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Time Magazine, The $250 Million Flop, November 30th, 1959
Actually, Ford will not lose its entire investment. Of the total, $100 million went for production facilities, which will be used to produce Ford's second entry into the compact-car field next spring. As a running mate for the Falcon, Ford plans a slightly larger, more luxurious compact model that it originally thought of calling the Edsel Comet. Now the new car will just be called the Comet.
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Time Magazine, 1961-Model Preview, June 27th, 1960
The big shift of U.S. car buyers to compacts-which last week accounted for 27.9% of auto sales-has forced Detroit to completely realign its 1961 new-model plans. The result will be a major series of body-styling and engine changes to meet the public's demand for economy in size and performance. Not only will there be more-and bigger-compacts, but standard-size cars will come smaller.
The big Fords will be cut in overall length. While trimming its standard cars, and increasing the horsepower in its bigger-sized compact Comet, Ford is also heading into even smaller areas. It-plans to build a four-cylinder, five-passenger car smaller than the Falcon to compete in the Volkswagen and Renault class, selling for under $1,700. To get the price down, Ford plans to make the car in Germany, may not have it out until 1962. |
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Time Magazine, Models, Models, Models, October 3rd, 1960
Ford has returned to crisper, more conventional styling similar to the lines of its 1959 cars. Like Buick, the standard Fords are shorter and narrower. The compact Falcon is basically unchanged, has an optional engine that produces 101 h.p. (v. the standard 85-h.p. engine). Ford's successful Comet is also little changed, has a more powerful optional engine. New to Ford's line (TIME, Sept. 19) is a compact truck similar to the snub-nosed Volkswagen Micro-Bus
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Time Magazine, PERSONAL FILE, May 26th, 1961
As successor to one of the auto industry's most flamboyant figures, the Ford Motor Co. chose a reflective intellectual. To replace Top Stylist George Walker (TIME cover. Nov. 4, 1957), Ford named as a vice president and the industry's youngest styling director Eugene Bordinat, 41. Bordinat, who styled the Comet and the 1961 Lincoln Continental, is convinced that the U.S. public does not know what it wants in car styling and must be led to good taste by the professionals. The direction in which he will lead: "I like to try to keep things as simple as possible."
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Time Magazine, Detroit's New Line-Up, June 23rd, 1961
The clean-styled Falcon continued to lead the compact field, boosted its market penetration from 5.9% to 7.9%. In so doing, it cut into sales of the standard-sized Ford, which slipped from 15% to 13%-Mercury also slid, from 2.5% to 2.1%, partly because it looks too much like the Ford. But its little brother Comet more than made up the slack by spurting from 1% to 3% of the market.
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