The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History

1985 Merkur XR4Ti: Car and Driver 10 Best Cars

The Merkur XR4Ti (eXperimental racing, 4 cylinder, turbo, advanced injection system) was imported into North America from 1985 to 1989. It was built in Germany and sold in Lincoln dealerships. It was a sophisticated car with a 2.3 litre 4 cylinder turbocharged engine. It had sleek aerodynamics. The appearance was not everyone’s taste. Ford took Europe’s bulbous three door, rear drive Sierra, excised its V-6 engine and replaced it with the turbocharged 2.3 litre four out of the Ford Pinto and Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and Mustang SVO. The engine proved to be quite coarse and had a lot of mechanical problems. The dealerships were less than delighted to carry this model and often provided little support. In five years, they sold only 42 000 which is equivalent to a few months sales of BMW.