Boise Street Sighting: Ford Escort GT

The Ford Escort has always been known for having sporting versions; the RS2000, the Mexico, the XR3i, and finally, the top-rung Cosworth. But none of those were ever sold in the US. For being a "world-car", Ford really screwed us over. The hottest Escort we got here was the Escort GT, and unlike its foreign kin, this particular Escort isn't very hot. In fact, I don't think it quite reaches even "lukewarm hatch" status. While I won't get into the specs, because honestly.. the 1980s weren't that great for American cars. It doe have something like 130 horses, and a 5 spd manual, but that alone doesn't make a car fun to drive. Yes, it has the requisite body cladding, and "sporty" alloy wheels with uprated tires, but a budget sports-car this is not. But fear not. This little 'GT' did make an impression on Ford-- the wrong one.
When the third generation US Escort debuted in 1997, it was left without a coupe variant. Ford decided that because there was also an EXP of this generation, that we would like another one. So, in 1999, the EXP's successor came alive. And that, too, was a disaster. Marked as sporty, fuel-efficient, and fun to drive, it apparently was none of those things, and was promptly killed in 2003 or 2004, I can't remember which.
Even with the arrival of the Focus, it seems Ford's US arm didn't quite get the hint that we did want performance Fords here. While the rest of the world got the Cosworth-developed Focus RS, and then a Focus ST to slot under the RS, the US was left with jack squat. Based on the worldwide success of the ST and RS, Ford is finally bringing us the Focus ST. Still no word on the RS, though.
Okay, so I wrote a summary of why Ford is a bunch of dumbasses when it comes to hot hatch performance. Sorry. I do like this generation of Escort GT, and have for quite awhile. This example seems to be in relatively good condition, considering its age. No obvious rust issues, and no paint problems aside from the typical "I-won't-age-well" Ford paintjob. Actually, I take that back. The whole car, while not a rustbucket, definitely could use a good wash/wax/polish day, unless the paint and trim are so far gone that the only solution is to do a respray.
If this little Escort were mine, I'd try to return to its former "glory" if you will. At the very least, get the paint job unfaded, and while the dealer plaque is sorta cool, I'd remove it. It doesn't belong here, and this is one case where I don't think the dumbass thing matters.