My last article for this semester (my first semester!) will be a part of the Top 5 series, this week’s topic being Ford. Yes, the Ford. The one that started the automobile assembly line. Not the first car in America, though. That, my dear reader, was Buick. But, without further ado, let’s jump into my top 5 Fords!Â
5) FairlaneÂ
The Fairlane was produced from 1955 to 1970. The name comes from Henry Ford’s own estate, which is in Dearborn, Michigan. The Fairlane was combined with some other cars throughout its lifespan including the Ranchero. The Fairlane also had a “500” model.Â
4) MustangÂ
The only reason why the Mustang is on this list, is because one of my dream Fords is a Mustang. My dream Mustang was only made for 2 years, 1969-70, and was the Boss 429 model. The Mustang is still in production today, but it started in 1964. Its nickname is the Pony Car.Â
3) TorinoÂ
The Torino was produced from 1968 to 1976. The Torino was a re-design of the Fairlane line, and had its name derived from the city of Turin, in Italy, as it’s considered to be “The Italian Detroit.” The infamous Gran Torino, which was the name of the movie that starred Clint Eastwood and had a car of the same name, began production in 1972. Â
2) GalaxieÂ
The Galaxie was in production from 1958 until 1974. The name Galaxie was created to appeal to people during the time: the Space Race. In 1962, the infamous “500” badge would be thrown on all models, with XL being added to the higher trim models. 1966 was also the year that had the most popularity with the Galaxie, with being just under 3,000 cars from reaching 600,000 Galaxies made and sold. Â
1) Thunderbird Â
The Thunderbird is my number one Ford because 1) my grandpa had some, and 2) they’re just plain cool. I mean it’s a little two-door car, but it looks so much bigger than it actually is. Even though they were produced from 1954-1997, and then 2001-2005, I only consider the 50’s to be the era of the T-Bird. My dream T-Bird (and the Ford of choice I would want to buy) is a 1955-1957 model. The T-Bird is also the only convertible I would want, as well, because I don’t like convertibles. But to give you a little more background on the T-Bird, it was created by Ford to go in direct competition with Chevy’s new sports car, the Corvette. In 1958, the T-Bird would be redesigned to be a four-seater, and in my personal opinion, lost its luster.Â