A Trip Down Ford's Memory Lane of Cars

Do You Remember these Ford Nameplates that are know longer made?

The Ford Aspire was the second-generation of the Ford Festiva subcompact car sold by Ford Motor Company in the US and Canada from 1994 to 1997. The Aspire was available as a three- or five-door hatchback. The vehicles were manufactured by Kia Motors in South Korea with engine and components made by Mazda of Japan, and they were also marketed as the Kia Avella in Asia and the Ford Festiva in Japan and the Australasia region.



The Ford Aspire was the first car in its class (in North America) to have standard dual air bags and optional 4-wheel ABS. An SE model available from 1994-1995 included a blue-faced gauge package with a tachometer, a rear spoiler, alloy wheels, fog lights, and "SE" badging.

1997, the Aspire received a new oval grille, rounded headlamps, and other minor changes. This was the last year for North American sales.

The Aspire was replaced in Kia's lineup by the Kia Rio, which was sold under its own name (until replaced by a Hyundai-based car of the same name) because the Ford-Kia-Mazda relationship had ended.

It is mentioned in Craig Cheetham's book "The World's Worst Cars". A tendency to rust, rear brake lamp assemblies prone to water leaks, and chassis problems were among its weak points. The Aspire will finally be replaced in Ford's North American lineup by the Ford Fiesta in 2010, as the spot it left vacant had not been filled since its cancellation.

Mercury Mystique

The Ford Contour is a passenger car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America. It was the American rendition of Ford's CDW27 world car program that resulted also in Contour's twin, the first-generation Ford Mondeo made and sold elsewhere around the globe. The Contour also had a Mercury version called Mercury Mystique. Both were available in 4-door sedan body style only. The Contour and Mystique replaced previous Ford's North American mid-range models, the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz, and were classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ as compact cars.

Ford SVT Contour

The Contour and Mystique debuted in late 1994[citation needed] as 1995 models, and continued until 2000, when they went out of production without a direct replacement in Ford's lineup in USA and Canada, while in Mexico Ford replaced the Contour with a locally manufactured variant of the European Ford Mondeo.

Ford Cougar (Europe) Mercury Cougar (US)

The Ford Cougar was a mid-sized coupé car sold in the European market between 1998 and 2002. The car was named after a famous American muscle car from the Ford stable, the Mercury Cougar. It was originally intended to be the third generation Probe, but after a rationalisation of the three coupés available in the United States, the Probe name was dropped in favour of the Cougar.

The Ford Country Sedan was identical to the Ford Country Squire pictured here, without the pseudo-wood panelling.

The Ford Country Sedan was a full-size station wagon built by the Ford Motor Company from 1952 until 1974.

It was based on the Ford full-size car line available in each year. The Country Sedan was the mid-trim station wagon in the Ford range. Unlike the Country Squire, the Country Sedan featured plain body sides. As a full-size wagon, it could carry up to 9 passengers, if so equipped.

The Country Sedan was based on the Customline from 1952 to 1954. Beginning in 1955, Ford spun their station wagons into their own series and the Country Sedan continued to represent the mid-trim level station wagon. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Country Sedan was approximate to the Galaxie and Galaxie 500 in trim elements.

Ford Eifel 1938

Ford Eifel was a car manufactured by Ford Germany and Ford Hungary between 1935 and 1939.

About 60 000 of them were produced. The engine was a four cylinder, four stroke 1172 cc giving 34 hp (25 kW) at 4250 rpm. It was made with many different body types, such as a two door limousine, a two door cabriolimousine, two and four seat cabriolet, two seater roadster and a light truck.It replaced the Ford Koln and it was itself replaced by the Ford Taunus.

The model was named after the Eifel mountain range in western Germany.

Ford Elite (1975 model shown)

The Ford Elite was an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market from 1974 to 1976. The Elite was based on the Ford Torino, and was a two-door coupe intended to be, in the words of Ford's advertising, a "mid-size car in the Thunderbird tradition"—a more affordable personal luxury car than the Thunderbird, intended to compete with such cars as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Chrysler Cordoba. It was essentially the concurrent Mercury Cougar XR-7 with a mild front end restyle.

