Mercury Topaz

The Mercury Topaz was the replacement for Mercury's boxy old Zephyr. The Topaz was introduced in mid-1983 as a 1984 model. as an upscale twin to the Ford Tempo. The compact Topaz and Tempo were early examples of the design philosopy that would bring about the revolutionary 1986 Mercury Sable. The development program was codenamed Topaz. The body structure was heavily borrowed from the Ford Escort, but due to the larger design of the Topaz there were few common componets. In 1986 the Topaz was facelifted with new flush-mounted headlights and a "lightbar" from the new Sable unlike the Sable though, the Topaz had a cooling slot. The new Topaz also got Mercury's new "Waterfall" M Logo. The Topaz received a major redesign in 1988. The car had an improved interior and a more upscale exterior which was very similar to the Sable. The Topaz was differentiated from the Tempo by wearing a more formal Mercury Cougar style rear window, chrome waterfall grille, more upscale wheels, solid red taillamps, and a bigger trunk. New this year were the sporty XR5 Coupe and LTS "Luxury Touring Sedan" models. The Topaz received a facelift in 1992 the chrome grill was replaced with a new "lightbar" and the Sable's Vulcan V6 was now available, bringing with it a new 5 speed manual transmission. But due to slow sales in 1992, the XR5 and LTS models were discontinued. In March, 1994 the last Mercury Topaz rolled off the line as a 1994 model and was replaced with the all-new 1995 Mercury Mystique.

History of the Topaz
The design and life of the Topaz began in the late 1970s as Ford was gearing to build towards a more ergonomic, more efficient, and aerodynamic design philosophy. The new design philosophy rested in part due to aging vehicle platforms, and two oil embargoes which led to a rise in more fuel-efficient import vehicle sales. Taking note of this, Ford set out to revolutionize the automotive industry, and would later lay the groundwork for three revolutionary vehicles: The 1983 Cougar (and its counterpart the Ford Thunderbird), the 1984 Tempo, and a car to be released in 1986, the Sable. In December 1978, wind tunnel testing began on the Tempo, with more than 450 hours of testing resulting in more than 950 different design changes. As part of these changes, the Tempo and Topaz both featured a 60° windshield, matching that of the new Thunderbird and Cougar. Also new were the aircraft-inspired door frames, which originally appeared on the Thunderbird/Cougar. These door frames wrapped up over the edge of the roof, improved sealing, allowed for hidden drip rails, and cleaned up the A-pillar area of the car significantly. The rear track was also widened, creating more aerodynamic efficiency. The front grille was laid back more and the leading edge of the hood was tuned for aerodynamic cleanliness. Wheels were pushed out to the edges of the body, decreasing areas where air turbulence would be created. The rear of the cars were treated to just as many changes. The rear window was laid down at 60 degrees as well, and the trunk lid was raised higher than the side windows. This allowed the air to flow off the car more smoothly, and allowed for greater fuel efficiency. From the side view, this raised trunk created a wedge look to the car which was especially prominent on the two-door coupe versions. All of these changes created a Coefficient of drag of .36 for the 2-door car (.37 for the 4-door), which was equal to the Cd of the new "Aero" Ford Thunderbird. The final design of the cars was reached so that the car looked good on every trim level, not just the top-of-the-line as some of the competition had done. When the Topaz was released in 1983 as a 1984 model, it became an instant hit.

First Generation
The first generation Topaz, released in 1983, was a stark contrast from the Zephyr that it replaced. Both the front windshield and rear window were set at 60° angles, with the trunk of the car being placed higher than the side windows to allow for greater fuel efficiency and air flow. On the Topaz was a more formal C-pillar arrangement minus the window. The front of the car featured a set of two sealed-beam halogen headlamps recessed in chrome "buckets" and the grille in between the headlights featured four horizontally thin rails each swept back to allow for greater air flow into the engine compartment and over the hood. Standard on the first generation Tempo was a new 2.3 L HSC inline four-cylinder gasoline engine with a one-barrel carburetor, with an optional Mazda-built four-cylinder diesel engine. Mated to either of these engines were the choice of a four-speed IB4 or five-speed MTX-III manual transmission (which was the standard, and only option for the diesel engine variant), or the standard 3-speed FLC automatic with a floor-mounted shift lever. The instrument panel featured a new, easier to read gauge layout, with all switches and controls placed within easy reach of the driver. In 1985, the Topaz became the first production sedan to feature a driver's side airbag.

