Blue Oval Logo

[MarkFive]

When did Ford first start to put the blue oval brand logo on its cars?

[RichardJensen]

In the U.S. the first post-war use was 1983; First use of the Blue oval was on the Model A in 1928. It was used on all Fords up until 1938/39.

[jpd80]

In Europe, Australia and NewZealand, it was mid 1976 with the Falcon, Cortina and Escort.

[goingincirclez]

Actually, the blue oval's first reappearance in the US was in late 1981, when the 1982 Ford Granada went on sale. The car was little changed aside from that. In 1981, the word "Ford" had been spelled atop the grille (and trunk) in block letters. The car was dropped for 1983... so one way to tell an 81 and 82 apart is the Ford logo.

 

Example

Edited November 11, 2007 by goingincirclez

[RichardJensen]

There was a 1982 Ford Granada?

 

owwwwwwwwwwwwwieeee my head hurts.

[goingincirclez]

There was a 1982 Ford Granada?

 

owwwwwwwwwwwwwieeee my head hurts.

 

 

:lol: and here I thought my fondness for Granadas would would never serve me.

 

That was also the year there was a Mercury Cougar Station Wagon (yes indeed... all together now: "Yipe!") - proof that Ford has done far more inexplicable things in the past than now. BTW, that Mercury Cougar? Was the Mercury "twin" to the Granada after the name "Monarch" was dropped for 81. See previous comment re: Ford Basketcase Syndrome...

Edited November 11, 2007 by goingincirclez

[jpd80]

1980 Ford Bronco:

 

[RichardJensen]

That was also the year there was a Mercury Cougar Station Wagon

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhh it gets worse.

 

 

But who couldn't love the Vinyl roofed 82 T-bird?

 

[goingincirclez]

Agh! The horror! The Horror! :eek5:

 

Hard to believe they had the audacity to dress that brick in a "25th Anniversary" edition. Which removed the opera window entirely. Egad.

 

Best line about the ThunderBrick: "The 1983 T-Bird made the '82 look like the box it came in".

[RichardJensen]

Hard to believe they had the audacity to dress that brick in a "25th Anniversary" edition. Which removed the opera window entirely. Egad.

Was trying to find, but couldn't, a pic of -that- T-bird. Wonder if Ford has bought them all up and burned them.

 

That thing had a blindspot you could hide a locomotive in.

[goingincirclez]

1980 Ford Bronco:

 

 

Hmm... tough call. Most of the 1980 Bronco's I've seen had F O R D on the front of the hood. But the hood and grille were interchangeable with later model years... so you could have a custom in that pic there.

[RichardJensen]

Ford logos were first used widely on '83 trucks, vans, and cars. The LTD, Tempo, Escort, Mustang, Econoline/Club Wagon, F-Series and Bronco all had a centered blue oval. The Crown Vic had a blue oval in the lower right corner of the grille. The T-bird IIRC, had blue oval badging only on the decklid.

 

I defer to goingincirclez' knowledge of minutae on the '82 Granada.

[goingincirclez]

Was trying to find, but couldn't, a pic of -that- T-bird. Wonder if Ford has bought them all up and burned them.

 

That thing had a blindspot you could hide a locomotive in.

 

Hopefully that was the case and they all met a fitting end.

 

That car made the Aztek look sleek!

[jpd80]

Hmm... tough call. Most of the 1980 Bronco's I've seen had F O R D on the front of the hood. But the hood and grille were interchangeable with later model years... so you could have a custom in that pic there.

Found the answer, Ring in!

That's a later Bronco Grille on a 1980

 

I think our Broncos for Australia had this grille to match other products.

 

Edit,

Our Broncos in Australia were reintroduced midway through 1981 (1982 model)

so that's probably why we had blue oval on US based product.

 

Edited November 11, 2007 by jpd80

[Edstock]

25th Anniversary T-Bird

 

http://www.mustangandfords.com/thehistoryo...d/photo_16.html

 

A low point.

[MarkFive]

:lol: and here I thought my fondness for Granadas would would never serve me.

 

That was also the year there was a Mercury Cougar Station Wagon (yes indeed... all together now: "Yipe!") - proof that Ford has done far more inexplicable things in the past than now.

 

Mercury also had a Cougar Station Wagon in 1977 (for 1 year only). My father had one.

 

[2005Explorer]

My brother had a 1982 Ford F-150 and I know for sure it had an oval on it. I also know that the 1980-1981 Ford F-Series and Bronco just had the letters F O R D across the top lip of the hood. So I am going to say 1982, however a few models may have taken until 1983. It seems like Ford was going through a very tough time then and that might have been a reason they introduced the oval again to improve marketing.

[MarkFive]

25th Anniversary T-Bird

 

http://www.mustangandfords.com/thehistoryo...d/photo_16.html

 

A low point.

 

We had a 1980 Ford Thunderbird Landau. It was 2-tone silver and black and it had the optional TRX tire/suspension package - it could handle the snow very well. It also had the all-digital dashboard which I think was a first for any domestic automobile (aside from the Cougar and Lincolns that came out that year). I wasn't crazy about the digital dash after a while, but it was cool the first time I saw it. The fact that it arrived from the factory with a cracked transmission case is another example of a low point. The early 80s were not good years for Ford.

[AlRozzi]

The first of the '80s Fords to get the blue oval was the EXP.

[Roadrunner]

If it matters in any shape, it looks like the Fairmont may never have got the Ford blue oval, instead with Ford across the top of the grille.

 

1983 Ford lineup brochure:

[Mark B. Morrow]

Mercury also had a Cougar Station Wagon in 1977 (for 1 year only). My father had one.

 

 

 

Nice car MarkFive. There was one in a magazine article recently. Same color but with different wheels.

[Mark B. Morrow]

The first of the '80s Fords to get the blue oval was the EXP.

 

I had an EXP back in '81. It was a fun if underpowered little car. It did well in autocross but those Michelin TRX tires were expen$ive.

[MarkFive]

Nice car MarkFive. There was one in a magazine article recently. Same color but with different wheels.

 

Thats actually not our car - ours was red with the same Villager option (this was just a sample photo I found on the Internet).

 

It was a nice car. I was thrilled when we got it. My father was a wagon person and every car for the previous 5 years had been a Torino wagon. The only reason we got it was because Ford has discontinued the Torino. Then they produced the Cougar wagon for 1 year, dropped it and brought in the Zephyr which we had as well (with a 302 V8!).

[ebritt]

[Watchdevil]

I had an EXP back in '81. It was a fun if underpowered little car. It did well in autocross but those Michelin TRX tires were expen$ive.

 

The EXP was introduced in April 1981 as a 1982 model. It was the first postwar US Ford to wear the Blue Oval on the nose and also the rear. In the fall of 1981, the 1982 models of the Escort, Granada & LTD Crown Victoria recieved Blue Oval emblems. The Mustang got them for the first time in 1983 and the Fairmont was discontinued at the end of the model year without ever getting them. From 1989-97 the Thunderbird carried the Blue Oval only on the decklid.