All the Cars, Part 5: 1981 Ford Escort

You may remember my series of posts describing the various cars I've owned over the years. I realized that I now have 3 additional parts of this series to write. So here goes...

Car/Body/Engine: 1981 Ford Escort, 2-doors, hatchback / 1.6L 4I gasoline engine, 68 HP

Features: 4-speed MT, FWD, seats 5 (theoretically)

Owned?: yes

Purchased for/from: $600 from a guy who wanted cash to buy a motorcycle.

Summary: this was the first gasoline car that I had owned since the van. I really loved this car, it was always reliable, fuel efficient, and was the vehicle that I drove on a newspaper motor route in central Washington for two months during the winter. Although it wasn't big enough to handle thick or deep snow, it's front-wheel drive system made for excellent handling on very treacherous icy mountain roads.

What I Liked: Plenty of headroom, 35 miles per gallon of gas, smooth manual transmission, incredible reliability.

What I Didn't Like: The 1.6L 4-cylinder engine would sometimes struggle getting up steep and long hills, however the lack of power was more than worth it to me for the fuel efficiency.

What Happened to It: Attempting to free the car from a snow drift, the engine died. Afterwards, the car would turn over, but refused to start again. I traded it and my 1983 Dodge Ramcharger for my (current) car, a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass diesel. Hopefully he saved it, I'd hate to think of it going to the crusher.