Ford Falcon story

US Falcon Model Year Timeline

1960:
On September 21, 1959, the Ford Motor Company, in an unprecedented event, unveiled its new Falcon to newsmen throughout the country in a closed-circuit TV News Conference. It had style, riding comfort, room for six adults, and, above all, a service network of over 4000 dealers. Initially Falcon was to be an unembellished basic car. Only a 2-Door and a 4-Door Sedan were offered and the upgrading Options were limited. By January however, the Station Wagon and Ranchero were added to the line and choice was widened. The most significant was the Fordomatic automatic transmission.

1961:
A new optional engine appeared, providing 101 hp, the 170 Six, in place of the standard 85 hp Falcon Six. A new Sedan Delivery as well as Deluxe Body Trim for a new emphasis on "Deluxe" as a sales aid. About 1 million Falcons were now on the road.

1962:
New styling and some new models, new luxury interior choices, new fuel and oil savings in improved versions of the Falcon Six, and some new all-around economies included a new 30,000 mile radiator coolant. New models included the Squire Wagon, a new Station Bus and Club Wagon, and the Futura, an upgraded two-door sedan with standard bucket seats and a center console. In February, the '62 Falcon line was again revised with the addition of a Futura Sports Sedan with a roofline based on Thunderbird styling.

1963:
The Futura in both 2-door and 4-door models was introduced, but the Futura Convertible as well as the Futura Sports Convertible followed shortly by the Sprint Convertible with the Falcon 170 Special Six engine, bucket seats, tachometer, and 4-speed manual transmission all standard.

1963 1/2:
In January of '63, the addition of the Fairlane 260 cu in engine as a Falcon option was announced as part of the Company's 1963 1/2 Product line. This engine became standard in the Sprint Hardtop and Convertible replacing the big Six and rendering those earlier six-cylinder Sprints rare indeed.

1964:
The body style changed from the "round" body to a "square" design. A new 200 cu in Six in addition to the three engines offered in 1963. Little changed in the model lineup.

1965:
The 289 cu in V8 option replaced both the Challenger and the Sprint versions of earlier 260 V-8. Sprint became a less meaningful package and was now merely an emblem and bucket seat addition to the convertible. The Futura Sports Coupe and Sports Convertible were dropped although bucket seats were available in Futura Hardtops and Convertible. 1965 was the last year of aggressive marketing for the Falcon line.

1966-70:
Falcons were now limited to 2-door and 4-door models. Hardtops, Convertibles, and Squire models were dropped. 1966 was also the last year for the Ranchero as a Falcon model. Little would change from 1968 to early 1970. Only data plate numerical revisions seemed to constitute Falcon's progress.

1970 1/2:
An interesting event occurred as the Falcon line was coming to an end. Production terminated entirely on January 1, 1970. For a brief time thereafter, the "1970 1/2" Falcon was offered. The 4-door and Station Wagon were re-badged Fairlanes, with Falcon specific chrome, but the 2-door was unique to the Falcon line. The Torino and Fairlane lineup had 2-door vehicles, but they were fastbacks and hardtops. The Falcon was the only one offered with a 2-door sedan (it has a b-pillar behind the driver door glass). The Falcon line did not offer fastbacks or hardtops. Interestingly enough, this '70 1/2 Falcon had seven engine choices up to an awesome 370 hp 429 cu in Cobra Jet Ram-Air V-8. The '70 1/2 Falcon was a stop gap measure to hold the market until the Maverick was ready for production. Thus ended the U.S. Falcon line.