The For Escort was a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. The North American Escort adopted both the badge and the general design of a redesigned European model, and the name has been applied to several different designs in North America since its introduction as Ford's first successful world car. It replaced the dated Ford Pinto subcompact car with a modern front-wheel drive design popularized by the successful introduction of the Volkswagen Rabbit. It also effectively replaced the smaller Ford Fiesta, which though mechanically sophisticated, was too small for a Pinto replacement. It was also Ford's first front-wheel-drive car built in North America.