In the 1974 model year, the Elite was considered a sub-model of the Torino; although advertised separately, the side script said "Gran Torino Elite" and the car would be titled and registered as a Gran Torino. In 1975 (with "Elite" side script) and 1976 (no side script), the Elite was fully its own model. In all three years, the car sold well.

The Elite name was dropped after 1976 because the Ford range was being restructured and downsized. The Thunderbird was dramatically reduced in size and price for 1977, moving to the old Torino platform, while the Torino itself was replaced by the LTD II. In effect, the Elite continued under the more-recognized Thunderbird name, with the larger car being discontinued.

Ford EXP

First shown at the Chicago Auto Show and introduced in April 1981 as an early 1982 model, the Ford EXP and Mercury LN7 were the first two-seaters that Ford offered in 25 years.

Comparing the EXP to the original Thunderbird, Ford Division General Manager Louis E. Latalf said: "We’re introducing another two-seater with the same flair, but the EXP will be a very affordable, very fuel efficient car matched to the lifestyles of the eighties."

Ford's marketing strategy at the time was based on their perception of American lifestyle in the early 1980s. Ford felt that the growing number of one and two person households, combined with the lifestyle of the younger target audience who desired a small sporty car, led them to the conclusion that Americans wanted a "lively little car that is dependable, efficient, and good-looking".

Ford's feeling was that if a customer wanted room for four or five passengers, they would buy an Escort or a Fairmont. The whole marketing philosophy behind the EXP was rather like that of a European grand tourer; a personal vehicle for two, with a shotgun seat for emergency transport of a third. The designation of EXP reflected this philosophy.

Ford Fairlane

The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan.


1957 Ford Fairlane

1958 Ford Fairlane

Over time, the name referred to a number of different cars in different classes; the Fairlane was a full-size car during the 1950s but became a mid-size car in the 1960s. The mid-sized model spawned the Australian-built Fairlane in 1967, although it was considered a large car there.

Ford Fairmont Wagon

The Ford Fairmont was a North American compact car, produced between 1978 and 1983.

The 1978 Ford Fairmont was the first vehicle built on the Ford Fox platform, which would be the basis for a variety of other models, including the 1980 to 1988 Thunderbird, the 1981 to 1982 American Ford Granada, the 1979 to 2004 Mustang, and in 1982, the downsized Lincoln Continental. The Fairmont replaced the Ford Maverick, and at introduction was twinned with the equivalent Mercury Zephyr.

2-door and 4-door sedan, and 5-door wagon bodies appeared at introduction, joined slightly later by a specialty coupe with a different roofline known as the Futura, a name which had first appeared in the Ford Falcon line some 17 years before. The Fairmont Futura featured an unusual two-piece vinyl roof with an upswept central roof band, similar to that on the contemporary Thunderbird. The Fairmont was a stunning success for Ford, and the 1978 model set the record for production of a new model, eclipsing the record held by the 1965 Mustang. While it retained a conventional rear-wheel drive platform, the Fairmont was efficiently packaged and offered excellent passenger and cargo room for its size. Contemporary reviews uniformly praised the Fairmont and it was favorably compared with contemporary Volvo and BMW models. Rack-and-pinion steering gave the Fairmont much better handling and roadability than the Maverick models it replaced, and despite its roomy, midsized body, lightweight components were used which gave the Fairmont better fuel economy than the Maverick.

First Generation 1960-1963 Ford Falcon

The Ford Falcon was an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from 1960 through 1970. It was manufactured in the USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Mexico and Chile. It was a huge sales success for Ford initially, handily outselling rival compacts from Chrysler and General Motors introduced at the same time. During its lifespan, the Falcon was offered in a wide range of body styles: two-door and four-door sedans, two and four door station wagons, two door hardtops, convertibles, and a sedan delivery and the Ranchero pickup. For several years, the Falcon name was also used on passenger versions of the Ford Econoline van.

The 1960 Frontenac, which was essentially a rebadged Falcon for the Canadian market.

