24 cars blue sky: Junkyard Find: 1986 Ford LTD Country Squire LX

01 - 1986 Ford Country Squire Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin Since we're on a Country Squire Junkyard Find roll, with a '76 Squire on Wednesday and a '77 Squire yesterday, let's take a look at a Panther Squire today. Yes, Panther Love even extends to Reagan-era woodie wagons!
09 - 1986 Ford Country Squire Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin The 1979-91 Panther-based Country Squire was much smaller than the dreadnaught that preceded it, but it still had room to haul a family of six in relative comfort.
04 - 1986 Ford Country Squire Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin Thanks to the lightweight Panther chassis and electronic fuel injection (starting in the 1983 model year), owners of 1980s Country Squires were able to crack the magical 20 highway MPG fuel-economy barrier. The mid-70s Squires were lucky to get double-digit fuel economy (downhill, drafting 18″ behind a semi).
10 - 1986 Ford Country Squire Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin It's hard to imagine phony wood paneling worse than the stuff used by Ford in the 1970s, but the bean counters managed to find an even cheaper source for the stuff by the 1980s.
02 - 1986 Ford Country Squire Down On the Junkyard - Picture courtesy of Murilee Martin These were pretty good wagons, in spite of the archaic 60s-flashback decorative touches, and you still see quite a few on the street today.