The Ford Probe was a sporty car that was produced and sold by the Ford Motor company from 1989 until 1997 with a makeover in 1993. Ford sold the Probe in both the North American and European markets as it filled the spot that the Capri had help in Europe. Originally, the Probe was considered as a possible replacement for the
Mustang, but that idea was eventually scrapped.
Mechanically speaking, the Ford Probe was twins with the Mazda MX-6 and they also shared the Mazda GD platform from 1988 until 1992 and the GE platform from 1993 on. Not surprisingly, the Probe and Mazda were produced togther by Ford and Mazda in a joint venture between the companies known as the Auto Alliance International.
Unfortunately, Probes sales never really met the expecations as it sold just over 800,000 units during the eight year production. Some blamed the modern styling, others just didn't like the name of the car and didn't find its whole package appealing. In 1997 the Probe only sold 32,000 units and Ford pulled the plug. In 1996 and 1997 a GTS model of the Probe was offered, but didn't actually offer more in the way of performance, it was all cosmetics. The end of production in 1997 was intended to be just a one year moretoreum, but as the Escort ZX2 became more popular, Ford decided that the Probe niche had been filled.
