Ford Tempo
The Ford Tempo is a compact car that was manufactured by Ford from the 1984 to 1994 model years. The successor of the Ford Fairmont, the Tempo is the fourth generation of compact cars sold by Ford in North America, marking both its downsizing and adoption of front-wheel drive. Through its entire production, the Tempo was sold as a two-door coupe and four-door sedan; Lincoln-Mercury marketed the model line as its Mercury Topaz divisional counterpart.
Deriving its chassis underpinnings and powertrain from the Ford Escort, the Tempo marked the introduction of aerodynamic exterior designs for a Ford sedan line. First seen on European Ford Sierra hatchbacks and the 1983 redesign of the Ford Thunderbird coupe, the design language was advanced further with the introduction of the larger Ford Taurus. The first Ford car line to offer all-wheel drive as an option, the Tempo was also the first American automobile to offer a driver-side airbag as an option.
Produced across multiple facilities in North America, the Tempo/Topaz was produced in a single generation of two-doors; two generations of four-door sedans were produced. For the 1995 model year, the Tempo/Topaz four-door sedan was replaced by the Ford Contour, developed from the Ford Mondeo; the two-door Tempo was not directly replaced.
Development
In the late 1970s Ford began planning to replace their compact rear wheel drive Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr models with a new smaller front wheel drive car. This new compact was expected to compete in the marketplace with General Motors' X-Body, but wound up more similar to GM's J-cars. Ford's chief development engineer for the new car was Ed Cascardo.The Tempo and Topaz chassis shared some parts with the front-wheel-drive platform used on the first North American Ford Escort, but with a wheelbase stretched by and distinctive new bodies. There were few common components due to the Tempo and Topaz's larger size. Switching to front-wheel drive freed up interior space that would have otherwise been lost to accommodate a driveshaft and rear differential.
Wind tunnel testing on the Tempo began in December 1978. More than 450 hours of testing resulted in over 950 different design changes. The Tempo and Topaz both featured windshields inclined at a 60° angle and aircraft-inspired door frames, two features that had both appeared on the Thunderbird and Cougar in 1983. The door frames wrapped up into the roofline, which improved sealing, allowed for hidden drip rails, and cleaned up the A-pillar area of the car. The rear track was widened, improving aerodynamic efficiency. The front grille was laid back and the leading edge of the hood was tuned for aerodynamic cleanliness. The wheels were pushed out to the corners of the body, reducing turbulence. The cars' backlights were also laid down at 60°, and the rear deck was raised, reducing drag and resulting in greater fuel efficiency. Viewed from the side, the raised trunk imparted a wedge stance to the car which was especially prominent on the two-door coupes. The aerodynamic work resulted in a coefficient of drag of 0.36 for the two-door Tempo, equal to that of the aero Ford Thunderbird. The four door returned a drag coefficient of 0.37.
The Tempo was designed for a four-cylinder engine, but all production of Ford's 2.3 L Lima OHC four was committed to other product lines. In 1983 Ford had stopped production of their 200 cubic inch Thriftpower inline six, leaving unused capacity at the Lima Engine plant. Ford developed a four-cylinder engine that shared some features of the Thriftpower six, topped with a new cylinder head and using other new technologies, while repurposing as much tooling as possible at the Lima plant.
When the cars were released, a turbocharged version of the new four cylinder was said to be in development, but this engine never became available. At that point, a V6 was not being considered.
Released in 1983 as a 1984 model, more than 107,000 two-door Tempos and more than 295,000 four-door Tempos were sold in its first year.
Features
Chassis and suspension
The Tempo's chassis is a steel unibody. The structure from the firewall forward is shared with the contemporary Ford Escort.The Tempo's front suspension on each side comprises a lower lateral link triangulated by the anti-roll bar and a coil over MacPherson strut. The rear "Quadralink" suspension is two parallel lower lateral control links and a radius rod per side, with coil over MacPherson struts. This differed from the Escort's rear suspension, which used a lower lateral arm, radius rod, and non-concentric coil spring and shock absorber. The Tempo was the first ever American built Ford with an independent rear suspension using MacPherson struts.
Brakes are discs in front and drums in back.
Steering is by power assisted rack and pinion, with three turns lock-to-lock.
Standard tires on base models are 175/80R13, while higher trim levels have 185/70R14, and sportier models are fitted with Michelin TRX 185/65R365 metric tires on aluminum wheels.
