Comparing the EXP to the original Thunderbird, Ford Division General Manager Louis E. Latalf said: “We’re introducing another two-seater with the same flair, but the EXP will be a very affordable, very fuel efficient car matched to the lifestyles of the eighties.” (For comparison, the sporty new coupe weighted a 1000 lbs. less than the original Thunderbird.)

Model	Style	Body Type	Base Price	Weight	Production
01	67D	3 dr. Hatch Cpe	$7,387.00	2,047	98,256

The EXP was also 2 inches lower and 5 inches shorter. The EXPs rakish non-boxy body rode an Escort/Lynx 94.2 inch wheelbase, with that car’s front-drive running gear, four-wheel independent suspension, and dashboard. The EXP was longer, lower, and sportier than the Escort.

Performance wasn’t (yet) its strong suit however since the EXP weighed about 200 pounds more than Escort but carried the same small engine.

Standard features included steel-belted radial tires, power front disc/rear drum brakes, halogen headlamps, rack-and-pinion steering, reclining high-back bucket seats, four-spoke sport steering wheel, and easy-to-read instrument panel and console with full instrumentation. Under hood was the 97.6 cid (1.6 liter) CVH engine with standard four-speed overdrive manual transaxle.

Several standard equipment additions were incorporated as a running charge. They included tinted glass, an electric day/date digital clock, power lift gate release, maintenance-free 48 ampere-hour battery, engine compartment light, ashtray light, and headlamps-on warning buzzer.

Both the Ford EXP and Mercury’s LN7, its corporate cousin, had a sharply-sloped windshield, wheel arches with prominent lips, and wide body side moldings not far below the top of the wheel opining line. The biggest difference was the back end.

Ford’s coupe was a notchback with a lift-up hatch, while the Mercury LN7 fielded a big “bubbleback” back window. The EXP’s minimalist grille consisted merely of twin side- by-side slots in the sloped front panel (The LN7 had ten).

Single quad lamp heads sat in “eyebrow” housings. Large wraparound tail lamps came to a point on the quarter panel. Parking lamps stood in the bumper, well below the headlamps.

Priced considerably higher than the Escort, the EXP carried an ample list of standard equipment. It included power brakes, tachometer, engine gauges, full carpeting, electric back window defroster, power hatchback release, digital clock, and cargo area security shade. Manual-transaxle models had a sport-tuned exhaust. Automatic models had a wide-open throttle cutout switch for the optional air conditioning compressor clutch.

A rather modest option list included a flip-up open-air roof, premium stereo system, and leather (or shearing and leather) seating surfaces. An optional TR handling package included special wheels and Michelin TRX tires in P165/70R365 size, and a larger-diameter front stabilizer bar. Shock valving, spring rates and caster/camber settings were modified for firmer ride and tighter handling.

As the full model year began, Ford offered an optional (no-extra-cost) 4.05:1 final drive for better performance. Later came a close-ratio gearbox with 3.59:1 final drive ratio intended for the same purpose.

Finally, in March 1982, an 80-horsepower edition of the CVH four became available. It had higher (9.0:1) compression, a bigger air cleaner intake, lower-restriction exhaust, and dual-outlet exhaust manifold, larger carburetor venturis, and higher-lift camshaft.

The Escort became the best selling domestic car this model year, finding 321,952 buyers (up over 13 percent from 1981). Still, total Ford Division sales for the model year declined by close to 20 percent: only 888,633 versus 1,105,751 in 1981.

FoMoCo’s market share held at the depressing 16.5 percent level of the prior year. Car and Driver readers had voted the Escort "Most Significant New Domestic Car" for 1981, and it beat Chevrolet’s Chevette this year.

The EXP did not sell as well as hoped for after its spring 1981 debut, so within a couple of months incentives were being offered. Sales rose a bit later, partly due to a more peppy high-output EXP 1.6-liter engine that debuted in mid-year.

Two new plants (San Jose, California, and St. Thomas, Ontario) were assigned to assemble the Escort/EXP subcompacts. The Escort was also assembled at Wayne, Michigan, and Edison New Jersey.

As the 1983 model year began, Ford offered what was then low- interest financing (10.75 percent rate) to customers who would buy one of the leftover ’82 models.

Ford’s advertising theme at this time was “Have you driven a Ford lately?”