Word: falcon
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Most Interesting Year." The other Detroit compact cars are also firing up great expectations in the marketplace. Next week Ford, rushing up its introduction by two months to catch Corvair, brings out its front-engine Falcon. Late this month Chrysler, advancing its debut from February 1960, bows with its front-engine Valiant...
...just a prelude. Next spring Ford will roll out a compact Edsel called Comet. In a year Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac will come in both compact and regular sizes. All told, Detroit is betting $700 million on these cars-about $150 million on the Corvair, $100 million each for Falcon and Valiant, $350 million for the "bigger" compacts. How well this huge gamble pays off will affect not only Detroit, but automakers and buyers round the world. Says West Germany's Heinz Nordhoff, president of Volkswagen, with some understatement: "1960 will be the most interesting year in the history...
...rival camp, Chevrolet's Boss Edward N. Cole showed off his compact, rear-engine Corvair. Compared with Ford's Falcon, the Corvair is shorter (wheelbase: 108 in. v. Falcon's 109½ in.), lower (4 ft. 3 in. v. 4 ft. 6½ in.) narrower (66.9 in. v. 70 in.), less powerful (80 h.p. v. 90 h.p.). Compared with the standard Chevy, the Corvair is one-third lighter (2,375 Ibs. v. 3,760 Ibs.), will burn 25% to 40% less gas, sell for about $225 less than the cheapest Chevy when it goes into the showrooms...
...Falcon is big enough on the inside to seat six comfortably, but considerably smaller than other cars outside. While the 109.5-in. wheelbase is only 8.5 in. shorter than the standard Ford, the body is 26.9 in. shorter and 6.8 in. narrower. There is also a big decrease in weight: the Falcon, at 2,366 Ibs., is nearly three-quarters of a ton lighter than the 3,758-Ib. average of other Fords. This in turn gives a good weight-to-power ratio for the 90-h.p., six-cylinder engine. The car has a cruising speed of better than...
...cotton were ripening, and the U.S. prepared to bring in the biggest crop ever. Detroit proudly unveiled its sporty 1960 automobile crop, and giant commercial jets were becoming so commonplace that the average man no longer turned his face up to look at them when they cast their falcon shadows over the land. Factories hummed, production figures zoomed, the economy rocketed upward toward the stratosphere...