Ever since I first ran across one at my first 24 Hours of LeMons race, I’ve been intrigued by the first Mercury Tracers sold in the U.S. Unlike the 1991 and later Tracers, these early examples did not share a platform with their contemporary Ford Escorts. They were instead rebadged Asian- and Australian-market Ford Lasers, which were themselves restyled Mazda 323s. And this one in Stark City, Missouri, must be the nicest Tracer wagon you’ll find left in the world. Here’s the entire ad text and follow the jump for a pocket history of the increasingly rare Tracer:

“This is a real clean nice little 4 cyl. 5 speed station wagon. It drives out real well. This will make somebody or family a great economical runner. The body is very straight, the interior is nice and clean. The engine has been very well cared for, oil changed on time. It has very good tread on all the tires, lots of life left. We also just put on a new alternator and master cyl. This car is ready to go. If you need a great little car at a reasonable price check this one out real hard. If we can answer any questions please feel free to call or e-mail. Thanks for taking a look.”

[Source: Joplin CraigsList]


For a car with more than 200,000 miles on it, the interior is magnificent and if it’s in running order, the buyer could expect tremendous gas mileage from this little ’80s econobox.

So what is the Tracer? Well, as we said above, it’s a restyled and rebadged Mazda 323. Ford connoissuers will know the 1991 and later Ford Escorts (and Tracers) shared a platform with the 323, but the 1988 Tracer’s position in history actually makes it more of a predecessor to the later Escort than the first-generation 1980s Escorts and also makes it the first 323-based Ford sold in the U.S.

The engine options on the Tracer were none; you got a single-cam, eight-valve Mazda B6 engine and you liked it. The 1.6-liter engine was only good for 88 horsepower, which was coincidentally the same output from the 1.9-liter Ford CVH engine in ’91 and later Tracers (except the Tracer LTZ, which scored the DOHC 1.8-liter BP engine used in the Escort GT).

In a world where the car guys retroactively admit the 1980s Corolla wagons weren’t complete crap, the Tracer Wagon doesn’t get nearly enough credit for its simple utility and durability. You can still find them on CraigsList if you poke around and quite a few of them have clocked more than 200,000 miles. With a standard five-speed transmission in an era where the four-speed was still common, they also were rated at 34 miles per gallon.

This particular Tracer has five doors, a splendidly square 1980s dash, and a beige interior in pristine condition down to the door cards and cargo straps in the back. It’s clearly been loved and I’d wager that not only does the drivetrain run superbly, but I’d also bet the seller has owned this car from new.

It’s not a Ferrari 250 nor is it a Toyota 2000GT, but this is its own kind of collector car. It won’t collect dust and it won’t collect monetary value, but its next owner inherits nearly three decades of utility.