By American standards of the 1960s the Falcon was a small car, but elsewhere it would be considered a mid-size car. It was powered by a small, lightweight 90 hp (67 kW), 144 CID (2.4 L) straight-6 with a single-barrel carburetor. Construction was unibody, and suspension was fairly standard; coil springs in front, leaf springs in the rear. Drum brakes were used for both the front and rear wheels. A three-speed column shift was standard with the two-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic available at cost. There was room for six passengers in reasonable comfort in the simple interior. Body styles available from the launch year were two and four-door Sedans, two or four-door Station Wagons, and the Ranchero car-based pickup, transferred onto the Falcon platform for 1960 from the Fairlane. A Mercury derivative, the Mercury Comet, originally intended for the defunct Edsel marque, was launched in the US midway through the 1960 model year.

The market shift which spurred the development of the Falcon and its competitors also precipitated the demise of several well-established marques in the late-1950s and early-1960s. Besides the infamous tale of the Edsel, the Nash, Hudson, DeSoto and Packard nameplates all disappeared from the marketplace.

In 1960, Ford's Canadian subsidiary introduced the Falcon-based Frontenac. It was designed to give Mercury-Meteor dealers a smaller model to sell since the Comet was originally intended as an Edsel, which was sold by Ford-Monarch dealers. Produced for the 1960 model year only, the Frontenac was essentially a re-badged 1960 Falcon with its own unique grille, tail lights and external trim including red maple leaf insignias. Despite strong sales (5% of Ford's total Canadian output) the Frontenac was discontinued and replaced by the Mercury Comet for 1961.

Robert McNamara, a Ford executive who became Ford's president briefly before being offered the job of U.S. Defense Secretary, is regarded by many as "the father of the Falcon". McNamara left Ford shortly after the Falcon's introduction, but his faith in the concept was vindicated with record sales; over half a million in the first year and hitting over a million sold by the end of the second year.

1981 Ford Fiesta Mk1 Festival

In the early 1970s, European demand from consumers for superminis was rising. Even Ford's smallest model, the Escort, was a conventional front-engined, rear wheel drive car; yet competitors were launching smaller, front wheel drive cars, like the Fiat 127 and the Renault 5. The effects of the 1973 energy crisis was also increasing demand for smaller cars. BMC (which had since merged into British Leyland) had entered the mini-car market with its Mini in 1959, while the Rootes Group had launched the ultimately less successful Hillman Imp in 1963, but times had moved on and people looking for small cars now wanted practical hatchbacks instead of conventional saloons. Vauxhall had entered the modern supermini market with its Chevette three-door hatchback early in 1975.

Ford needed a small car to compete in this emerging market. After research and many mock-ups, a prototype and project known as "Bobcat" was created, which would be the basis of Ford's new car. The original plans for the "Bobcat" specified a desire that the new car cost US$100 less to produce than the Ford Escort.

The short listed names for the new car designed by the project Bobcat team (headed by Mr Trevor Erskine) were Amigo, Bambi, Bebe, Bravo, Bolero, Cherie, Tempo, Chico, Fiesta, Forito, Metro, Pony and Sierra. Despite more board votes for "Bravo", Henry Ford II personally overruled and named the car "Fiesta", while "Sierra" was introduced on the Cortina replacement in 1982, and ironically the "Metro" nameplate was introduced by rival manufacturer British Leyland for the similar-sized Austin Metro in 1980.

The name Fiesta belonged to General Motors at the time; however, it was freely given for Ford to use on their new B-class car. After years of speculation by the motor press about Ford's new car, it was unveiled in late 1975.

2007 Ford 500 SEL

The Ford Five Hundred (code name D258) is a full-size sedan that was produced by the Ford Motor Company during the 2005 to 2007 model years in North America. The Five Hundred, along with the Ford Freestyle and the Mercury Montego, ended production at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant during June of 2007. In North America, the name evoked the classic Fairlane 500 and Galaxie 500 models of the 1950s through 1970s. The Five Hundred was assembled at Ford's Chicago Assembly plant, which previously produced the Taurus. The Five Hundred was introduced as production-ready at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and entered production that summer. However, the Ford Five Hundred nameplate is still used in the Middle East for the 2008 model year, despite having the name "Taurus" used on it in the U.S.

