould hatchback but I did think the Sapphire saloons were pretty stylish 👌
I never loved the sedan version .
Love all these 1980s era Ford Stories, amazing how long the time period was back then, between early development & launch.
Excellent video. The Sierra was my first car and I loved it. Thank you so much for making this.
Was that comedy or documentary? I wouldn't be surprised if the meeting went exactly like that!
Fun Fact 1: The Isuzu Piazza was sold in Australia as the Holden Piazza! It was a sales disaster!
Fun Fact 2: Even though the Ford Sierra was never sold by Ford Australia, because we had the Ford Telstar (rebadged Mazda 626) and the larger Ford Falcon, the Sierra Cosworth was used in Australia's ATCC (Australian Touring Car Championship) in the mid to late 80's and early 90's and was very successful!
Thanks for another great video! I'm really enjoying them!
Thanks. I'm doing the Mondeo script right now. Any good Aussie facts for that one?
I had an Australian mondeo as a company car in the mid 90s from what I can remember it had a very good chassis handled really well when pushed into corners well balanced one thing that used to annoy me was the indicator stalk was on the left side and wipers on the right. It was a bit of a sales flop in Australia mainly due to it being smaller than the Toyota Camry and mitsubishi magna competition and not being available with the v6. The ford Telstar it replaced a rebadged Mazda 626 was a top seller here and the Mazda 323 based ford laser was a top seller as well the focus replaced that and was a flop as well the angular styling didn't help in this as the Australian built AU falcon had similar styling and that was a disaster for ford in Australia which they never recovered from
@FuckILoveYouTubby I'm not sure of the regulations back then, but considering only 500 RS Cosworths were built in the world, all of them in RHD for the UK market, I don't think it was part of the regulations back then. The Ford Sierra was never sold in Australia, in any form, but it was in New Zealand, where it sold very well, especially the wagon/estate bodystyle.
@@BigCar2 The Mondeo story is very boring in Australia, as 'Medium size' cars have never really been big sellers here, well if you don't count the Toyota Camry and the Mitsubishi Magna! The larger Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore were the default buys for most Australian families for decades.
While the Ford Cortina and Ford Telstar were consistent Top 10 sellers in Australia, usually around number 8 or 9, the Mondeo only ever reached the Top 10 sellers list twice from my records and even then it's highest ranking was number 9, back in 1996.
The Mondeo was launched in Australia in 1995, dropped in 2000 due to low sales and was then re-introduced in 2007.
Ford Australia sold the Mk1, Mk2, Mk4 and currently the Mk5 Mondeo. The Mk3 was never sold in Australia, but it was in New Zealand, because sales of 'Medium size' cars in Australia at that time had declined rapidly and the business case to import the Mk3 Mondeo to Australia was scrapped after it was said that it would've been more expensive to sell in Australia compared to the larger Australian built Ford Falcon. All Australian spec Mondeos were imported from the Genk plant in Belgium until 2014, when imports switched to the Valencia plant in Spain.
We did have one unique naming Mondeo in Australia in the Mk4, the Mondeo XR5 Turbo, which had the 2.5L 5cyl turbo engine. Ford Australia was using the 'XR' naming with it's 'sporty models at the time, so we also had the Fiesta XR4 (Fiesta ST), Focus XR5 Turbo (Focus ST), Mondeo XR5 Turbo, Falcon XR6, Falcon XR6 Turbo and Falcon XR8.
@@splurjioaarmani3205 Yes, it's strange how the Ford Laser (Mazda 323) and Ford Telstar (Mazda 626), sold much better in Australia than the Euro Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo. Another factor could've been the fact the Ford Laser and Ford Telstar were built in Australia compared to the imported Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo. The Ford Festiva (Mazda 121/Kia Pride) also sold better than the Euro Ford Fiesta in Australia too!
When I was younger I always saw these cars and just Loved them
Really enjoy your videos. Fantastic trip down memory lane. Thanks for posting this. I hope you do some more.
I will!
The base first version's front end looks really lame, gotta be honest. But the ones with the larger headlights and then the facelifted cars always looked cool to me (even the Sapphire). And really, the car did not look outdated up until the late 90s which is actually pretty incredible.
