There were two generations of the LN7. The first was from 1982 to 1985. The car featured an I4 engine paired with either a 3 or 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual transmission. Despite a sporty look, these cars did not perform well at first. They were heavier than the Escort, and they had the same engine, so essentially they were better-looking and worse-performing than the economy car made by Ford.

There are several ways to tell the 1st generation LN7 from its Ford EXP twin. The LN7 had a bubbleback rear window, while the EXP got a lift up hatch. The LN7 also had 10 slats in the front grille, while the EXP just two.

The second generation LN7 was sold from 1986 to 1988. The engine was now a 1.9 liter I4 with the same transmission options as before. These models would be sold as a Luxury coupe and a Sports Coupe. The sports coupe got several performance upgrades.

These cars did not sell well for Ford, but in all nearly 1/4 of a million EXP's and LN7's were sold. That means a lot of them can be found out there on the used car market. You've got plenty of options if you're buying one. My favorite is eBay. Also look for the cool mods that owners have made on their LN7's and EXP's, including a biodiesel project I recently read about. The parts are out there in abundance (many of them shared with the early Ford Escorts), so all you experimental types have lots of options and plenty of opportunities.