Ford Galaxie

The Ford Galaxie was a full-size car built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford’s full-size range from 1959 until 1966. The Galaxie continued below the LTD as Ford’s mid-level full-size model from 1967 until its demise at the end of the 1974 model year.

The Galaxie was the high volume counterpart to the Chevrolet Impala. Some Galaxies were high-performance, racing specification machines, a larger forebear to the muscle car era. Others were plain family sedans.

A version of the car was also produced in Brazil under the names Galaxie 500, LTD and Landau from 1967 to 1983

The similarly named Ford Galaxy is an large car/minivan available in the European market. The vehicles name is taken from the original Ford Galaxie.

Ford Granada

The Ford Granada was an intermediate sized car built and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1975 to 1982, along with a twin model, the Mercury Monarch. The Granada was touted by Ford as a rival to the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz 280 of the time. The Granada and Monarch were available as a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan.

The Granada and Monarch were originally intended to replace the Ford Maverick and the Mercury Comet, but ended up being sold alongside them for three seasons, when the new models were repositioned as more upscale models intended to lure buyers moving from fully-equipped full-size models. They were assembled in Wayne, Michigan and Mahwah, New Jersey. They also overlapped with the Maverick/Comet's ultimate successors, the Ford Fairmont and the Mercury Zephyr, which were released in 1978. The first-generation Granada and Monarch were based on the platform of the Maverick/Comet four-door. It shared much of its design with earlier Ford compacts and intermediates, dating back to the 1960 Ford Falcon. Powertrain options included the base 200 CID six-cylinder, a 250 CID six, a 302 CID V8, and a 351 CID "Windsor" V8. Available transmissions included a standard three-speed manual, a four-speed manual with overdrive, and a three-speed automatic(standard on 351-powered cars). The 1980 model year added a 49-state optional 255 CID V8, which was the only V8 offered in California-spec cars that year.

Ford GT

The Ford GT is a mid-engined sports car built by Ford Motor Company from 2003 to 2006. It began as a concept car designed in anticipation of Ford's centennial year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its "heritage" names such as Mustang and Thunderbird. Camilo Pardo, the head of Ford's "Living Legends" studio, is credited as the chief designer of the GT and worked under the guidance of J Mays. The designers drew inspiration from Ford's classic GT40 race cars of the 1960s and the GT is sometimes mistaken for its 1960s counterpart.

Positive response on the auto show circuit in 2002 helped persuade the company to produce the car in limited quantities, and the first production versions appeared in 2005. It is a very high-performance, two-seater vehicle with a strong styling resemblance to its racing ancestor and performance to match. The powerplant is a mid-mounted supercharged 5.4 litre V8, producing 550 horsepower (410 kW) and 500 ft/lbs (680 N·m) of torque. Top speed is 205 mph (330 km/h)(electronically limited).

Ford GT40

The Ford GT40 was a high performance sports car and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969 (in 1967 with a different body, though). It was built to win long-distance sports car races against Ferrari (who won at Le Mans six times in a row from 1960 to 1965).

The car was named the GT (for Grand Tourisme) with the 40 representing its overall height of 40 inches (1.02 m, measured at the windshield) as required by the rules. Large displacement Ford V8 engines (4.7 L and 7 L) were used, compared with the Ferrari V12 which displaced 3.0 L or 4.0 L.

Early cars were simply named "Ford GT". The name "GT40" was the name of Ford's project to prepare the cars for the international endurance racing circuit, and the quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 through GT-112. The "production" began and the subsequent cars, the MkI, MkIIs, MkIIIs, and MkVs, numbered GT40-P-1000 through GT40-P-1145, were officially "GT40s". The name of Ford's project, and the serial numbers dispel the story that "GT40" was "only a nickname."

GTX1 Prototype #001 on display.

