Ford Capri?
“The Capri was the product of an Australian car industry labouring under the shadow of industry minister John Button’s car plan that aimed to reduce the number of local car-makers by at least one. It spawned some truly awful badge-engineered products as manufacturers jumped into bed with each other to share models and boost production runs.
The car plan could also mean exporting cars as a way of surviving, and into that mindset was born the Capri convertible.
The plot was to sell the cars locally and through Mercury (a division of Ford) dealerships in the US, where convertibles have usually done well. But because of the car’s problems and some marketing issues in the US, the Capri was a lame duck.
The Capri was beset by quality control gremlins that immediately took the shine off the thing. The biggest problem centred on the manually operated convertible roof, which leaked like a Buckingham Palace butler. Ford replaced leaking lids under warranty but the replacements seemed no better and more than one Capri was hiding under its fourth or fifth top by the time the original owner screamed “enough!” and traded the thing in.”
Interiors were also a bit fly-apart, with poor plastics and dashboard graphics that were aimed at US buyers but looked ordinary here. Bumpers warped and cracked (or fell off) and Ford’s paint technology of the time meant that many Capris faded prematurely, particularly reds and darker colours.
Every one I’ve ever seen is in terrible nick.