The New World of Ford

[Mark B. Morrow]

I was cruising around on youtube and found this.

 

[ehaase]

The world was a better place in many ways back then.

[Roadrunner]

Disappointed with the Ford Falcon, but love the Galaxie. That's a cool hardtop.

 

Is this an advert they would play at the movies (similar to a trailer) ?

[True]

The world was a better place in many ways back then.

 

 

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing! Go retro! Bring back some fin! :hyper: :hyper:

[Mark B. Morrow]

What a great time! Three platforms made a whole car line. I always liked the '60 Galaxies especially the Starliner. Unfortunately '60 was a slow year for the Galaxie and full size fords. The Falcon prpbably stole a lot of sales at the lower end.

 

There is an amazing treasure trove of Ford stuff on youtube including tons of foreign ads. I will start a new Ford Ad thread and add some more.

 

Disappointed with the Ford Falcon, but love the Galaxie. That's a cool hardtop.

 

Is this an advert they would play at the movies (similar to a trailer) ?

 

 

It might have been a commercial. At that time new car introductions were a really big deal. Not like today where we all know what's coming far in advance.

[retro-man]

I always thought the 1960 Galaxie was especially good looking. Same for the Falcon. Not a huge fan of the "square-birds" though. But they are growing on me.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Here's one from 1958

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ifySTKLpmTU

 

And one from 1956

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uDk_TEM257k&amp...ted&search=

[grbeck]

I recall reading that auto makers would purchase large amounts of air time (more than one minute) in the fall to roll out the new models. Remember that in those days all manufacturers adhered to the same introduction schedule - the new models were introduced in the fall, all within a few weeks of each other. The introduction of next year's models was big news, and every manufacturer wanted to make sure that its offerings stood out from the crowd. Hence, promotional efforts such as this one.

 

The Falcon would have been big news in late 1959. It was in 1958 that the imports and the Rambler first made a serious dent in the American market. While there weren't legions of spy photographers to catch prototypes being tested on public roads (or an internet to immediately post said photographs, allowing everyone to know that Ford or Chevy was working on Model X), by 1959 it was pretty well known that all three of the major car makers would be rolling out smaller models for 1960 to battle the imports and the Rambler. All three of those compacts were eagerly anticipated.

 

The Falcon looks good, but I always thought that the full-size Ford line was a mixed bag. The Sunliner convertibles, Starliner hardtop coupes and wagons look good. The rooflines mate well with the sleek lower body, although Ford should have stuck with the round taillights (guess Ford didn't learn any lessons from the poor sales of the 1958 model, which also abandoned the round taillights).

 

But the rooflines of the sedans and four-door hardtops don't mate well with the lower body. The sedans all look like taxicabs - even in the higher trim levels. The Thunderbird-style roofline of the four-door hardtop looks awkward with the lower body. I saw an original 1960 Galaxie hardtop sedan at the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals about two years ago, and the car just doesn't look good in real life. The roof looks too tall and boxy for the lower body - as though the two parts were not designed by the same team. Chevrolet's sleek and glassy hardtop sedan roofline works much better on a lower body has many of the same proportions as those of the Ford.

 

The public must have agreed, as I've read that some Ford dealers were still trying to unload 1960 full-size Fords well into the 1961 model year!

 

The full-size Chevrolet actually sold rather well. The full-size Plymouth, however was a complete disaster, and Chrysler didn't help matters any by offering the full-size Dodge Dart, which competed directly with its corporate sibling with better styling, a more prestigious name and an equally strong dealer network! That was the beginning of the end for Plymouth, which never really recovered its former place in the sales charts as one of the "low-priced three." Also shows that mismanagement and dumb decisions at Chrysler didn't start with the German takeover in 1998.

Edited December 10, 2006 by grbeck