It's rare an internet poster apologizes about his dirty pics, but this Tempo isn't NSFW, and it will probably get you to the office for just pennies.

Ford Motor Company started building cars in 1903. It started building crappy cars in the ‘70s. By the latter part of that decade, they had established a new mantra for the company's design philosophy, and that was aerodynamics. In 1983 the redesigned Thunderbird debuted, reflecting this new direction. Dubbed the "Aerobird", it brought a new meme to the brand, revitalized sales, and created a lot of positive buzz for Ford. Two years later brought the epochal Taurus, which both refined the design language, and defined mid-size sedans for the next decade. Sandwiched in between was the not-too-big, not-too-small , which is the subject of today's

This Tempo is something special as far as Tempos go, as it is powered by the sturdy and reliable Mazda 2.0 liter diesel 4 cylinder, and backed up by the MTXIII 5-speed manual. These Mazda motors were pretty bulletproof, with only headgasket failures being common issues, which can be overcome with a thermostat of a more generous opening temp than stock.

There's not much you can say about the car, or the ad for that matter, other than they both appear to be very honest. They seller claims 159,000 miles on this workhorse, despite the odometer reaching only 5 digits. A less scrupulous seller might have tried to pass it off as 100K less, but apparently the residents of Ames Iowa are made of finer moral fabric. He also apologizes for not having washed the car prior to taking its glamor shots, and notes that the tall folks might have an issue with the encroaching headliner.

So what we've got here is an original owner, 40MPG, manual gearbox with a new starter and claimed working AC. All for $3,000, American.

So, walk around it. Kick those tires, bounce on the fender, and plop down on the flat, mouse-fur cushion of the driver's seat, and see how you'd fit. What do you think, is $3,000 a Nice Price for a 25-year old, high mileage beater with a sweet diesel motor? Or does just the whisper of the name Tempo set your feet a-dancing to the Crack Pipe Polka?

You decide!

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or go if the ad disappears. Thanks to a1veedubber for the tip.