Clean all clothes before storage to remove any moth eggs. Top-loading washing machines use an agitator to move clothes around the basket. Top-loading washing machines also tend to collect more dust than front-loaders. The spinning machines fling strands of molten material in the air. Tempo was treated to a mild flush-headlamp facelift for 1986, when it also became one of the first low-priced cars to offer an optional driver-side air bag. The Probe was the first fruit of that decision. The original Probe will ever be remembered as the car that almost replaced the Mustang. This cleaning cycle will help do a thorough deep clean of your washer. We don’t need soaps, detergents, or harsh chemicals to accomplish our great cleaning results because we’ve got the power of crystal clear carbonating bubbles. They got one, and 1989 was showtime — or rather SHO time: a new “Super High Output” 3.0 V-6 with overhead-cam cylinder heads and four valves per cylinder (instead of two), plus dual exhausts. Horsepower here was also 140, but the 3.8’s extra torque provided quicker acceleration than the 3.0. With its ultramodern styling, good performance, and prices far lower than those of certain covetedGerman sedans, Taurus charged up the sales chart like a bull in a china shop.

With all this, the Probe is at best a “half-American” car despite all-Ford styling and availability of the 3.0-liter Taurus V-6 on midrange LX models for 1990-92. (The base GL used a 2.2-liter Mazda four, the top-line GT a turbocharged version). Most Tauruses, though, were ordered with the new port-injected 3.0-liter “Vulcan” V-6, a 60-degree overhead-valve design rated at 140 bhp and teamed with automatic only. Power came from a 2.3-liter four, only it wasn’t the Pinto/Fairmont ohc “Lima” unit but a cut-down version of the old overhead-valve Falcon six, rated at 84 horsepower. A common complaint that you hear about most washers is that they fail to deliver enough power to get the job done right. Power was exclusively Mazda: a 2.0-liter four for the base model, a 2.5 V-6 for the sporty GT. For 1988, Ford added a reengineered version of its 90-degree 3.8-liter V-6 as a new option. Lending added styling distinction were unique lower-body extensions and inboard front fog lamps. Let’s not forget the 1992-95 SHO, which gained greater visual distinction through more-aggressive styling front and rear, plus bolder cladding for the lower bodysides. The interior was special too, boasting multi-adjustable front bucket seats, sport cloth upholstery, center console, and, to match the high-winding engine, an 8000-rpm tachometer.

Ford changed its name only at the last minute amid howls of protest from Mustang loyalists who’d have no truck with a Japanese design — and with ­”inferior” front drive at that. Offerings now comprised base GL and sporty GLS coupes and sedans, plus four-door all-wheel drive and luxury LX models. Two sedans, plain and fancy wagons, and a smart “basket-handle-roof” coupe reviving the Futura name were offered through 1981 (after which the wagons became Granadas). Wagons eschewed rear struts for twin control arms, a system better able to cope with the wider range of load weights wagons carry. Riding a 106-inch wheelbase, these four-door sedans and four-door wagons represented Ford’s strong­est-ever claim to Detroit design leadership: clean, smooth, and carefully detailed, yet not lumpy like some other low-drag “aero” cars. If anything, Ford was even more successful here than it was with cars. Even synthetic-free products may contain petroleum-based ingredients.

Yet, even they were likely surprised by the success of Taurus, the front-drive 1986 replacement for the junior LTD in the all-important midsize market. Filling Fairmont’s shoes for 1984 was a new front-drive compact called Tempo, a notchback four-door and coupelike two-door with “jellybean” styling on a 99.9-inch chassis with suspension much like Escort’s. Several trim levels were offered, including better-equipped Sport versions with the more powerful engine and firm suspension. As expected, Taurus engines mounted transversely in a chassis with all-independent suspension. But there were still those who wanted a Taurus with performance and mechanical specifications as sophisticated as its styling. Nevertheless, the SHO was a very slow mover on the sales chart, mainly because there was no automatic option and the mandatory Mazda-supplied manual five-speed suffered balky, high-effort shift action. Initial engine choices began with a 2.5-liter 88-bhp four, an enlarged Tempo unit available with standard five-speed manual or, from late ’87, optional four-speed overdrive automatic transaxles.