1989 Ford Escort Pony review from North America

Caliper went bad and required replacement.

Auto transmission leaked roughly one quart of fluid every three or four days by the end of the car's life.

Had a terrible leak from the front windshield that would cause the front seat to be sopping wet most of the time (even in sunny Southern California).

Head gasket started to go bad at about the same time as the transmission problems started.

Alternator needed replacement at roughly 100,000 miles.

This was the first car I ever owned. I bought it the year after I graduated from High School and drove the poor thing to death. Why on Earth I thought getting this tiny little utilitarian vehicle was a good idea is beyond me. I like to drive fast, and I don't think this car was capable of going much beyond seventy miles per hour, and it didn't have much handling to speak of. I have to admit, for a macho young guy I sometimes felt self-conscious driving a white hatchback with the word "Pony" proudly emblazoned on the side.

As much as I'd like to say this car was a piece of garbage (I'm more of an import car fan myself) it was really, well...okay. Other than the brake problem (which was my fault and not the car's, I let the brakes get worse and worse before acting on it) and a "major tune up" (valve cover seal, plugs and wires, distributor cap, etc.) it soldiered along admirably for the majority of the time I owned it.

Its weak spot was the auto transmission, it never really shifted smoothly (especially when the car wasn't fully warmed up, it would violently shift out of first), and buy the end it would leave so much pink fluid behind you'd think it was bleeding to death. Finally the car failed a California smog test and the transmission clunked out completely, which lead me to junk the poor girl. Beyond that the windshield leak was intolerable, I had to drive around sitting on beach towels, and tried to keep out of the rain whenever possible.

All of that said, I'm amazed the car lasted as long as it did, I drove the car from California to various locations in the mid-west and east-coast and it didn't break down on me once (though the gas mileage was surprisingly poor for a little put-put, about 20 mpg). Had I been more mechanically experienced at the time I'd probably still have the car today.