Ford Escort History

Compact car · 1981–2003

Ford Escort
Sample hero image — replace with real model photography.

History

The North American Escort launched for 1981 as Ford's front-wheel-drive replacement for the Pinto, conceived as a 'world car' alongside the European Escort.

It became one of America's best-selling small cars across two main generations; the second generation shared engineering with Mazda. The sporty ZX2 coupe closed out the line in 2003.

Body styles

Notable special editions & performance variants

Related models