The Ford Tempo and its twin, the Mercury Topaz, are compact cars that were produced by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1984 to 1994. They were downsized successors to the boxy Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr twins. The Tempo and Topaz were part of a rejuvenation plan by Ford to offer more environmentally friendly, fuel efficient, and more modern styled models to compete with the European and Japanese imports. While the car sold well, its innovation and aerodynamic design paved the way for the even more groundbreaking Ford Taurus. The Tempo and Topaz were replaced for 1995 by the "world car" platform sold in North America as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.