Mercury Topaz
In addition to the Tempo, there was also the Topaz, which was the quintessential badge job if there ever was one. There was nothing that separated the Topaz from the Tempo, other than a different front grill. Why Ford thought this would be enough to charge a premium price for the car is beyond us. The Topaz was the start of the downfall of the Mercury brand, which faded into obscurity in the 1990s. The Topaz should have been a lot different from the Escort but wasn’t (via TTAC).
Consumers wanted something different and value-oriented, but the Topaz wasn’t it. The car was unreliable and cheap, and there wasn’t much to separate it from the Ford Tempo. These cars were a small blip in the history of Ford and they aren’t something most drivers should want to own.