1965 Ford LTD

[Edstock]

1965 Ford LTD – Revolutionary? It Singlehandedly Launched The Great Brougham Epoch

 

is an article by Paul Niedermyer on a site called CURBSIDE CLASSIC. It's an interesting look at the market of the time.

 

Headline superlatives are a slippery slope. But I'm on solid ground here, despite feeling like an idiot for not including the 1965 LTD in my CC survey of five revolutionary cars: 1945 Jeep; 1957 VW; 1958 Thunderbird; 1965 Mustang and the 1973 Honda Civic. But sitting in my old truck across Amazon Creek and spying this '65 LTD Coupe in a parking lot 100 yards away, the Ford Better Idea light bulb suddenly went off:

this is the car that completely changed the marketplace, that singlehandedly launched what I have now officially dubbed the Great Brougham Epoch. Hail the single most influential American car of the whole damn modern era.

 

 

This was the zenith of Lido's time at Ford, IMO, before HF2 became hostile. IIRC, the LTD package led to landau bars, and eventually, the ultimate in bad taste, the opera light, or was that a Mercury 'feature'?

[monte]

i owned this car (not the one in the pic) in 1974. This car got 25 mpg in long trips, but driving it around town it got 10-11. Hindsight being 20/20, boy I wish I still owned the car!

 

Monte

[ehaase]

I believe the 1965 platform was used for all full sized Fords through 1978, before the debut of the Panthers.

[Ovaltine]

I come from a family of many full-size Fords of that era....

 

My first auto memory was riding around in my Dad's 1958 tu-tone blue four door Ford Fairlane.

 

Next came a 1963 Galaxie 500 four door, with a 352 cid.

 

My oldest brother picked up a four door 1965 Ford Galaxie 500, also with a 352 cid engine.

 

My parents then bought a brand new 1968 Ford LTD Country Squire, with a 390 cid.

 

Another brother bought a very cherry 1968 Galaxie 500 two door, that had a very weird drivetrain - a 240 cid six cylinder with a 3-on-the-tree stick shift.

 

After owning a 429 cid '72 T-Bird for a year as my first car at age 16, I then bought a cherry silver LTD Landau two-door from an insurance agent. It had a 400 cid two barrel

in it. I put dual exhaust and wire wheels w/B.F. Goodrich Belted T/A's on it. The '76 Landau's were the best looking of that era, because of the extra stainless trim on them that went from the tips of the front fenders all the way to the back. It had a very cool hood ornament too.

 

Good cars / good times! I know that if Ford EVER creates a brand new LTD (on a non Volvo-derived chassis) I'll be in line to get one!

 

-Ovaltine

[twintornados]

My first car was a 1970 LTD Brougham 2 door formal roof in dark green with a black vinyl top.....it was an awesome car, until the rotted frame rail that I missed when I checked the car out (youthful exuberance) broke while I was trying to do a hole shot in front of my buddies house.....replaced that car with a 1969 LTD XL sports roof.....damn those cars were huge!

[Mark B. Morrow]

The LTD was part of a continuing practice of coming out with a new top model every few years. The Custom of 1949 was surpassed by the Crestline, Victoria and then Fairlane in 1955 which was topped bi the Galaxie 500 option in 1959. Galaxie 500 officially became the top line in 1960 with the XL joining in 1962 and then the LTD in '65. Chevy did much the same going from DeLuxe to Bel-Air to Impala to Caprice.

 

Ford had added a lot of luxury features to the Galaxie 500 XL starting in '62 with better quality interior appointments and parts borrowed from the Thunderbird parts bin such as door courtesy lights and vinyl tops.

 

Neidermeyer is correct that the trickle down of luxury into Ford and Chevy lines did eventually diminish the need for Mercury, Pontiac and Oldsmobile.

[630land]

Bringing luxury to 'low priced makes' really started with the 50's Crown Vics and Galaxies and the Chevy BelAir and Impala. The '65 LTD/Caprice were new top level trims that eventaully became the whole line's name.

