Ford Falcon

1964 Ford Falcon

On September 9th, 1959 Ford Motor company announced to the world it would soon be producing a smaller "New sized Ford" called Falcon. The Falcon made it's public debut on October 3rd, 1959. Ford Motor Company produced the Ford Falcon here in the U.S. from 1960 to 1970. The Ranchero which had become part of the Ford family back in 1957 took on the new sized Falcon style in the spring of 1960. Ford began producing a Falcon convertible for the 1963 model year. In February of 1963 Ford introduced the V-8 Falcon Sprint. The last Falcons built in the U.S. were 1970 1/2 models based on the Ford Torino body. They are quite rare. It's my understanding that less than 68,000 were built including 2 and 4 door sedans and station wagons. It was a dramatic increase in sales of small economy vehicles like the volkswagon beetle that prompted U.S. car makers to develop smaller autos like the Ford Falcon. Other U.S. car makers were well aware of the situation too. General Motors developed the Chevrolet Corvair, which still has a strong following despite having been out of production for many years. CORSA is a Corvair club that has its own web site.
Above is my 1964 Falcon 2 door sedan. It had a 200 c.i. six cylinder engine and a 3 speed column mounted gearshift. I've owned five Falcons. A 1960 Ranchero, 1964 2 door sedan, 1964 2door hardtop, 1965 2 door sedan, and a 1965 4 door sedan. I was glad when Ford choose to use the PEANUTS gang to promote the sale of the Falcon.