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As you may know, it's Hanukkah time, when Jews all over the world celebrate what may be organized religion's lamest miracle, and one of the few holidays where we Jews managed to not end up exiled or slaughtered or anything. It's a holiday with candles, presents, fried potatoes and a kickass story about a tough Jew named Judah the Hammer, so all in all, a pretty good time. To celebrate, I've compiled this list of eight (and one extra, the shamash) great Jews of motoring. Most people thought we'd only get one, and here we have over eight. Truly a great miracle happened here. More »
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Welcome back to Garage of Horror, where we share your worst wheeled experiences. Today's installment: Is it really wise to put all your automotive eggs in the same brand basket? More »
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Ford_Tempo_Fanatic may never forgive me for what I did to a free Tempo at Infineon last spring, but at least I've managed to find a vintage ad showing the Tempo on the race track! More »
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We got a really great judicial bribe at last weekend's Sears Pointless 24 Hours of LeMons race: a beat-to-hell, unregisterable, not-legal-for-public-streets Ford Tempo. After honoring Ford_Tempo_Fanatic with a Tempo DOTS recently, we found ourselves in something of a dilemma. More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Ford Tempo Fanatic has chosen a difficult path. Today we honor his devotion to the Tempo. More »
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You know what's wrong with most engines? The transmission is forced to take the power from the end of the crankshaft. But, hey, what if you were to take the power out of the middle of the crank? Transverse-mounted I8! More »
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Dude lists his Tempo wheels on Craigslist. Dude posts pictures. Dude does not notice that there is something wrong with said pictures. Excuse us while we go plow the back forty. [Craigslist (poop, already pulled down!) via Motown Muscle] More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! After seeing the Johnson Messenger CB Telephone, we're saying 10-4 to custom van projects! More »
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Okay, here's what we do know. Whatever this is, it uses an ironing board, a ladder, tons of duct tape, a flower pot sawed in half, paddles and what appears to be a canoe. All of it seems to be strapped onto a Ford Tempo, or maybe a Mercury Topaz, which happen to be two vehicles very worthy of some do-it-yourself modding. What we don't know is what the hell Red Green was looking to do with this contraption. Any ideas? My vote is catfish wrangling. Surely, this is amphibious. Surely.[MAKE] More »
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Warning: Anything you say will be held against you. As we saw, the amazing Tempo Matador is for sale. Asking price: $110,000. That is many clams. There is the "obo" caveat, but as Murilee points out, our best offer would be $3,000. No, only a Jay Leno type would be able to appreciate a choice ride like the Matador and shell out all those greenbacks. Not that it needs pointing out, but for that sorta scratch you can get some pretty fly rides. Like this 2007 Aston Marting V8 Vantage. Now we're asking you — if you magically got $110,000 would you buy one of the best looking Aston Martins ever made (which puts it in the running for best looking car ever made) or a mid-engined, front-wheel drive pickup truck with suicide doors? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=312675&view=rss&microfeed=true We can only imagine Mr. Stewart balancing the ethical pros and cons of proclaiming to the world that the Tempo is a driver's car. It drives, right? We're wondering if he's still driving one today. More »
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The real reason we go to classic car shows is the odd chance of running across something like this. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Tempo Matador. To our knowledge, it is the only air-cooled, mid-engined, front-wheel-drive pickup truck with suicide doors ever created. Produced in extremely low numbers between 1949-1951 as both a precursor and competitor to the Volkswagen Type II, this particularly cherry example is one of five known to exist in the world. As great as the actual truck is, the essentially perfect restoration is even better. Killer features include a backward Type I engine below and behind the driver's butt, a rear window flourish that looks like the hood from a Bug and several cases of Weizen bottles from a brewery in Reisbach. You owe it to yourself to click through the gallery. Also, jump for some YouTube action. – Jonny LIeberman More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=267611&view=rss&microfeed=true The Mercury Topaz wasn't so a forgotten Mercury as a disappeared Mercury. As the badge-engineered sibling of the highly forgettable Ford Tempo, the Topaz started out life with three strikes against it. But wait! back in '90 you could get this here Blue Max Topaz, with power windows and free polycast wheels! Now, be honest- have any of you ever seen a real live Blue Max Topaz? – Murilee Martin More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=260800&view=rss&microfeed=true The Tempo, was introduced as one of Ford's first front wheel drive vehicles in 1984 until its eventual replacement by FoMoCo in 1995 with the Contour. The Jack Telnack-designed compact shared platforms with the Ford Escort, and although this boxy compact was claimed to have "the world's most advanced automotive computer" and "more rear room than a Mercedes 300D," it still was seen by many a pundit as inferior to the re-designed '86 Camry (more horsepower), the '85 Accord (even more horsepower) and the '84 Cavalier (more sales). Still, despite the competition, the car sold rather well — and even merits a car club of its own. We can't help but think it was due to the decent fuel economy (28/43) and of course, as the commercial showed, the car's matchbox-style acrobatics — were indubitably displayed in real life. – Ray Wert More »
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