[grbeck]

The LTD was part of a continuing practice of coming out with a new top model every few years. The Custom of 1949 was surpassed by the Crestline, Victoria and then Fairlane in 1955 which was topped bi the Galaxie 500 option in 1959. Galaxie 500 officially became the top line in 1960 with the XL joining in 1962 and then the LTD in '65. Chevy did much the same going from DeLuxe to Bel-Air to Impala to Caprice.

 

Ford had added a lot of luxury features to the Galaxie 500 XL starting in '62 with better quality interior appointments and parts borrowed from the Thunderbird parts bin such as door courtesy lights and vinyl tops.

 

Neidermeyer is correct that the trickle down of luxury into Ford and Chevy lines did eventually diminish the need for Mercury, Pontiac and Oldsmobile.

 

Ford failed to match GM's divisional structure with the Edsel and an expanded Mercury division in the late 1950s. By reaching upward with the four-seat Thunderbird and the LTD, and expanding model offerings with the 1962 Fairlane and original Mustang, Ford eventually undermined the Sloan structure, and made it obsolete. It made an end-run around GM, and a very successful one, too. Note that Toyota, for example, is patterned after the Ford Motor Company in the late 1960s - there is a mass-market division that offers virtually everything, and a luxury division with much smaller volume.

 

Ford could afford to do this because Mercury was never as important to Ford as Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick were to GM. Once those divisions began to falter in the 1980s, GM was in real trouble. What had been a competitive advantage from 1925-1970 turned into a handicap, particularly after 1980.

 

That is a fun site. I contributed articles on the 1960 Starliner, the final Cutlass Supremes and the 1994-95 Mustang.

Edited November 14, 2011 by grbeck

[Mark B. Morrow]

Ford failed to match GM's divisional structure with the Edsel and an expanded Mercury division in the late 1950s. By reaching upward with the four-seat Thunderbird and the LTD, and expanding model offerings with the 1962 Fairlane and original Mustang, Ford eventually undermined the Sloan structure, and made it obsolete. It made an end-run around GM, and a very successful one, too. Note that Toyota, for example, is patterned after the Ford Motor Company in the late 1960s - there is a mass-market division that offers virtually everything, and a luxury division with much smaller volume.

 

Ford could afford to do this because Mercury was never as important to Ford as Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick were to GM. Once those divisions began to falter in the 1980s, GM was in real trouble. What had been a competitive advantage from 1925-1970 turned into a handicap, particularly after 1980.

 

That is a fun site. I contributed articles on the 1960 Starliner, the final Cutlass Supremes and the 1994-95 Mustang.

 

 

Nice article on the '60 Starliner. It has always been one of my favorites. I guess I'm a contrarian. There was a great article on GM's 1959s in Collectible Automobile June 2006 issue. (The same issue has a great story on the '67 - '70 Full size Fords)

 

The '59s were a rush job at GM after the styling brass saw the '57 Chrysler line in storage lots in August of '56. The long , wide and low Chryslers took them by surprise. The original plan was for restyled '58s that had been approved by Harley Earl before he left for an extended European trip. GMs '58s were orphaned and New designs were created under the direction of Bill Mitchell. Mitchell's design direction had the support of GM President Harlow Curtice. The '59s marked the end of the Earl era at GM.

[grbeck]

Nice article on the '60 Starliner. It has always been one of my favorites. I guess I'm a contrarian. There was a great article on GM's 1959s in Collectible Automobile June 2006 issue. (The same issue has a great story on the '67 - '70 Full size Fords)

 

The '59s were a rush job at GM after the styling brass saw the '57 Chrysler line in storage lots in August of '56. The long , wide and low Chryslers took them by surprise. The original plan was for restyled '58s that had been approved by Harley Earl before he left for an extended European trip. GMs '58s were orphaned and New designs were created under the direction of Bill Mitchell. Mitchell's design direction had the support of GM President Harlow Curtice. The '59s marked the end of the Earl era at GM.

