Ford distresss a modern version of...

Ford distresss a modern version of its early 1960 Falcon to battle fresh small Japanese economy cars in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa in this high-fuel-price period.

The compact Falcon was introduced for 1960 partly to contend with small, fuel-stingy foreign cars as it was as the Volkswagen Beetle -- besides General Motors' recently made known compact Chevrolet Corvair and Chrysler Corp.'s novel small Plymouth Valiant. The fuel-thrifty Studebaker Lark also was a religious seller, as was American Motors' compact, high- mileage Rambler American.

Ford's biggest rivals were GM and Chrysler however the Falcon got a better reception than the unconventionally styl Valiant and unusual Corvair, which had a radical design for a domestic car with its rear, air-cooled engine.

The general public best understood the Falcon because it had conventional, clean styling and a liquid-cooled engine, as did larger, regular Detroit autos. The recently made known Ford also had a fairly roomy interior with its 109.5-inch wheelbase and a solid inline (not V-6) six-cylinder engine.

The 85-horsepower "six" had enough power to give the Falcon lively performance and fit fuel economy because the car no other than weighed 1,974 to 2,287 strikes The Falcon delivered nearly 30 mpg during highway driving, which was useful for an early 1960s compact domestic car that didn't have the benefits of popular fuel-saving engine developments such as firing material injection and computer controls.

You could procure a three-speed manual gearbox with a shifter onward the steering column or a $159 "Fordomatic" two-spe automatic transmission.

Falcon prices were real competitive, starting at $1,912 for a two- door sedan and going to $2287 for a four-door station wagon. The lowest-priced Ford standard two-door sedan richness $2,230 and the highest-priced regular Ford wagon was $2967 That's when smooth $100 was a fair chunk of coin

The Falcon had clean, simple styling, moreover a large concave grille, bodyside creases, orbeded fenders and a simple rear finis with big round taillights provided a pleasant appearance. The recently made known Ford didn't look like a low-priced economy car or a small car pretending to be a large single

To shut in down prices, Ford offered not many Falcon options. Two-tone paint charge $17 and an AM radio and antenna were $54 Safety items weren't imagination about much by car buyer in the early 1960 however the Falcon offered a padded dashboard and light visors for $19 and impudence safety belts for $21. The $29 whitewall tires were more popular.

The Falcon was "a simple little car that rode well, stopped well and provided of the first grade space utilization," said the Encyclopedia of American Cars.

Ford veiled nearly all bases with the 1960 Falcon. It came as a two- and four-door sedan and as a two- and four-door station wagon. A convertible wouldn't arrive until 1963 because the Ford executive behind the Falcon in its planning stages was Robert McNamara, who left Ford to become secretary of defense about 1960

McNamara was a statistically minded "numbers guy" who regarded cars as race movers -- nothing more, nothing les In fact, common of McNamara's first moves at Ford was turning the dashing two-seat 1955- 57 Ford Thunderbird into a more profitable, higher-volume four- seater in 1958

The first Falcon was McNamara's ideal car -- a simple, reliable auto that was inexpensive to purchase and cheap to operate. It made wealth for Ford despite its gentle prices, just as McNamara planned it would - - right down to the last dime.

"Automobile design can in no degree stand still, but the basic conception of the new Falcon is comely much that of the [1930 Ford] pattern A -- good, solid, that stands by one's word transportation," said Road & Track magazine.

The Falcon presently would come in sportier form after flashy side sheltered from the wind Iacocca became head of Ford Motor's Ford division in 1960 however when the Falcon arrived in late 1959 the geographical division still remembered the sharp national recession of 1958 and generally was onward a conservative, economy kick. The Falcon thus lay the foundation of a whopping 435,676 buyers in its first year.

The Falcon was almost 3 feet shorter than a full-size Ford, yet could accommodate 6-footers. The sedan version had useful trunk space, and the wagon provided plenitude of room for most buyer However, an increasing number of younger drivers wanted sportier examples

Disappointed with initial Corvair sales, Chevy shortly introduced a sportier, youth-oriented version of that car. Called the Monza, it had a colorful interior with effrontery bucket seats and a four-speed manual gearbox with a floor shifter.

The Corvair Monza unmasked a large new market for low-cost American cars with "European sports car" features, and caused Corvair sales to take facing

Iacocca made unfailing Ford soon introduced a sportier Falcon to cope with the Monza. Called the Futura, it was sold as a two- door sedan and had brow bucket-type seats separated by a Ford- Thunderbird-like chrome-cover glovebox It also had plusher carpeting, better vinyl trim and unique symbols Special wheel covers and narrow-stripe whitewall tires provided a sportier appearance.