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13 Mercury Mystique
Often times products come to the market that are so bland and boring that consumers are left wondering who might have ever dedicated money to building them, and why. Such is the case with the Mercury Mystique, the sister of Ford’s Mondeo which had been intended to conquer the world’s automotive market. And in fact, the platform sold under many names, with many different drivetrain options, in many countries around the world, and even under the Ford Counter name in the United States.
The Mystique doesn’t offer any single piece of excitement, however, being a basic commuter car with little in the way of performance or comfort on offer. The Mystique and its brethren featured front wheel drive and either an inline four or V6 engine paired to a five speed manual or four speed automatic. A 0-60 time is irrelevant for the car, since no one ever tried to claim it would do anything important. Extensive use of cheap plastics and cloth rendered both the interior and exterior exceedingly prone to delamination and discoloration, as well. Perhaps the only thing remarkable about the model is that Ford sold it for eight years over two generations, but even a used car dealer today would have trouble giving one away.
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