From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ford Fairmont
Ford Fairmont
Ford Fairmont the Fairmont included the 1980-1982 Ford Thunderbird,
the 1981-1982 Ford Granada, the 1979-1993 Ford Mustang
(and 1979-1986 Mercury Capri), and the 1982-1987 Lin-
coln Continental.
Design
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Production 1978–1983
Assembly Claycomo, Missouri
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Predecessor Ford Maverick 1980 & 1981 Ford Fairmont Futura
Successor Ford Tempo
At the beginning of production, the Fairmont was sold as
Class Compact a two-door and four-door sedan along with a five-door
Body style 2-door coupe station wagon. During the 1978 model year, the model
2-door sedan line was supplemented by a specialty coupe with a differ-
4-door sedan ent roofline known as the Futura, a name which first ap-
4-door station wagon peared in the Ford Falcon line 17 years before. The Fair-
Layout FR layout mont Futura featured an unusual two-piece vinyl roof
with an upswept central roof band, borrowed from the
Platform Ford Fox platform
larger Ford Thunderbird of the same time period, origi-
Engine 140 cu in OHC I4 nally inspired by the 1955 Ford Crown Victoria. The Fair-
200 cu in Thriftpower Six I6 mont was a stunning success for Ford; the 1978 model
255 cu in Windsor V8 set the record for production of a new model, eclipsing
302 cu in Windsor V8
the record held by the 1965 Mustang.[citation needed] While
Transmission 4-speed manual retaining a conventional rear-wheel drive platform, the
3-speed C3 automatic Fairmont was efficiently packaged and offered excellent
3-speed C4 automatic passenger and cargo room for its size. Contemporary re-
3-speed C5 automatic
views uniformly praised the Fairmont and it was favor-
Wheelbase 105.5 in (2,680 mm) ably compared with contemporary Volvo and BMW mod-
els. Rack-and-pinion steering gave the Fairmont much
Length 193.8 in (4,920 mm)
better handling and roadability than its Maverick prede-
Related Mercury Zephyr cessor and despite its roomier interior, lightweight com-
Ford Durango ponents were used which gave the Fairmont better fuel
economy than the Maverick.
The Ford Fairmont is a compact car produced by Ford The front fascia of the Fairmont differed from that of
Motor Company for the North American market. Intro- the Mercury Zephyr at the time of introduction. While
duced for the 1978 model year, the Fairmont was pro- the Zephyr always had four headlights, the Fairmont had
duced in several bodystyles until it was replaced by the only two, with the exception of the Futura coupe. As part
Ford Tempo for the 1984 model year. The Fairmont was of a minor facelift for the 1981 model year, the entire
the successor to the Maverick; its Mercury counterpart Fairmont lineup received the four headlight treatment as
was the Mercury Zephyr, which replaced the Comet. well.
The Fairmont and Zephyr marked the introduction
of the long-running Ford Fox platform, used for a wide
variety of later models. Those most closely related to
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ford Fairmont
Powertrain
1980 Ford Fairmont 2-door
A wide variety of engines and transmissions were avail-
able, including a 2.3 L OHC inline-4 and a 3.3 L Falcon Six
1981 Ford Fairmont sedan
inline-six. Two V8s were available - the 255 cubic-inch
(introduced in 1980, which was the 302ci with a small-
er bore) and the 302 cubic-inch - that were borrowed still produced as a 2-door notchback sedan, 2-door (Futu-
from the LTD and LTD II. Transmissions included three- ra) coupe, and 4-door sedan (also available as a Futura),
or four-speed manuals and the more commonly ordered but became one of the last Ford vehicles not to carry the
three-speed automatic. A turbocharged four-cylinder iconic Blue Oval logo, which returned on most vehicles in
carbureted 2.3 L engine from the Mustang line was of- the 1982 model year. As Ford switched to lighter, more
fered in 1979 and 1980. A few turbo four door automatic aerodynamic cars with front-wheel drive, the Fairmont
sedans were used for testing by the California Highway was replaced by the Tempo for 1984.
Patrol.[citation needed]
See also
Discontinuation • Mercury Zephyr - Mercury equivalent
In 1981, a second generation of the Granada was intro- • Ford Durango - coupe-utility pickup planned as Ford
duced. Sharing the Fox platform with the Fairmont, it Ranchero successor.
was positioned as a premium model while the latter took • Ford Fox platform
on a basic, entry-level role. A year later, the station wag-
on model was moved to the Granada lineup. References
For 1983, in a major shift in the Ford model lineup,
the Granada nameplate was discontinued while the car
itself underwent a minor facelift and took on the LTD External links
nameplate. 1983 would be the last year for the Fairmont,
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ford_Fairmont&oldid=464113455"
Categories:
• Ford vehicles
• Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
• Compact cars
• Coupes
• Sedans
• Station wagons
• 1970s automobiles
• 1980s automobiles
• Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States
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