Yah. Only got better as they adjusted.
I drove my 89 estate until 2015,16 years,although there was not much of the original car left by then and only 200 left on the road.
@@adeladd7638 i still have my 89 3door. Parked for last 10 years though.
Love the Spectrum shirt - very 80s. And cool.
Superb video I could listen to you all day
Brilliant video & good memories from those archives of our 4 Sierras (B, D, F & H-regs),
These MerKur XR4TI was fun to drive and cheap to fix
Yeah but they were always broken. My grandfather’s nearly qualified as a lemon under Texas state law and the dealership acknowledged each complaint by stating “Yeah, they all do that”. That’s pretty much the reason they only lasted four years as a company.
They were kind of fun when they were running right, though. They would have been a lot more fun if they were fitted with a proper intercooler and the ECU was tuned for it.
There is also some less known facts you missed on the Sierra.
On the Continent they where so populair because Ford was agressive selling them as fleetcars .
There where problems with the driveshafts and rear brakes, mounted far into the 2nd year of production
Entire special goods trains full with several new parts drove across Europe so that at a regular service interval at the dealerships they could mount new parts.
This was not a cheap for Ford, a Ford mechanic told me that in those days there was 1 sierra who had 5 times the parts replaced. On average it was 3 times.
Later Ford over engineered it so wel that the drive trains of a Sierra is often used in a second life on a kitcar!
Nostalgia for me. I used to own a Sierra 5 Door hatch back, 1.8 GL. thanks for upload.
great as always thank you
Toni does not mean mountain range in spanish. Sierra does though 🤦♂️
When is the Ford Escort Story coming??
Let's hope it'll be very soon. But there's a big question if it's worth describing both Escorts (Europe/USA) in one video.
Mondeo first. Yes, the Escort is going to be a long story (the Mondeo is already my longest), and both the US and EU versions need to be covered. Not sure when I'll do the Escort though. I've been doing a lot of Ford's lately and want a change.
@@BigCar2 I'd love you to do the Fiat Panda!
@@BigCar2 I can't wait to see both videos. I'm a child of the '80s so thanks for the memories. This is a great video, a sure reminder that, as awesome as they all are indeed, most Sierras were actually produced without XR4 or RS Cosworth badges and bi-wings attached to their tailgate lids. Fantastic video series, keep them coming! Looking forward to the Mondeo one. Please include a Citrine Yellow 2.0 Si if you can. Love these.
@@owensteele1274 I'm looking forward to them as well, now all I've got to do is make 'em!
Loved my '85 Sierra 2.0 GL, had a nice RS spoiler on the back, and it was one of the finest cars i ever had.
Absolutely loved Sierras... had two and they were brilliant. Really enjoyed this video....except for the ads!
The Ford Sierra was a great car, roomy enough for 5 (especially in 5 door form), aerodynamically good, and practical, economical and well made.
I personally would have kept this in production and improved on it further giving it all the updates it needed over its life.
The Ford Sierra had a lot to give for all it's worth and it delivered in spades.
it was horrible in crash test !
@@peterc2373 I would make it better in that instance and fit airbags, collapsible pedals to avoid injury, put in crash members, side impact protection, collapsible steering column etc to make it safe.
@@anthonyperkins7556 what are crash members?
@@anthonyperkins7556 collapsible pedals?? How would they work in theory?
you just trying to sound like you know car safety but really you're clue less.
And pls try to explain what are "crash members" …..
@@shazash1 crash members collapse in such a way that they send the energy around you than transmit the forces onto you and your passengers, and Vauxhall used collapsible pedals that turn away from the feet legs and thighs to protect ankles legs and thighs than rise up and backward in a frontal impact causing serious injuries duhh!
10 print “I love rear wheel drive Fords”
20 goto 10
Run
Oh yeah... the mighty Sinclair ZX Spectrum!
BASIC.
Mate, this is all great! Keep making videos!
Being born in the mid 80s, I first started to notice cars at the point where the Sierra was everywhere, and wasn't all that special. I still struggle with the notion than its styling was too radical for many. Kids eh?!
I prefer the MK1 head- and taillights for the Sierra.
