The Classic was made by Ford to be "suitable for the golf club car park", and was originally intended for introduction earlier and deletion later than actually occurred.
The styling exercises were mainly undertaken in 1956 under Colin Neale.
The main styling cues came straight from Dearborn (Michigan) as they often did, defining the car as a scaled-down Galaxie 500, from the waist down, topped with a Lincoln Continental roofline.
Other aspects of R&D followed, and it is likely that a recognisably similar car could have been introduced in 1959 subject to different senior management decisions.
In practice the run-away early success of the Anglia (1959 on) used up most of the car manufacturing capacity at Dagenham, vindicating the decision to compete against the BMC Mini (the Halewood plant did not open until 1963).
Ford therefore entered the 1960s with the small Anglia, Popular and Prefect, the big "three graces" launched back in 1956, and not the mid-size market Classic.
The Classic was made by Ford to be "suitable for the golf club car park", and was originally intended for introduction earlier and deletion later than actually occurred. The styling exercises were mainly undertaken in 1956 under Colin Neale. The main styling cues came straight from Dearborn (Michigan) as they often did, defining the car as a scaled-down Galaxie 500, from the waist down, topped with a Lincoln Continental roofline. Other aspects of R&D followed, and it is likely that a recognisably similar car could have been introduced in 1959 subject to different senior management decisions. In practice the run-away early success of the Anglia (1959 on) used up most of the car manufacturing capacity at Dagenham, vindicating the decision to compete against the BMC Mini (the Halewood plant did not open until 1963). Ford therefore entered the 1960s with the small Anglia, Popular and Prefect, the big "three graces" launched back in 1956, and not the mid-size market Classic.
Ford Consul Classic