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Ford Granada

Ford Granada
Ford Granada
In 1975, Ford Motor Company introduced its newest mid-size car to North America. Ford Motor Company had manufacturing locations in Britain and Germany, besides the United States. Both of these European locations offered a large executive car called the 'Zephyr' in Britain and the 'Taunus' in Germany. Then, in 1972, these were replaced by what came to be called the 'Granada'. Ford offered a lower model in the Granada range that was called the 'Consul'. It would become popular in Europe for a myriad of purposes. The Granadas would become popular for taxi services, limousines, and even the police. This popularity led Ford to offer the Granada in North America.

Offered in 1975, the Granada was first a compact model intended to replace the Maverick. The car had sister models called the Mercury Monarch and Lincoln Versailles. Throughout its production history the Granada was offered as a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan.

The Granada offered in North America differed in design from that which was offered and had become popular in Europe. For all intents and purposes, the Granada was merely a continuation of some of Ford's previous model designs. Its platform was basically that of a four-door Maverick. The car's design shared much similarity with most all of Ford's compacts and mid-size cars dating with the Ford Falcon back in 1960.

The car did offer a number of engine and powertrain options from the 200 cubic inch 3.3-liter inline-six; 232 cu.in., 3.8-liter V-6; all the way up to the 351 cu. in. 5.8-liter Windsor V-8. In 1980, the Granada offering the Windsor V-8 engine was the only California-spec V-8 car offered that year.

Throughout its production life the Granada was offered with sub-models. In the case of the Granada it was called the 'Sports Coupe'. The Sports Coupe was produced between 1976 and '79. These models were produced with a higher level of quality and luxury, both externally and internally. Trim features were more numerous on the body of the Sports Coupe, while the interior received better sound proofing for a quieter ride. The suspension was updated and was heavier-duty. Other features included newly-styled steel wheels, unique striping and bucket seats.

The second generation of the Granada ran in production between 1981 and '82. For the second generation, Ford decided to use the newer Fox platform. This was slightly bigger and led to the Granada falling into the mid-size car classification.

Powertrain choices diminished for the Granada. The car came only with three powertrain options from the factory. It was produced with either a 2.3-liter Lima inline-four, an optional 200 cubic inch straight-six, or, a 255 cu. in. V-8.
New to the Granada line during the last year of production was a wagon model that replaced the Fairmont and Zephyr wagon models. 1982 also saw the return of a symbol of Ford that had been dormant since the days of the Depression. The Granada's final year of production saw the reintroduction of Ford's famous blue oval. The logo had been used by Ford in just about everything else except its cars. The logo was set to come back for the 1983 production year. It was tested out on the public using the Granada during 1982.

Throughout its years of production in North America, which ran from 1975 through 1982, more than 2 million Granadas had been produced. After the 1982 production year the Granada name ceased. For 1983, Ford had designed a whole new car with a whole new name, but still using the mid-size Fox-platform. The new model names were the LTD and the Mercury Marquis.

In Europe, the Granada name would continue to live on. It would end up continuing on in production in the United Kingdom until 1994. The same car, just with a different name, was offered to the rest of Europe. Though still the Granada, the European model was called the Scorpio.

Wikipedia contributors, 'Ford Granada (North America)', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 January 2011, 15:05 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ford_Granada_(North_America)&oldid=407480991 accessed 17 January 2011

Wikipedia contributors, 'Ford Granada (Europe)', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 January 2011, 00:04 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ford_Granada_(Europe)&oldid=407931578 accessed 17 January 2011

By Jeremy McMullen