Ford Fairmont
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ford Fairmont is a name that has been used for two unrelated models of automobile; one in Australia and one in North America.
| Ford Fairmont | |
|---|---|
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| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Production | 1978-1983 |
| Predecessor | Ford Maverick |
| Successor | Ford Tempo |
| Class | Compact |
| Body style | 2-door coupe 2-door sedan 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon |
| Platform | FR Fox |
| Engine | 140 in³ OHC I4 200 in³ Thriftmaster Six I6 255 in³ Windsor V8 302 in³ Windsor V8 351 in³ Cleveland V8 |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual 3-speed C3 automatic 3-speed C4 automatic |
| Related | Ford Mustang Ford Granada Ford LTD Ford Thunderbird Lincoln Continental Mercury Capri Mercury Cougar Mercury Marquis Mercury Zephyr |
| Similar | AMC Concord Chevrolet Citation Dodge Aries |
Contents |
[edit] Australia
In Australia, the Ford Fairmont is a large car built by Ford Australia as a more upmarket version of the Falcon, available in both sedan and wagon forms. It was first announced in 1966 and has been through many incarnations. It is still in production today.
Between 1970 and 1978, Australian Ford Fairmont sedans and wagons were exported to the United Kingdom. While incredibly large when compared to Ford's European range, they had a solid reputation for their reliability.
[edit] South Africa
In South Africa the Ford Fairmont was assembled in Port Elizabeth from 1969 to 1971 in the Ford Falcon XW and XY shape. Two models were available: a 250 six-cylinder and 351C V8. The Ranchero was the pick-up version.
The South African Fairmonts also came in GT form. These cars were the same as the Australian Falcon GT, but with some cosmetic differences, the main ones being that the side stripes have the deleted super-roo and the gauges are all in Metric format. The Fairmont GT's are now coming back to Australia as they are highly desirable.
[edit] North America
In the United States, the Ford Fairmont was an all-new, rear wheel drive compact car introduced in the North American market for 1978 and sold through 1983.
The 1978 Ford Fairmont was the first vehicle built off the Ford Fox platform, which would be the basis for a variety of other models, including the 1980 to 1988Thunderbird, 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 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.
The Fairmont's front end differed from the Zephyr's at the time of introduction. While the Zephyr always had four headlights, the Fairmont got by with only two, with the exception of the Futura coupe. However, beginning in 1981, the Fairmont received the four headlight treatment as well.
A wide variety of engines and transmissions were available, including a 2.3 L four-cylinder, 3.3 L (200 in³) six, and 255 in³ and 302 in³ V8s. A turbocharged four-cylinder was advertised for 1980 but not produced. Transmissions ranged from a three-speed, four speed, or five speed manual, and the more commonly ordered three-speed automatic.
In 1981, a new Ford Granada was introduced on the same platform and wheelbase, at which time the Fairmont adopted more of a basic, entry level role. In 1982 the Fairmont wagon was dropped and replaced by a Granada wagon. For 1983, the Granada coupe was discontinued and the sedan and wagon were reskinned and rebadged as the Ford LTD, previously the name of Ford's full-size car. The Fairmont Futura coupe and four-door sedan (now also with the Futura name) continued through 1983, after which they were replaced by the Ford Tempo for the 1984 model year.