In November 2005 the Ford GTX1, a roadster version of the Ford GT, was unveiled in Las Vegas. The $48,000 aftermarket conversion was performed by the Genaddi Design Group. It included optional performance upgrades to the suspension, brakes, aerodynamics, and an improved supercharger that increases power to 700 hp (520 kW).

The contemporary Ford GT is a modern homage to the GT40.

A 1933 Ford Köln Y.

Ford Köln was an automobile from the Cologne, Germany plant of the Ford Motor Company that was in production from 1932 to 1935. It was the German version of the Ford Model Y. The name came from the German name for the city of Cologne. It had a four cylinder, four stroke engine at 933 cc giving 21 hp (16 kW) at 3400 rpm. The top speed was 85 km/h (53 mph). It had a three speed gearbox (plus reverse) with synchromesh on the second and third gear. It was a small car weighing only 485 kg (1069 lb).

Due to heavy competition, mainly by Opel, DKW and Adler, the Ford Köln was not a success. In 1935 it was replaced by the Ford Eifel which was a larger car.



The Ford LTD was a car model name that has been used by the Ford Motor Company in North America.

The LTD designation is considered by some an abbreviation of "Luxury Trim Decor" and by others as a limited body style classification for the Galaxie. There is evidence that, at least in Australia, it originally stood for "Lincoln Type Design." The original "Car Life" review at the time the first LTD was released suggests that it stood for nothing and was just three meaningless letters (that article also noted it could not stand for "Limited" as Chrysler at the time already was using and had the copyright on that car name/designation).

A range of cars wore the LTD badge from 1965 to 1991 in the United States. The LTD name debuted as the highest trim level package on the Ford Galaxie 500, but became its own model in 1967. The Galaxie name continued for the lower levels until 1974.

In 1977, the name was used on two different cars. The full-size LTD continued, but a rebodied version of the Ford Torino was sold as the LTD II. Both offered coupe, sedan, and wagon body styles. This arrangement continued until the standard LTD was moved to the Panther platform in 1979.

In 1983, the LTD was again split into two separate lines, with the LTD Crown Victoria remaining full-size and the LTD name placed on a mid-size car based on the Fox platform. The smaller LTD continued in sedan and station wagon forms through 1986, overlapping slightly with the first model year of the Ford Taurus in 1986, the car that became its successor.



The Ford LTD II was a mid-size car built by the Ford Motor Company between 1977 and 1979 for the North American market. It was based on the Ford Torino, which it replaced, and used the same platform as the concurrent Ford Thunderbird, which was downsized and dramatically reduced in price for 1977 to occupy the market position of the 1974-76 Ford Elite, which was a Ford Torino derivative designed to compete with the popular Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

When Ford redesigned its mid-sized models for 1977, the Torino name was replaced by "LTD II" in an attempt to convince consumers that this was really a downsized full-size car, much like the new Chevrolet Impala and Caprice. While 1977 sales were reasonably strong, they dropped dramatically for 1978 and 1979 in the face of newly downsized intermediate models from General Motors, as well as Chrysler's new Dodge Diplomat and Chrysler LeBaron, and Ford's own Fairmont, which took over the mid-size wagon slot for 1978. A two-door coupe and four-door sedan were available in all three model years, and a four-door station wagon was offered for 1977 only. It was also the platform for the final Ford Rancheros.

The LTD II was not directly replaced in the Ford lineup. Ford downsized its full-size Ford LTD for 1979, with dimensions very similar to the mid-size LTD II. In 1980, the Granada effectively took its place as the mid-size offering, until 1983 when Ford re-named its full-size cars Crown Victoria and a new mid-size LTD was introduced on the Fox platform.



The Ford LTD Crown Victoria was a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1983 to 1991. It was renamed the Ford Crown Victoria after 1992, but while receiving a completely different body and drivetrain, it used the same platform.



The Mercury Marauder was the name of different automobiles made by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company.



