Let me share with you one serious pet peeve of mine: when someone else’s reasoning keeps you from obtaining a reasonable fun car. More often than not, I have heard this from couples in relationships, and because of personal history (remember, Army vet with nine years’ worth of watching young males blow money on cars here), it’s usually an argument that sounds something like this: “I have to get rid of the Mustang. We need to have a more family-oriented car for me to drive.” Or maybe it goes like, “I really wanted to pick up that five-oh, but there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen, so now I drive a Kia.” Yep, you sure do, buddy…and you hate yourself every day you start that thing up, regardless of how much smoke you blow about fuel economy and being a responsible adult. 
I’m not saying that a Mustang is a good family car. It isn’t. I know first-hand, riding in the back of my mother’s 1982 Mustang GL as a kid. As a five year old I could’ve told you that the back seat legroom was garbage and that in the case of her 3.3L powered machine, that it was dangerously underpowered. But a 5.0 Mustang isn’t a bad car by any stretch of the imagination…they are popular for a reason. So what to do when you’re trying to bridge the gap? Four-door Fox body. You could go for a Fairmont, and that’s cool to a gearhead, but remember that you aren’t trying to impress a gearhead here. That won’t work. Instead, let’s take a look at today’s Rough Start find and show you how to get what you want and keep the other one happy.
The car in question is a 1985 Ford LTD LX. Basically a face-lifted Fairmont with the Thunderbird’s dash, the LTD was a bridge between old Ford and the 1986 Taurus, which was promising to be a revolution if it was successful. Ford bet big on it…like “shove all the chips in” big…and managed to win. The LTD was just an in-between car that was to make use of Fox tooling while they got the aero potato right. But the LTD LX wasn’t a snoozer…it was a Bondurant-inspired V8-powered machine that, for the day, was quite peppy. It wasn’t as hot as the five-speed cars that Bondurant got to use as rolling Fear Factor rides, but at the same time, it was a lot hotter than a Dodge 600 or a Chevrolet Celebrity. 
Oddly enough, this is the second time we’ve found this car. Last time, the car was for sale in Chattanooga, Tennessee and since then, it’s made the trek to Toronto, Ontario where it appears to have been well cared for. As far as Rough Starts go, you need to do nothing but go get the Ford. And you’ll be happy to know that the $5,000 budget we place on cars in the U.S. spends for just over CAN$6,800 north of the border, so you’re still batting in the right ballpark. Take a vacation and come home with a car that you can sell to your other as a rare unit that’s daily-dependable, demure, rare and sure to gain in value!
Craigslist Link: 1985 Ford LTD LX
Funny that you found it listed on Craigslist. Hardly anyone in Canada uses it anymore. Kijiji out sells it by miles up here.
Sweet car, but I’d much rather have its extraordinarily rare twin, a Marquis LTS. 134 built, maybe 10 still exist. Oh, wait… I have one 🙂 !!!
Best thing about this is you can use all the mustang go fast bits and go fast in the family mobile.
Hey Roger! Where are you located, would love to see your LTS. I had one myself back around 1990 as a DD, unfortunately it got creamed on the 401 and was a write-off.
cheers
Ed
I’m in Berea, Ohio, a s.w. burb of Cleveland. My car was one of two sequential VINs ordered by a couple of higher ups at the St Thomas Assembly Plant, two years later they went to auction and ended up at a Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Lincoln-Mercury dealer. Interestingly enough both cars were sold to the same guy! One eventually was wrecked and the other, mine, was abandoned next to a tobacco bard in southern Ohio. I found it on ebay back in ’15. She needs a TON of work but I’m looking forward to getting her back on the road someday.