Looked even meaner with the Cosy grill i had on my first XR4X4 Garret
The first time I saw a Sierra I promptly hit it with my bus , the driver had hired it and said his brakes locked up And couldn't stop , overshooting the bend in front of me , I often wonder if back in 1982 I was the first to hit one , if not I must have been one of the first.
Bet you were the first to hit one with a bus :)
@@andycleary6209 hey yea Andy ! Never thought of that haha.
The XR4X4 was so good to belt around the countryside on the emergency driving course. Such fun. Always had a soft spot for the Sierra. Great to hear the story here :)
My Dad had a white 2 litre Sierra when I was little, great sounding car, he upgraded to a Mondeo later and got my mum an Escort in the 90's. I always love ford for that reason.
An old colleague of mine who is ex-old-bill said that the force hasn't had a better car since the Sierra!
Have heard similar things about the SD1, rather fittingly considering the passing similarity in style and being a fastback as standard.
The Senator says "hi"
Exactly Vauxhall Senator 24v was above anything Ford Sold.
Depends whom one asks, as different police forces had different combinations of the three cars (+ others).
The SD1 and Capri get the most mention online though.
My dad had a Sierra Mk2 Station Diesel and it was his best and most reliable car he ever owned.
Every day I miss my NZ market 89 RS Sapphire Cossie 2wd in white. Biggest regret I've made selling that. Would love that back and a late model 4x4 Ghia wagon V6.. hell yes
Ford Sierra was treated unfair.
Not at all. I worked for at car rental company when it came out.
The car was horrible.
If the Ford Taunus (Cortina) lost the rear wheels in a curve, the Sierra would loose all four wheels.
The turn signals would drop out of the bumbers.
The inside door panels would break.
The windows would fall down.
The part covering the trunk would break.
The car would break if windshield was broken and the car was lifted with the front doors open.
The second gear was too high to go around corners. We would have salesmen, who had been given the car as a company car, come over to us and as us to test drive it, because they didn't get along with the second gear around corners.
What a horror to think that the gas tank was located way back behind the rear bumper. You could pull the bumper off, if you were strong enough.
The XR4 was an embarassing joke with the giant fiberglass wing. which would rattle when you close the trunk.
@@KoldingDenmark the taunus is one model up the cortina ,taunus become sierra cortina maybe orion like granada become scorpio, i had both 70´s cortina and taunus from the same year ,sold the cortina ,the taunus was a better car, regards
@Hea Kommenteerija the first model was for the time a modern design a good looking car, but litle after they changed the design of the front ,the dash looked a bit like the bmw´s from the same era, the central part was a bit turned to the driver
@Hea Kommenteerija what don´t you know i´m talking about? regards
@Hea Kommenteerija i might have written something answering another coment ,but where did i said something bad about the sierra,regards
I love the Sierra RS cosworth!
Ardhana Hariwidagdo , and so did batman
Been waiting for a new video from ya lad!
Great content, I worked at a ford dealership in the 70's & 80's & remembered the Sierra launch including the chocolate " jelly mold " cars
In South Africa the Sierra XR8 was made especially famous in the early 80's by a gang of bank robbers (the Stander gang) which used one as their getaway car.
Sorry, a bright yellow Cortina XR6 Interceptor. The same colour as the South African police cars of the time.
in actual fact it was a white cortina xr6 used, confirmed by allan heyl, member of the stander gang, who was recently released from prison.
@@africankat1 Thanks, I stand corrected!
Unlike in Britain where the Vauxhall Calibra was ram raid car of the year.
@morton christie Thanks Morton for clearing that up!
I assume you don't hang that Spectrum t-shirt next to your BBC Micro one, there'd be a hell of a punch up in your wardrobe. Quality content as per.
😃 They need to be in separate rooms!
I had a 1989 1.8 lx and my dad had a 1992 XR4 x4. Both 5 door hatchbacks. Loved them both, wish we still had them.
Well presented as always. Vintage cars and computers. I noticed the Sinclair Spectrum ZX t-shirt. The shelving unit backdrop is interesting as well. Thanks
End of production parts bins is Fords way with all models. Maybe other manufactures too.
