1960 Ford Falcon - Not My Cup of Maalox

Throughout the 1950's American cars, save for American Motors models, grew somewhat inexplicably in size. Ford models, for instance, increasing in length from a relatively tidy 196 inches in 1949 to more than 208 by 1959; that of course nothing compared to what was to come. While a 208 inch long '59 Ford Galaxie was diminutive compared to a 227 inch long Lincoln Continental, many buyers clamored for smaller models - of which at Ford, GM and Chrysler, there were none. That all changed for model year 1960 when they all came with compact models, Ford introducing the "Falcon" in the fall of 1959 as a 1960 model in four different guises; four and two door sedans and two and four-door station wagons.  

Our "Tudor" wagon here is a 1960 and is for sale in a northern suburb of Detroit with an asking price of $10,500. Personally, I think that kind of ask laughable but if you've spent any time looking at used cars these days, regardless of how old they are, you'd know the only things that appear to be reasonably priced are cars that need serious work. 

Ford pushed these out from 1960 through 1970 with a fairly substantial and tasteful (subjective) reboot for model year 1964. They actually sold quite well...at least at first. Although, a lot of those sales may have been because what GM and Chrysler rolled out where just too out there. They say playing to a tie is like kissing your sister but what do they say about winning by default? 

Ford did with the Falcon what GM and Chrysler should have done; simply shrink an existing design. There was a whole lot more to it than simply "shrinking" a Ford Galaxie, of course, but at least in terms of looking conventional, and in the case of the rear-engine, air-cooled Corvair, using tried and true engineering, the Falcon was a whole lot more "normal" looking than what GM or Chrysler had. Throw in anything American Motors while we're at it too. 

That's not to say they weren't without their merits, especially these wagons. Approximately two-feet shorter than a Galaxie with a curb weight a good three-quarters of a ton less while having almost the same amount of interior room, these cars were far more maneuverable and purportedly got up to thirty-miles per gallon with the base, 144 cubic-inch, "Falcon Six" (our subject here as a 200 cubic-inch "Special Six" from 1966). With more cubic feet of storage than my 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe, our Ford Falcon "Tudor" wagon adds up to a veritible revolution in domestic automobile packaging the likes of which hadn't been seen the Model T. 

And you thought this was just a homely little two-door Ford station wagon. You know, if this were a sleeper and not in need of some costly rust repair I might "get" this car in particular but in general, as is the case with just about all small cars from this era, it's just not my cup of Maalox. Although, as they say, clothes (can) make the person, it's underpinnings with only the slightest modifications did provide the foundation for one fine looking automobile come April 17, 1964 when Ford introduced the Mustang.