F o rd Escort 7X2
For the past decade, Ford has dominated
the truck market. T he F 150 is the best-sell
ing vehicle in the U.S., beating out all trucks
and passenger cars in any category. T he Ford
Explorer has been a hot-selling sport-utilitv
along with its sister Mercury M ountaineer.
And the full-sized Expedition has quickly
become popular am ong the baby boom er
segment. Ford continues to improve and
expand its family o f trucks and sport-utili
ties in the new model year.
The Ranger com pact pickup receives
freshened sheet metal, a chassis frame that’s
full-boxed at the front and a larger 2.5-liter
four-cylinder base engine. Ford’s Lincoln
luxury division introduced this spring an all-
new 1998 Navigator full-sized sport-utilitv.
This sophisticated, luxury version o f the Ford
Expedition has been a virtual sell-out since
its introduction. Absent from the 1998 line
up is the rear-wheel drive Aerostar minivan.
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AFRICAN AMERICANS O N WHEELS
O n the passenger car side, Ford bids fare
well to the T hunderbird, Probe and Aspire
models, as the second largest autom aker
strengthens its car offerings bv elim inating
lackluster performers. New for 1998, though,
is a reskinned Lincoln Town Car and a re
styled Lincoln C ontinental. T h e Crow n
Victoria, a favorite among police officers, gets
an external face lift and interior upgrade,
along with some mechanical enhancements.
Jaguar, which is owned by Ford, launches
V8-powered sedans in the U.S. this model
year. Americans can choose among four mod
els: 1 he XJ8, the long-wheelbase XJ8L, the
long- wheelbase luxurious Vanden Plas and
the XJR, w hich comes w ith a standard-
length chassis and supercharged power.
I hese vehicles roll out with 4.0-liter en
gines pum ping 290 horsepower. I he body
work is retained on the XJ luxury cars, but
the interior and V8 engine are both new.
If you liked Jaguars before, you will love
these new vehicles. And don’t look for the
V 12 engine; that was phased out o f the U.S.
line-up in 1997 and most likely won't be
available anywhere in the world in 1998.
Mazda, which is 33.4 percent owned by
Ford, introduces a restyled 626 sedan, first
revealed at the New York auto show last April.
I he roomier 626 is a stretched version o f its
predecessor with increased interior room and
slightly more powerful 2.0-liter inline-4 and
2.5-liter V6 engines. It’s sleeker and rounder,
and bears some resemblance to the larger
Millema. Mazdas B-Series pickup, which is
a Ford Ranger pickup wearing a Mazda
badge, undergoes the same changes listed
for the Ranger, as both models get a facelift
for ’98.