Ford's Greatest Vehicles

A list of the most important vehicles in Ford Motor Co.'s 100-year history is probably a good way to start a fight in most any bar on the globe.

Following is my list, and the Model T doesn't appear because it's a no-brainer; its place in history is secure. Several of my other selections are not found on Ford's own centennial list. Ah, memories are so short!

MODEL A

After a 6-month shutdown of production for re-tooling in 1927, the Model A went on sale too late to keep Ford from losing first place in the sales race to Chevrolet. The “thoroughly modern” Model A was a sensation — everything Ford lovers expected it to be. In 1929, sales leadership was regained, if only for a few years. Nevertheless, competition was fierce and the total Model A run was only 4 1/2 years, with 3.5 million units produced.

FORD V-8

Introduced in March 1932 at the depth of the Depression in response to 6-cyl. cars from Chevrolet and Plymouth, the Ford V-8 gave the company a unique selling proposition that lasted 20-some years. Ford's flathead V-8s offered flashing performance, making them favorites of roving gangsters. Outlaw Clyde Barrow wrote Ford a famous unsolicited testimonial to its V-8 not long before being gunned down in his stolen '34 by lawmen. Ford styling of the 1930s under the aegis of Edsel Ford incorporated streamlining long before competitors. One reason they're so prized is that not many survived.

1949 FORD

The first all-new post-war Ford car, the sleek '49, was a crash project instituted late in 1946 by the company's new management team hired from GM. In addition to its new body, the '49 Ford had an all-new chassis (“platform” in today's parlance) which discarded the transverse-spring designs of previous V-8s. A modern overhead-valve engine, however, was several years in the future. The '49 became the first Ford since the Model A to rack up a million sales in a single model year which, however, lasted 18 months.

F-SERIES PICKUP

Truck historian Jim Wagner maintains that the '53 model F-100 and not the '48 F-1 is the true ancestor of today's most successful vehicle in the world, the Ford F-series. The '48 version was little changed mechanically from the pre-war Ford light trucks, though it introduced a wider, higher cab with 1-piece windshield. For the first time, 1/2-ton models were designated F-1, 3/4-tons as F-2 or F-3 and 1-tons as F-4. The 1953 F-100 had both new body and modern “set-back-axle” chassis as well as a 6-cyl. OHV engine introduced the year before.

TAURUS/MERCURY SABLE

When editors of a car enthusiast magazine were given a sneak preview of the midsize Taurus/Sable before its '86 model year launch, they thought it was a “dream” auto show model. They doubted a design so advanced was really forthcoming from Ford, especially at the height of the GM-dominated boxy car era. Ford's first front-drive V-6 models were a huge success, gaining widespread acceptance of their avant-garde design. The cars remain in production today, 17 years later. Taurus was the nation's best-selling car for many years. Today, it retains that crown — but only if Sable sales are included.

FALCON

The '60 Falcon “compact car,” introduced in fall 1959 as part of Detroit's response to a rising import car tide, racked up record first-year production of 436,000 units, easily topping its more radically designed competitors, Corvair and Valiant. What is not generally recognized is that the Falcon spawned an amazing list of offspring. They include '61 “compact truck” Ford Econoline, '62 “intermediate” Ford Fairlane/Mercury Meteor, '65 Ford Mustang and '68 Mercury Montego. Present-day Australian Fords can trace their lineage to the '60 U.S. Falcon.