Ford Probe was a sports coupe made by Ford in collaboration with Mazda from 1989 to 1997. Anthony Padilla's first car was a brown 1989 Ford Probe. It is seen in Boxman running over Boxman several times.
History[]
The Ford Probe was introduced in 1989 and replaced the Escort - based EXP as the company's sport compact car. The Probe was based on the Mazda G-platform and was identical to the Mazda MX6. The instrument cluster and pop-up headlight mechanisms are borrowed from the FC RX-7. While it was sold worldwide, the Probe was intended to fill the market niche formerly occupied by the European Ford Capri, and although it was intended as the replacement to the Ford EXP, it was also considered a possible replacement for the Ford Mustang in the North American market as a direct competitor to the Acura Integra and Toyota Celica. During that time, Ford's marketing team had deemed that a front-wheel drive platform (borrowed Mazda GD and GE platforms) would have lower costs for production, and also because the platform had been gaining popularity with the consumers. When these palns were leaked to the public, Mustang fans objected to the front-wheel drive configuration, Japanese engineering, and lack of a V8, so Ford began work on a new design for the Mustang instead.
In March 1997, Ford discontinued the Probe, along with the Aerostar minivan, Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar. Although Ford had planned to bring all four back in the future, only the Cougar and Thunderbird were revived, althoguh they didn't sell very well and were discontinued yet again soon after.