| Ford Fairmont | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Production | 1978-1983 |
| Predecessor | Ford Maverick |
| Successor | Ford Tempo |
| Class | Compact |
| Body style(s) | 2-door coupe 2-door sedan 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon |
| Platform | FR Fox |
| Engine(s) | 140 in³ OHC I4 200 in³ Thriftmaster Six I6 255 in³ Windsor V8 302 in³ Windsor V8 |
| Transmission(s) | 4-speed manual 3-speed C3 automatic 3-speed C4 automatic |
| Related | Ford Mustang Ford Granada Ford LTD Ford Thunderbird Lincoln Continental Mercury Capri Mercury Cougar Mercury Marquis Mercury Zephyr |
The Ford Fairmont was a North American compact car, produced between 1978 and 1983. A compact (North America small family (European or c-segment car is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini
The 1978 Ford Fairmont was the first vehicle built on the Ford Fox platform, which would be the basis for a variety of other models, including the 1980 to 1988 Thunderbird, the 1981 to 1982 American Ford Granada, the 1979 to 2004 Mustang, and in 1982, the downsized Lincoln Continental. The Ford Fox platform was a Rear wheel drive, Unibody automobile architecture that Ford used for 26 years in the North American market The Thunderbird is an automobile manufactured by Ford in the United States from 1955 through 2005 &mdash through thirteen generations and various The Ford Mustang sports coupe, manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, was initially based on the Ford Falcon The Lincoln Continental, an automobile produced by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company, began for the 1939 model year The Fairmont replaced the Ford Maverick, and at introduction was twinned with the equivalent Mercury Zephyr. The Ford Maverick was compact car manufactured from April 1969-1977 in the USA, Canada, Mexico and from 1973 to 1979 in Brazil &mdash employing a For other Ford related cars called Zephyr see Ford Zephyr, Lincoln-Zephyr, and Lincoln Zephyr The Mercury Zephyr was a
2-door and 4-door sedan, and 5-door wagon bodies appeared at introduction, joined slightly later by a specialty coupe with a different roofline known as the Futura, a name which had first appeared in the Ford Falcon line some 17 years before. The Ford Falcon was an Automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from 1960 through 1970 The Fairmont Futura featured an unusual two-piece vinyl roof with an upswept central roof band, similar to that on the contemporary Thunderbird. Vinyl roof refers to a Vinyl covering for an automobile's top The Fairmont was a stunning success for Ford, and the 1978 model set the record for production of a new model, eclipsing the record held by the 1965 Mustang. The Ford Mustang sports coupe, manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, was initially based on the Ford Falcon While it retained a conventional rear-wheel drive platform, the Fairmont was efficiently packaged and offered excellent passenger and cargo room for its size. Contemporary reviews uniformly praised the Fairmont and it was favorably compared with contemporary Volvo and BMW models. Rack-and-pinion steering gave the Fairmont much better handling and roadability than the Maverick models it replaced, and despite its roomy, midsized body, lightweight components were used which gave the Fairmont better fuel economy than the Maverick.
The Fairmont's front end differed from the Zephyr's at the time of introduction. While the Zephyr always had four headlights, the Fairmont got by with only two, with the exception of the Futura coupe. However, beginning in 1981, the entire Fairmont lineup received the four headlight treatment as well.
A wide variety of engines and transmissions were available, including a 2. 3 L four-cylinder, 3. 3 L (200 in³) six, and 255 in³ and 302 in³ V8s. Transmissions ranged from a three-speed, four speed, or five speed manual, and the more commonly ordered three-speed automatic. A turbocharged four-cylinder carbureted 2. A turbocharger, or turbo, is an air Compressor used for forced-induction of an Internal combustion engine. 3 L from the Mustang was offered in 1979 and 1980. A few turbo four door automatic sedans were used for testing by the California Highway Patrol.
In 1981, a new Ford Granada was introduced on the same platform and wheelbase, at which time the Fairmont was positioned in more of a basic, entry level role. In 1982 the Fairmont wagon was dropped and replaced by a Granada wagon. For 1983, the Granada coupe was discontinued and the sedan and wagon were reskinned and rebadged as the Ford LTD, previously the name of Ford's full-size car, which was renamed the Crown Victoria. The Ford Crown Victoria is the current model name Ford uses for the Rear-wheel drive full-size car first produced by the Ford Motor Company for The Fairmont Futura coupe and four-door sedan (now also with the Futura name) continued through 1983, after which they were replaced by the front-wheel drive Ford Tempo for the 1984 model year. The Ford Tempo is a two-door coupe and four-door sedan produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1984 to 1994 Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar)