page_title: Ford Escort (North America)
section_title: ZX2
hierarchical_section_title: Ford Escort (North America) / ZX2
caption_attribution_description: 2003 Ford (Escort) ZX2
context_page_description: The North American variant of the Ford Escort is a compact/small family car introduced by Ford in 1980 for the 1981 model year. Sharing its name with the third-generation European Ford Escort, the model line is the first front-wheel drive Ford developed and sold in North America. The direct successor of the Ford Pinto, as the smallest Ford car in North America, the Escort largely replaced the European-imported Ford Fiesta.
  Overcoming the tarnished reputation for quality and safety established by the fuel tank defect of the Pinto, the Escort became highly successful in the American marketplace. After 1982, the model line became the best-selling car in the United States, a position it held during most of the 1980s.
  The 1981 replacement of the Pinto by the Escort was the first Ford model line to adapt front-wheel drive. By the end of the 1980s, nearly the entire Ford car range would adopt the powertrain layout.
  The Escort was produced across three generations. The first was the first Ford "world car", designed as Ford of Europe transitioned the Escort Mk III to front-wheel drive. In North America, the model line was also sold as the Mercury Lynx and the two-seat Ford EXP/Mercury LN7.
context_section_description: For 2001, the 4-door sedan was limited to fleet sales only and the Escort moniker on the Escort ZX2 was quietly dropped, making the car officially just ZX2 as a 2-door notchback coupe.
  The Ford Focus debuted in 1998 (1999 in U.S.) and was produced concurrently with the ZX2. Though not without its fans, both then and now, and still fairly well represented in the automotive aftermarket, the ZX2 was replaced by the Focus ZX3, ZX4 and ZX5. Though the two cars shared the same Zetec engine, there were a few differences. The Focus lacked the exhaust-side VCT, and contained less aggressive camshafts that pushed the power band down a few hundred RPM. The two models shared the same block but, due to the different camshafts and the different cylinder head, the torque output for the Focus was bumped up by 8 ft⋅lbf (11 N⋅m). Thanks to better gearing and less weight, the ZX2 continued to outperform the Focus. The ZX2 continued with little more than 15 in (38 cm) alloy wheels and a rear defroster now offered as standard equipment, and for 2003, a revised front fascia. Production ceased at the end of the 2003 model year.
caption: 2003 Ford ZX2
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