For Skoda and SEAT they build their cars out of other people's (VW's) spares ;)
Great video! The Sierra was my absolute favorite car when i was a kid, unfortunately my dad couldn't afford it and so we had an Escort instead. Also a great car.
Suggestion for a future video: the story of the Skoda Favorit/Felicia.
Thanks for the suggestion. That’s on the list to do!
lol the Favorit was the first car I had!
Great insight and some lovely images 👍👍
Happy New Year!!!....I love your vids!!
Good video, but with two errors though:
1. The layout's called Fastback, which ironically originated as a compromise between booted - but thus less adaptable - Saloons and roomier - but what were thought parental / utilitarian & thus boring - Estates. Unlike with the SD1 - and arguably the Hillman Imp - the Sierra had a rather more useful fully opening tailgate, instead of a 'Liftback' hatch.
2. The claim about being first to introduce annoying promps is misplaced.
Seatbelt Warning was a standard feature of the Austin Princess, years before the Sierra was designed.
(BL technically didn't need such a feature at the time though, because seatbelt use wasn't a legal requirement in the 1970's)
Liftback and fastback are just forms of hatchback. Stop being pedantic!
I'll be as pedantic as I please 3:) .
That; and no, not all fastbacks are liftbacks, which was the case with the Sierra, thus relevant to the video :) .
(and to drivers, whom could get goods in/out more easily as a result)
I'm also just pointing out what us motor vehicle technicians have drummed into us on training courses :p .
Pretty sure Volvo were (as with most things safety-related) the first to introduce seatbelt warnings on their 1975 240. I have an '82 model, which has two flashing, clicking red lights, front and back, to remind you (as well as illumination in the seatbelt sockets to make double sure you can find them at night!)
@@rich_edwards79 An interesting point. The Austin/Morris Princess was introduced in March 1975, which makes them interestingly concurrent in said development.
The Volvo system had more obvious utility though, considering the harsh skandinavian weather / road conditions.
The Sierra's problem was that it was too ahead of its time. Just look at the MK3 Cavalier that it struggled to compete with towards the end of its production run.....the same "jelly mould" styling ethos as the Sierra.
Rob McSorley true, the Cavalier sucks !
I well remember my Ford Sierra 1.6L - the gear knob came off in your hand (especially on hot sticky days) and when you went round a roundabout the passenger door would fly open if you didn’t lean over and grab the interior door handle :) they don’t build em like that anymore :)
Brilliant videos thank you for sharing, fascinating 🧐
I find something appealing in Ford Sierra. Would buy one for the collection...If I had one.
It was a heap of junk.
South Yorks. Police dismissed it as a police vehicle because it was in their words: ''Unstable at high speeds''. Early versions suffered from crosswind stability problems, which were addressed in 1985 with the addition of "strakes" (small spoilers), on the rear edge of the rubber seals of the rear-most side windows. These shortcomings saw a lot of press attention, and contributed to early slow sales.
Additionally, earlier models used the 1.6- and 2-litre versions of the Pinto engine (as used in the Ford Cortina) paired with a four-speed manual gearbox.
It was a rebodied Cortina which was another hateful car.
I owned 2 sierras.
Remember our local Ford dealer had a blue and white striped marquee for the Sierra release and heavily guarded till the release date but I sneaked in there and was shocked at the time at this futuristic car which I grew to love. I might be wrong but think this was the shape of future cars.
my dad had the sierra ghia.. loved it.. wee digital screen with a car and doors open light
My mate had a sapphire RS Cosworth which I think is the fastest car I’ve ever been in
LOL. I had some good laughs with this one. The Merkur was a rather unfortunate choice for a model name. Firstly, it was sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers, but the name looked like someone from Mercury made the name badge after a night long drunk. If it was a Mercury, why the weird spelling? It looked like some kind of mistake. It was also the name of a fairly well known ghost town in Utah, a rather unfortunate choice for a car model. Lincoln-Mercury dealers had their arms twisted to add the Merkur line to their dealership, including a small sign at the far end of the parking lot, and a single Merkur was usually displayed in a dusty corner of the showroom, behind a stack of brochures for better selling Mercurys. The XR4Ti model name didn't exactly roll off the tongue, and the rear wheel drive/rear drums combination was a disappointment for what was supposed to be a European car. The engine was an old design, and the turbo didn't have an intercooler.
