1996 Ford Probe

The 1993 model year brought the second-generation Ford Probe, a fully restyled front-wheel-drive coupe built on the Mazda GE platform and still sharing most of its mechanical hardware with the Mazda MX-6 and Mazda 626. The redesign replaced the first generation's pop-up headlamps with fixed lamps and changed the performance formula. The base 1993-1997 Probe used the Mazda FS 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 118 horsepower and 127 lb-ft of torque, and the GT replaced the earlier turbocharged four with the naturally aspirated Mazda KL 2.5-liter V6, a 24-valve four-cam engine rated at 164 horsepower, with 156 lb-ft of torque for 1993-1995 and 160 lb-ft for 1996-1997. The second-generation Probe was named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1993. Trims included the base Probe and the GT, with an SE trim offered during the run. Like the first generation, the second-generation Probe was built at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant that also assembled the Mazda MX-6 and 626, by then operating as AutoAlliance International. Ford ended Probe production after the 1997 model year, and the front-drive coupe was not replaced by a like-for-like Ford model.