Murilee is cannot be replaced. But that won't stop me from browsing the only car blog that features 1985 Ford Tempo advertisements.

You and I are of a kind. In another life, we could have been friends.

I'm trying to find an appropriate 'Ford Tempo Solute'. I think the Tempo deserves this.

@tonyola: Tempo replaced Fairmont in Ford's roster. Tempo was a front wheel drive compact with optional all wheel drive, and a choice of an efficient fuel injected 2.3L I4 or a Mazda diesel. Fairmont was rear wheel drive only with an anemic carb'd 302. Tempo boasted the most modern styling applied to an American car…

These kinds of suicides always strike me as particularly depressing.

I'll be impressed if GM is worth more than Ford. Anybody remember what GM's shares were worth in their last days before becoming Government Motors?

I've got a 1990 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat. Its the top-of-the-line for 1990, and its got every option available that year from air conditioning to power everything. Even still its more barren in there than an 2011 F-150 XL. But ya know what? I don't find myself wanting anything more than what I've got. At times I wish I…

So, why do I feel more confident that Chrysler is going to move ahead in product quality, while GM is still gonna make the Aveo?

@tonyola: I knew all this. But like I said, comparing a Celebrity to Taurus is very sad. The only instance where Celebrity kind of has a chance is competing with the lesser Tempo. Which, in size, it doesn't. But in content, it kind of does.

@tonyola: Well I'm talking Tempo because Taurus vs. Celebrity, there is no competition whatever. You know that annoying little song, "anything you can do, I can do better"? Yeah, that kinda sums up Taurus vs. Celebrity.

@tonyola: Incorrect sir. Ford sold 356,068 T/T's in 1986. This includes two and four door variations of the Tempo and Topaz. Your facts are more than misleading in that you are counting only Tempo two and four doors, but you're including the numerous re-badged and re-branded A-Bodies (Celebrity, 6000, Century, Ciera,…

@tonyola: I honestly don't know how Chevy sold as many cars as they did in the 1980s. My best guess is the amount of middle age Republicans who were buying on brand alone, and not what car was best. Obviously that didn't last long, as we learned in the 1990s when Toyota became a world power.

@tonyola: Bad or good looking is not what I meant. Outdated is more what I was getting at. As you probably know, the mid-size family sedan is the most competitive market except for maybe the truck market. So when your Chevy Celebrity looks like a 1970s leftover with composite lights, you've got problems. Even the…

@tonyola: Have you seen a Tempo, or even better, a Taurus parked by a Celebrity? The Fords make the Chevy look decades older, even if they're the same model year.

I'm thinking... In addition to the X-Cars, how about the Chevy Celebrity? It essentially knocked GM out of the mid-size family four door segment for the ensuing decades.

This topic depresses me. I'm gonna go take my all-American Ford for a spin, brb.

A 1989 Ford Tempo AWD Sedan in Graphite Gray, which I stumbled upon in May, 2005 in a dilapidated car port made out of plywood.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice, no abandoned Ford dealers were posted. Makes me wonder, whats the ratio of dealership closures of GM to Ford, or Chrysler to Ford.

@Scoutdude: I agree, but most people are too obsessed with power specs or sound systems to care about reliability.

Its a three-way orgy between the Ford Crown Victoria, Ranger, and of course; the E-Series. In their respective segments, they are outclassed in nearly every significant aspect. Power, fuel efficiency, gadgets, you name it. But they can't be topped for dependability and durability, and as such, their outdated designs…