Ford had the misfortune to introduce the Merkur just when the inflation rate was beginning to ramp up again from its 1980/81 highs, going from 1.9% at its 1986 introduction to 5.5% by the time it was discontinued in 1989. The German Mark was becoming the preferred global currency, and the exchange rate was raising the price of the car even as Ford added no new equipment. Things like power windows and locks, power brakes, and a moonroof remained extra cost options at a time they were becoming standard in other cars, especially ones like the new Acura Integra lineup of 1989. The price kept rising, and the XR4Ti became less competitive. Mercury dealers, seeing the Merkur as a car that didn't fit into their lineup, did very little to promote it, especially at the XR4Ti price rose to about what you'd pay for a standard Lincoln Continental with much better standard equipment.
I had the chance ot drive the 1989 version for a couple days. It wasn't a bad car. Fit and finish were good, the weird bi-plane spoiler and telephone dial alloys were gone, and it was a pleasant looking car. It was fast enough, although less than I expected for a turbo model. Gas mileage for what in the US was a small car wasn't good, about 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg city. It was one of those cars that really didn't have any outstandingly bad features, but also didn't have any outstandingly good features. It was just the wrong car being sold under a wrong brand, and at too high a price. It did sell about 20,000 more copies that the US version of the Cortina, but Ford saw the writing on the wall, the last few XR4Ti's being sold in 1990.
It's simple, Ford US took one of the best cars you could buy, promptly changed the drivetrain to a US Lima 2.3, removed the discs and fitted drums and basically ruined it. They simply should have just sold the Sierra in the US.
@@Flying_GC What? The Merkur had the same front disks, power assisted here, as the European model. The engine was changed to the turbocharged four because it was the same engine used in the Mustang and Thunderbird, so economies of scale improved the pricing. Importing the German engine with the very negative dollar/mark value would have raised the price even further. The US four had fuel injection while the european version was still carbureted. The US engine produce 150 hp while the German model produced only produced 74 hp, not rising to 150 hp until it finally got a turbocharged fuel injected engine of its own. The original XR4Ti was almost 3 seconds faster than than the German naturally aspirated engine and 12 mph faster at the top end. There was nothing basically wrong with the US Merkur car. What was wrong was muddleheaded marketing and dealers wanting to protect sales of the much more profitable Sable.
„Man & Mashine in perfect harmony“ is amazingly true. Love this car
One of my all time favorites ,and this car has a lot of history with me
Did any survive without the dashboard cracking ?
No
Could you do the Ford Escort next? :)
The next will be the Mondeo. But I'll do the Escort at some point. That's a LONG video!
@@BigCar2 Good to hear. I suppose the Escort does have quite a large history, with 5 generations.
I see you are replying to every comment, which is always a good sign ;).
I have owned a Ford Sierra for 10 years and it is already 35 years old. Greetings to Cologne from Siberia. Design on top! The repair is very thoughtful and simple.
I loved my Sierra XR6 3litre...the wonderful growl from the exhaust as I floored it between traffic lights, ah! to be young and carefree. Hi from South Africa
17 minutes of talking about the Sierra without one mention of the most significant feature: RUST! The Sierra was an utter rot bucket. The Cavalier was too, but at least it was a front wheel drive rot bucket.
Could've mentioned the Sapphire Cosworth, and Sapphire 4x4 Cosworth
I think it was badged XR4x4 .
@@shaunw9270 The XR4X4 was a four door hatchbatch with an N/A V6.
Different animal entirely.
@@PieAndChips Oh ok . You have a good memory !
I love this channel and have been intentionally staying away for a short while purely so I could come back and binge on the new videos! The Sierra, the Granada, loads to catch up on!! I have to say, I love the zx spectrum jumper too! I used to own a 128k when they first came out and will never forget the long, drawn out process of loading games! Lol. Kids don't realise how lucky they are today with these instant loading games! Lol. Cheers!
I'm glad you're enjoying them Terrance!
I love your videos. Currently working my way through them all.
Thanks Mark!