Ford Granada (North Americae)

For an unrelatit vehicle marketit unner the same name in Europe, see Ford Granada (Europe).

The Ford Granada wis a mid-size caur biggit an marketit bi Ford Motor Company in North Americae frae 1975-1982, alang wi its sister models, the Mercury Monarch, an Lincoln Versailles. The Granada wis toutit bi Ford as a rival tae the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz 280 o the time. The Granada an Monarch wur available as a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan. A tot o 2,066,336 Granadas wur produced.

The Granada replaced the Torino as Ford's mid-size model. Thay wur assembled in Wayne, Michigan an Mahwah, New Jersey. Thay an aa overlapt wi the Maverick/Comet's ultimate successors, the Ford Fairmont an the Mercury Zephyr, which wur released in 1978. The first-generation Granada an Monarch wur based on the platform o the Maverick/Comet fower-door. It shared muckle o its design wi earlier Ford compacts an intermediates, datin back tae the 1960 Ford Falcon. Pouertrain options includit the base 200 CID sax-cylinder, a 250 CID sax, a 302 CID V8, an a 351 CID "Windsor" V8. Available transmissions includit a standard three-speed manual, a fower-speed manual wi owerdrive, an a three-speed automatic (standard on 351-pouered caurs). The 1980 model year addit a 49-state optional 255 CID V8, which wis the ae V8 affered in Californie-spec caurs that year.

Ghia versions o baith the Granada an Monarch includit hichter-level interior an exterior trim an addit soond insulation. The 1975-76 Grand Monarch Ghia [1] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine wis a tap-o-the line version. The Granada Sports Coupe [2] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine wis produced in 1976-1977; Mercury affered a seemilar treatment wi its 1976-77 Monarch S.[3] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine A 1977–1/2 [4] Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine variation on the Granada Sports Coupe, produced frae Mey '77 throu the end o the model year, featurt blackt-oot moldin, modified trim, taillichts, an colour selections. Documentation o this hauf-year model exists in Ford advertisin frae Ware 1977. This caur is aiblins the "rarest" o Granada production.

The 1976–77 Sports Coupe an S packages includit standard hivy-duty suspension, styled steel wheels, stripin unique tae this option an unique interior trim wi standard bucket seats. The Granada's front spindles interchanged wi the Pinto (an the badge ingineered Mercury Bobcat) an Mustang II, but war lairger, at 11 in (280 mm) compared tae 9.5 in (240 mm), an uised a "5 on 4½" (five lug, 4.5 in (110 mm) bolt circle) pattern. The 1978-80 ESS (European Sport Sedan) replaced the Sports Coupe an S models. Sports Coupes, an ESS models equipped wi bucket seats, can be identified bi trim codes beginnin wi "P" on the caur's data sticker on the edge o the driver's door. The Granada an Monarch ESS models featurt "blackt-oot" chrome, an a standard-equipment bucket seat interior wi a floor-mountit shifter, awtho a bench seat wis optional. Ford Motor Company's design chief at the time, Stephen Estrada, mentioned later that "The Granada wis my favorite design an the ane that A'm maist prood o". The ESS option includit standard colour-keyed wheelcovers (styled-steel wheels wur optional) an unique opera-windae louvres.

The 1978 model year brocht a minor restylin includin rectangular heidlamps an revised taillichts, features which continued throu the end o first-generation Granada/Monarch production in 1980.

1981–82

The range wis moved tae Ford's newer Fox platform (introduced as the 1978 Ford Fairmont an Mercury Zephyr) for the 1981 model year an wis sauld throu the 1982 model year. The Granada name wis retained, but the Monarch name wis replaced bi Cougar in Mercury's lineup. Stylin o thir caurs resembled a slichtly bigger an mair formal version o the Fairmont, wi upgradit interior trim. Base pouer for the Fox-body Granada wis a 2.3 L Lima I4, wi an optional 200 cid straucht sax an 255 CID V8.

A wagon jynt the line-up for the 1982 model year, replacin the Fairmont an Zephyr wagons, available in "L" an "GL" forms. The 1982 model an aa saw the return o the Blue Oval logo on a Ford vehicle for the first time syne the Great Depression. Awtho maist ither Ford models saw the logo arrive in 1983 (Except for the Fairmont, which wis aboot tae be replaced wi the Ford Tempo for 1984, an the Ford Thunderbird, which rarely haed ony mention o Ford on the vehicle itself for maist o its existence.), the Granada saw it arrive a year early, lairgely as a test. While Ford haed quit uisin the logo on its vehicles durin the Depression, it haed remained ower the years as its logo in aw ither uises (corporate logo, sales literature, advertisements, awner manuals, dealership signs, etc.) an decidit tae uise it again on its vehicles.

For 1983 the Granada name an stylin wis retired in the North American mercat, but the model wis replaced bi a seemilar Fox-platform-derived model that uised the traditional big-caur name LTD. Mercury affered this caur as the Marquis.

Freemit airtins

• Four Eyed Pride Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine - A resoorce for aw early Tods