 

Thank you! I'm not wild about the 1960 Ford. I like the 1959 and 1961 models, although they always seem to be festooned with continental kits, fender skirts and other junk that detracts from their basic lines. (Oddly enough, the same thing happens to Chevrolets from these years, too. Not so much the Plymouths.)

 

The 1959 and 1961 models look like Fords and nothing else. Or maybe I remember the 1959 Country Sedan, along with the 1961 Fairlanes used as a police car and fire chief car, in the Matchbox line during the early 1960s.

 

I'd love to have a 1959 Galaxie Victoria coupe in, say, light green and dark green. Or a 1961 Starliner.

 

The GM four-door hardtops from 1959-60 are nice cars, but I'm leery of the X-frame used on some GM cars during those years. It wasn't all that rigid, and was downright unsafe in accidents. Ralph Nader criticized it in his book, and that is one criticism that I agree with completely. You also are sitting on the floor in those cars. Ford made hay with its more upright styling that year.

Edited November 15, 2011 by grbeck

[630land]

I'm partial to the 1971-72 big Fords, didn't seem so bulky and still had the 65's sporty lines. Also, the hot rodded '71 Custom in movie 'White Lightning' that Burt Reynolds drove was way cool, even if it was 70's brown!

 

The 73-78's were giant land yachts for the white belt/leisure suit crowds.

[Mark B. Morrow]

I'm partial to the 1971-72 big Fords, didn't seem so bulky and still had the 65's sporty lines. Also, the hot rodded '71 Custom in movie 'White Lightning' that Burt Reynolds drove was way cool, even if it was 70's brown!

 

The 73-78's were giant land yachts for the white belt/leisure suit crowds.

 

 

The '71-'72 Fords were the short lived legacy of the Bunkie Knudsen year and a half at Ford. They bore a fair resemblence to the '71-'72 Pontiacs, although much better looking in my opinion. I had a Goldenrod Met. '74 Country Squire for a couple of years back in the mid '80s. It was a comfortable beast. My brother called it the Urban Assault Vehicle because no one in Boston ever messed with it when you wanted to merge into traffic. He took it to Ohio U where it became the Rural Assault Vehicle. I had about $600 invested in it and sold it for $850 in 1987.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Thank you! I'm not wild about the 1960 Ford. I like the 1959 and 1961 models, although they always seem to be festooned with continental kits, fender skirts and other junk that detracts from their basic lines. (Oddly enough, the same thing happens to Chevrolets from these years, too. Not so much the Plymouths.)

 

The 1959 and 1961 models look like Fords and nothing else. Or maybe I remember the 1959 Country Sedan, along with the 1961 Fairlanes used as a police car and fire chief car, in the Matchbox line during the early 1960s.

 

I'd love to have a 1959 Galaxie Victoria coupe in, say, light green and dark green. Or a 1961 Starliner.

 

The GM four-door hardtops from 1959-60 are nice cars, but I'm leery of the X-frame used on some GM cars during those years. It wasn't all that rigid, and was downright unsafe in accidents. Ralph Nader criticized it in his book, and that is one criticism that I agree with completely. You also are sitting on the floor in those cars. Ford made hay with its more upright styling that year.

 

 

As big as they were, the '59s didn't hold up too well in a crash.

 

[grbeck]

As big as they were, the '59s didn't hold up too well in a crash.

 

 

I guess that is why the death rate per 100 million vehicles driven was about six times higher in the early 1960s than it is today!

[Mark B. Morrow]

I guess that is why the death rate per 100 million vehicles driven was about six times higher in the early 1960s than it is today!

 

 

That, plus steel dash boards, bias ply tires,the lack of seat belts, door guard beams, anti-lock brakes and airbags.

 

We have made a lot of progress in safety in 50 years.

[RichardJensen]

Ford eventually undermined the Sloan structure, and made it obsolete.

Nice insight.

 

For once, I'm awarding a POTW for something that isn't snarky.