The Ford Maverick was compact car manufactured from April 1969-1977 in the USA, Canada, Mexico and from 1973 to 1979 in Brazil — employing a rear wheel drive platform dating to the original 1960 Falcon. Originally marketed as a 2-door sedan at an initial price of USD$1,995, the Maverick was designed to be inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

1956 Ford Parklane Stationwagon

The Ford Parklane was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company in the United States for one year only, 1956. Launched to compete with the Chevrolet Nomad, it was a two-door station wagon, based on the Ford Ranch Wagon, but unlike that low-end workhorse model, it was tricked out with all the fittings of Ford's top-end Fairlane models of that year, including the distinctive stainless steel side 'tick' and a well-appointed interior.

As a Nomad competitor, it was a successful one, since 15,186 were built in comparison to 7,886 of the competition. The problem was that neither figure was particularly impressive; the Nomad (based on a Chevrolet concept car of 1954) wasn't doing all that well even before competition came over the horizon.

Two-door wagons in general have proven rather hard to sell; those who need the carrying capacity of a station wagon normally carry passengers and want easy access to those rear seats. A low end model like the Ranch Wagon appeals to a market segment who primarily want the vehicle for its hauling capacity but occasionally need to carry people, but a higher-specification car isn't what those buyers need.

A prototype for a 1957 Parklane was built, but instead Ford produced the slightly downmarket Del Rio as their 1957 two-door station wagon, making the Parklane a single-year only model, and quite a rarity.

The Nomad, being based on a concept car, was always better known, but its main reason for fame - its use by surfers needing a vehicle to haul their boards around - came only after both cars were long discontinued. Surfers, although the perfect market for such a vehicle, never tended to buy new.



The Ford Pinto was a subcompact manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market, first introduced on September 11, 1970, and built through the 1980 model year. The rebadged Lincoln-Mercury version, the Mercury Bobcat debuted in Canada in 1974, and subsequently in the U.S. in 1975.

The AMC Gremlin arrived on the market on April 1, 1970, six months before the Pinto. As with the Pinto, which derived heavily from the Ford Maverick, the Gremlin derived from the AMC Hornet.

A team of stylists at Ford was assigned to design the Pinto's exterior and interior. However, Robert Eidschun's design of the exterior was eventually chosen, in its entirety. This was unusual, as most cars consist of several elements, each designed by a different stylist. The clay models of the Pinto were finalized in December of 1968, which is when Eidschun left Ford to join Chrysler, where he went on to design elements of the successful Dodge Charger and Plymouth Duster.

While the previously introduced Ford Maverick offered either straight-6 or V8 engine and twin bench seats, the Pinto offered a straight-4 engine and bucket seats — more in keeping with small imports such as the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla. Pintos were manufactured in St. Thomas, Ontario; Edison, New Jersey; and in Richmond, California.



The Ford Probe was a coupe produced by Ford, introduced in 1989 to replace the Ford EXP as the company's sport compact car. The Probe was fully based on the Mazda G-platform using unique sheetmetal and interior. The instrument cluster and pop-up headlight mechanisms are borrowed from the FC RX-7. While it was sold worldwide as a sporty coupe, the Probe was intended to fill the market niche formerly occupied by the Capri in Europe, and although it was intended as the replacement to the Ford EXP, it was also considered a possible replacement for the Ford Mustang in the North American market as a direct competitor with the Acura Integra and the Toyota Celica. During that time, Ford's marketing team had deemed that a front-wheel drive platform (borrowed Mazda GD and GE platforms) would have lower costs for production, and also because the platform had been gaining popularity with the consumers. Mustang fans objected to the front-wheel drive configuration, Japanese engineering, and lack of a V8, so Ford began work on a new design for the Mustang instead.



The Ford Ranchero was a coupe utility produced between 1957 and 1979 based on full-size, compact and intermediate automobiles by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market.

Variations based on the original 1960 US Falcon for home markets in Argentina and South Africa were produced through the late 1980s.

Though Ford car/truck combinations had been around since 1934 when Ford Australia's lone designer Lew Bandt penned the world's first coupe utility, thereby spawning the popularity of the so-called "ute" in that country, the Ranchero was the first postwar American vehicle of its type from the factory and did well enough to spawn a competitor from General Motors in 1959, the Chevrolet El Camino.

Unlike a pickup truck, the car-based Ranchero and El Camino were designed with an integral cab and cargo bed throughout production.

