If you were to believe this advertisement, the new for 1979 Mercury Capri was capable of producing miracles wherever it went and was best described as "sexy". We aren't sure which was more of a stretch.
In 1979 Ford's Mustang and Mercury's Capri received a total redesign based around the company's Fox platform. The Mustang would go on to be made on this platform until 1993 while the Capri only lasted until 1986. Although later years of the "fox body" Capris and Mustangs became well known for their performance potential when modified, they were introduced in the midst of the Automotive "Malaise era" of the late 70s and early 80s. The 1979 Capri's styling and performance didn't let you forget it for a second.
Although some might disagree, "sexy" is very low on the list of four letter words we would use to describe the styling of the 1979 Capri. While trying to decide whether the1979 redesign was preferable to the Capri of the previous year we encountered a Malaise styling induced mental overload. Under the hood wasn't much better for the mind (or the Capri). The top of the line V8 produced a not so impressive 140 horsepower. All it takes is a brief examination of Malaise Era "muscle" to be thankful we now live in a time of powerful and better designed performance cars.
Perhaps because of these factors, Mercury decided to skip the performance claims and instead infer that a Capri could produce miracles wherever it went. Who is going to focus on the poor performance when they are pre-occupied with thoughts of attractive mermaids, striking oil wells or money spewing parking meters? Despite sluggish performance and questionable styling the Capri sold approximately 110,000 cars in 1979. Who said there isn't a reason to believe in Malaise era miracles?