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There’s a rule of thumb in the auto industry that when a vehicle gets so old that it has one bumper in the grave, you can salvage a wee bit more time from it by painting it purple.

By the time the folks stop gawking and laughing you’ve gotten another year out of it to amortize the original tooling costs and then you can replace it with something fresh.

The 1995 Ford Escort GT coupe we tested was finished in ultraviolet clear coat, which, for the uninitiated, is purple.

One word of advice to anyone considering the $400 expense to wrap your car as a grape: Don’t do it. Young and old alike snickered, sneered, and guffawed.

And those were the ones who tried to be nice when confronted with what No. 1 daughter called the “Barneymobile,” a reference to a dinasour who we are told also sports an ultraviolet hue and who supposedly has taken the spotlight away from Garfield, one of those furry critters some folks refer to as felines.

The GT, like the 200 SX, sported a deck-lid spoiler, though on a car as old as Escort it looks more like an afterthought than a decoration.

Actually, in comparing the Escort GT coupe with the 200SX coupe, it’s easy to see why some would call the Ford product a Barneymobile. The 1.8-liter four cylinder engine is about 20 h.p. shy of the 200SX’s, but it feels like 50 horses shy of a herd. And the Escort is louder, the growl and groan more pronounced when called upon to spring to life. Mileage comes up a bit short, too.

You might argue, of course, that the 200SX starts at almost $17,000, the Escort GT at only $12,790. Standard equipment includes power brakes and steering, 15-inch performance tires, sports suspension, tinted glass, dual power mirrors, intermittent wipers, fog lamps, front air dam, body-colored side moldings, body-colored bumpers, split folding rear seats, AM/FM stereo, digital clock, dual cupholders, and trip odometer.

But to dress up the Escort GT like the 200SX you have to add costly option “groups” that bring you rear window defroster, air conditioning, speed control, power windows and doors. Those option groups narrow the price spread considerably.

Escort gets a remake in 1996, perhaps at midyear, and reportedly will be the last time Ford’s partner, Mazda, plays a role in the design and development of the vehicle. At that point Ford of Europe takes over and brings out another all-new version in 1998.

With one new model following another so quickly, it appears that for 1996 the sedan will be restyled and the coupe will follow by a year.

Then, in 1998, the restyling will again be strung out over a couple of years, with the sedan first and the coupe to follow.

Until the new Escort appears, it may be one of Ford’s top sellers but the 200SX is a far better car.

>> 1995 Ford Escort GT coupe Wheelbase: 98.4 inches Length: 170 inches Engine: 1.8-liter, 127-h.p., 4-cylinder Transmission: 4-speed automatic EPA mileage: 23 m.p.g. city/29 m.p.g. highway Base price: $12,790 Price as tested: $17,035. Add $885 for preferred equipment group including rear-window defroster and air conditioning; $790 for automatic transmission; $460 for luxury group including leather-wrapped steering column, speed control and power decklid release; $460 for power group including power windows and doors; $400 for ultraviolet clear-coat paint finish; $525 for power moonroof; $565 for ABS and $160 for AM/FM stereo with CD player. Freight runs $375. Pluses: Dual air bags standard. Minuses: ABS an expensive $565 option. Low base price, but you need to add several costly “groups” to get the comfort and convenience items you want. Long in the tooth and tries to cover age spots with ultra iolet clear-coat paint finish, the Nehru jacket of exterior bodycolors. >>