In 1986, the Topaz and the Ford Tempo saw several moderate design changes which coincided with the release of the then-new and revolutionary 1986 Taurus. While generally the same car, the front and rear end styling was where the changes were most evident. The standard rectangular sealed-beam halogen headlamps were replaced with a new pseudo-lightbar grille styled after the Sable. For the rear end, the trunk and taillights were slightly restyled, giving the car a more sharper look. Replacing the carburetor on the 2.3 L four-cylinder engine was a new Central Fuel Injection (CFI) system (the carbureted version was still available in Canada until 1987). New was an optional "LS" luxury trim, and a sportier XR5, which was a performance-geared version featuring a performance-tuned HSO variant of the existing 2.3 L engine and a 5-speed MTX-III manual transmission. The XR5 also featured a more defined ground effects package over the previous GS offering. Other changes and improvements included the addition of automatically-retracting front seatbelt shoulder straps, and the addition of a new all-wheel drive model. The Topaz AWD included special badging, interior badges and (most notable) a three-inch-wide chrome strip running from front wheel to rear wheel, that read Topaz AWD (with 'All Wheel Drive' under the larger AWD writing).

Second Generation
The second generation Topaz, released in 1988, saw several major design changes which brought out an even more similar look to the Sable. On the front end of the car, a completely restyled grille. with two stylish composite flush-mounted rectangular headlamps with restyled front turn signal housings on either side. For the rear, the taillights received a major rework, and were now completely flush-mounted. A restyled rear quarter window was designed to match and blend evenly with the completely restyled rear door trim. The interior of both cars saw a brand new instrument panel design, with a central gauge cluster, and more ergonomic driver controls. Headlight and windshield wiper controls were now mounted on rotary-style switches on either side of the instrument panel, and the heater controls received a new push-button control layout. Other changes included reworked interior door panels. The second generation saw the Topaz AWD discontinued in 1991, and in 1992, the cancellation of the XR5 and LTS. There was a very rare option available with a vinyl roof called the "Premier Edition" offered on 1992 GS models and came with power locks and windows, air conditioning, tilt wheel, cassette player, luggage racks, and mudguards. Other rare options were the all leather interior option on the LTS (1985) and the (1984/1985) vinyl sun roof. Also in 1992, to coincide with the release of the second generation Sable (which received its first major facelift since 1986), the Topaz sported new design features. Those features were a new, thinner monochrome side body trim, matching monochrome bumper covers, a new one-piece panel-style grille similar to the Taurus, and a restyled taillight assembly. In 1992, the 3.0 L Vulcan V6 engine was made an option (was standard on some GS and GS sport models), and models with that engine were equipped with "V6" badging. It was available with the FLC automatic or the MTX-IV five-speed manual. In 1993, there were no major changes to the Topaz, as talks of canceling the name began that year.

End Of the Topaz
In 1993, officials within Ford Motor Company began talking about killing off the Topaz and Tempo. While highly innovative in their early years, and even though it was a strong seller for nearly its entire lifetime, by the early 1990s the Tempo and the Topaz were seen as an aging platform. It was also to be the last year for the 2.3 L HSC engine, which was built by Ford specifically for the Topaz (its replacement was the 2.0 L Zetec engine). Also, it was to be the last year for the FLC automatic transaxle, which had spent its entire production life with the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz, and was then seen as being severely outdated as 5-and-6 speed automatic transmissions were being developed. With all of these factors, Ford pulled the plug on the Topaz and Tempo, and in March 1994, the last one rolled off the assembly line.