Powertrain
The Tempo's four cylinder gasoline engine is called the "High Swirl Combustion" engine and displaces 2.3 L. It has a cast iron block and head, with a single cam-in-block and two overhead valves per cylinder with pushrods and rocker arms. The HSC engine was also offered in a "High Specific Output" version producing.In 1992 the 3.0 L Ford Vulcan V6 engine became an option in the Tempo. Fitting the Vulcan V6 into the Tempo required changes to the water pump, and use of a more restrictive exhaust system that reduced maximum power.
The original base transmission in the gasoline fueled Tempo/Topaz is a four-speed IB4 manual that made up part of what Ford called the "Fuel Saver" powertrain. A five-speed MTX-III manual or a three-speed FLC automatic were optional upgrades.
From 1984 to 1986 a version of Mazda's four-cylinder RF diesel engine was offered in the Tempo and Topaz. The only transmission paired with the diesel engine was the 5-speed manual.
All Wheel Drive
An optional all-wheel drive system became available in the Tempo and Topaz in 1987, and was offered until 1991. Although Ford had a long history with four wheel drive, and had built prototypes based on other car models before, the AWD Tempo was their first production passenger sedan to offer four wheel drive.This design of part-time system is not meant for serious off-road driving, nor for use on dry streets. It is designed specifically to provide additional traction in slippery road conditions. The system is controlled by a rocker switch in the interior. When activated, the system engages a clutch which sends power to a limited-slip rear differential via a new driveshaft. There is no transfer case.
The all-wheel-drive system adds to the weight of the car, and increases ride height by just.
The only engine offered with the AWD option was the HSO four cylinder, with the 3-speed automatic transmission.
In 1991 Ford started branding the system as "Four Wheel Drive" instead of All Wheel Drive.
First generation (1984–1987)
The first-generation Tempo/Topaz debuted for sale on 26 May 1983 as 1984 models; Ford unveiled the two model lines on the deck of the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier turned into a floating museum in New York Harbor. An early advertisement for the car featured a Tempo sedan performing a 360 degree loop on a stunt track. The car in the ad was securely attached to a track, and was pulled through the shot rather than operating under its own power.Replacing the Fairmont as the Ford compact car line, the introduction of the Tempo/Topaz gave Ford a direct competitor to the GM X-platform compacts and the Chrysler K-car model lines, along with Honda Accord and Toyota Camry sedans. In addition to its adoption of front-wheel drive, the Tempo was also extensively downsized from its Fairmont predecessor, shortened 17 inches in length, nearly three inches of width, and over six inches of wheelbase.
Deriving its styling partially from the Ford Sierra, the Ford Tempo also featured a "six-window" roofline. The front slatted grille was body color; the front fascia was swept partially rearward. As flush-mounted headlamps were not yet legal for use, recessed sealed-beam headlamps were used. Two-door coupes shared the same front bodywork as four-door sedans, but were styled with a trapezoidal window profile. The Mercury Topaz sedan shared its doors with its Tempo counterpart, but was styled with a windowless C-pillar with a slightly more upright profile ; along with vertical taillamps between a red and gray filler panel, the Topaz differed from the Tempo with a horizontal black grille.
The first generation Tempo/Topaz came standard with a four-cylinder 2.3 L gasoline engine or an optional Mazda-built 2.0 L diesel engine. In late 1985 the four speed manual transmission was discontinued and the five-speed became standard. A slight modification was made to the five-speed transmission, moving the shift pattern from a dog-leg design to an H-pattern. For 1985, the 2.3L engine received a new central fuel injection system, although the carbureted version was offered in Canada until 1987.
Several functional changes were made to interior for 1985 as the dashboard was redesigned to include side window demisters, a restyled driver's pod, and a passenger-side shelf. The instrument panel featured a new, easier to read gauge layout, with all switches and controls placed within easy reach of the driver.
In early 1985, the Tempo became the first production American automobile to feature a driver's side airbag as a supplemental restraint system. In 1984, Ford entered a contract with the General Services Administration and the Department of Transportation to supply 5,000 airbag-equipped Tempos. Half also received a special windshield designed to minimize lacerations to passengers, and all were early recipients of the high-mounted brake lights that became required by law in 1986.
From 1985 to 1987, Ford offered the Sport GL, which included unique interior and exterior styling cues, the 2.3 L HSO engine, alloy wheels, tachometer, and the five-speed manual transaxle with a lower final drive ratio of 3.73 for quicker acceleration. It was badged simply as "GL", but was recognizable because it lacked the GL's chrome front and rear bumpers, had 14" alloy wheels and charcoal trim accents.