[RichardJensen]

replaced that car with a 1969 LTD XL sports roof

IMO, that's an underrated vehicle in terms of style---

 

[Mark B. Morrow]

IMO, that's an underrated vehicle in terms of style---

 

 

 

The XL was nice but the Marauder X-100 was even better.

[RichardJensen]

For my tastes, the front end was just a bit too fiddly on the Merc.

[Bored of Pisteon]

I'm partial to the 1971-72 big Fords, didn't seem so bulky and still had the 65's sporty lines. Also, the hot rodded '71 Custom in movie 'White Lightning' that Burt Reynolds drove was way cool, even if it was 70's brown!

 

The 73-78's were giant land yachts for the white belt/leisure suit crowds.

 

You can't forget that a lot of TV shows and movies from the 1970's up through the 1980's had those '71-'72 LTD's and Galaxie 500's featured prominently. Who can forget the Brown '71 Galaxie 500 used in the 1st season of "The Streets of San Francisco"? Or a '71 and a '72 black one used in "Hawaii Five-O?. Clint Eastwood's "Magnum Force" had them all over the place, in fact... One can only wonder if any of these cars were shared together between sets? The reason is that the Green '72 Galaxie 500 used in "Magnum Force" looks identical to the one used on "Streets of San Francisco" also. Hell, if you look closely in the opening credits of the 1st season of "The Jeffersons" you can see one featured prominently in the background while George and Weezie are sitting in the back of the cab.

 

The '73 thru '78's are the ones I saw a lot growing up through the 80's. I tell people this all the time but to me personally, you haven't driven a real car till you drove one of these. (referring to LTD's and Galaxie 500's of course)

[630land]

The 59 Chevy's X Frame makes it bend badly in that crash video. Very obsolete frame design.

 

Anyway, my great uncle had a 1972 Ford Custom, with only AM radio as an option! Had an I6, the last year of it, with automatic. I would have liked to taken it and put a big V8 in there and have a 'White Lightning" type sleeper.

[Mark B. Morrow]

You can't forget that a lot of TV shows and movies from the 1970's up through the 1980's had those '71-'72 LTD's and Galaxie 500's featured prominently. Who can forget the Brown '71 Galaxie 500 used in the 1st season of "The Streets of San Francisco"? Or a '71 and a '72 black one used in "Hawaii Five-O?. Clint Eastwood's "Magnum Force" had them all over the place, in fact... One can only wonder if any of these cars were shared together between sets? The reason is that the Green '72 Galaxie 500 used in "Magnum Force" looks identical to the one used on "Streets of San Francisco" also. Hell, if you look closely in the opening credits of the 1st season of "The Jeffersons" you can see one featured prominently in the background while George and Weezie are sitting in the back of the cab.

 

The '73 thru '78's are the ones I saw a lot growing up through the 80's. I tell people this all the time but to me personally, you haven't driven a real car till you drove one of these. (referring to LTD's and Galaxie 500's of course)

 

 

The twin of the one I used to own:

[Ovaltine]

The twin of the one I used to own:

 

It's the genesis of the Wagon Queen Family Truckster <tm> !!!!!

 

 

:P

 

-Ovaltine

[lfeg]

I am kind of partial to the 66, just love the look and the dash. But I also really like the 71 and 72, particularly the LTDs.

 

My dad had a 71 LTD 4 door hardtop. That car handled better than you would think, actually held the road pretty well ( the police version rims and radials helped). I still remember a high speed run I had to make on PA route 31 one night to get someone to the hospital. Had that LTD airborn several times.

[630land]

The Country Squire ruled Suburbia in the 60's and early 70's, as common as Explorers in the 90's. Gas crisis decimated CS sales, and many families switched to GM B bodies by '79. The Panther wagon, while nice, never sold in the numbers of the 1955-74 Squires, though.

 

We all know the rest of the story, minvans, SUV's, CUV's, XUV's, blah blah, then took over the Burbs.....

Edited November 21, 2011 by 630land