A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run.



The Ford Scorpio was an executive car produced by the Ford Motor Company at its factory in Cologne, Germany between 1985 and 1998. Known within Ford by its codename DE-1, it replaced the Ford Granada. Although the car was still badged Granada in the United Kingdom, the Scorpio badge only was used on the top-of-the range versions (hence the Granada Scorpio) until 1994, when it was replaced by a revised car which was known universally as the Scorpio. It was awarded the accolade of European Car of the Year for 1986.



Ford Victoria Skyliner for the 1954 Ford and Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner for the 1955–1956 Ford Crown Victoria, both with acrylic glass roofs.

The Ford Skyliner was an innovative full-size automobile with a retractable hardtop produced by the Ford Motor Company in the late 1950s. Based on the North American Ford Fairlane, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. This mechanism was prone to failure, and the large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales. Nonetheless, the retractable hardtop reappeared in the 1990s with the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

The Skyliner, which was produced for model years 1957, 1958, and 1959, had a squared-off roofline style that was admired by the public and found its way onto most Ford two-door hardtops until 1965, including the Thunderbird, Galaxie, and Fairlane.

The Skyliner name was previously applied to another Fairlane derivative, the Crown Victoria Skyliner. This vehicle had a clear acrylic glass roof panel over the front row of seats.

Today, the Skyliner has become a very valuable collectible car, with high-point restored specimens costing upwards of $50,000 (2006).



The Ford Tempo is a two-door coupe and four-door sedan produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1984 to 1994. It was the successor to the Ford Fairmont, and was replaced in 1994 by the Ford Contour. The Tempo was part of a rejuvenation by Ford to offer more environmentally friendly, fuel efficient, and more modern styled models to compete with the imports, and its innovation and aerodynamic design later paved the way for the groundbreaking Ford Taurus.

1st Generation T-Bird

13th Generation T-Bird

The Thunderbird is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from 1955 through 2005 — through thirteen generations and various body types.

The name "Thunderbird" was inspired by the name of an exclusive housing development and recalls the mythological creature common to Indigenous peoples of North America.





The Ford Torino was an intermediate car produced by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was initially an upscale version of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane, which Ford produced between 1962 and 1970. After 1968 the Fairlane name was retained for the base models with lower levels of trim from those models which wore the Torino name. During this time, the Torino was considered a subseries to the Fairlane. By 1970 the Torino name had become the primary name for Ford's intermediate, and the Fairlane was now a subseries of the Torino. In 1971 the Fairlane name was dropped altogether and all Ford intermediates were called Torinos. Torino is Italian for the city of Turin, which is considered the Detroit of Italy. This name was one of several originally proposed for the Mustang while in development.

Most Torinos were conventional cars, and generally the most popular models were the 4-door sedans and 4-door hardtops. However, Ford produced some high performance versions of the Torino by fitting them with large powerful engines, such as the 428 CID and 429 CID "Cobra-Jet" engines. These cars are classified as muscle cars. Ford also chose the Torino as the base for its NASCAR entrants, and it has a highly successful racing heritage.



For 2001, the sedan was limited to fleet sales only and the Escort moniker on the Escort ZX2 was quietly dropped, making the car officially just ZX2.

The writing was on the wall that year with the North American debut of the Ford Focus. Though not without its fans, both then and now, and still fairly well-represented in the automotive aftermarket, the ZX2 was replaced by the Focus ZX3, ZX4and ZX5. Though the two cars shared the same Zetec engine, there were a few differences. The Focus lacked the exhaust-side VCT, and contained less aggressive camshafts that pushed the power band down a few hundred RPM. They both shared the same block, but due to the different camshafts and the different cylinder head, the torque output for the Focus was bumped up by 8 ft-lb (10.8 N·m). Thanks to better gearing and less weight the ZX2 continued to outperform the Focus. The ZX2 continued with little more than 15 in (381 mm) alloy wheels and a rear defroster now offered as standard equipment, and for 2003, a revised front fascia. Production ceased at the end of the 2003 model year.