Today's video I'm going to take you back to the
1950's just for a second, all three of the big U.S. Auto manufacturers started building bigger cars.
Because they were more profitable. It made more sense. They could make more money on less units.
Coming out of the 50's they started to rethink that and they were looking at the European
Imports. The Beetle, the Fiat 500, these were small economical cars that were coming into
the U.S. market and taking sales away. So Ford and actually Robert McNamara who was a person that
looked at trends, and looked at spreadsheets, and numbers, felt there was a need for a six passenger,
economical, easy to buy, utilitarian car, and that car was the Ford Falcon. McNamara was involved in the
development of this car the entire way and he insisted on keeping cost down and keeping the
car relatively simple. In today's video we're going to take a look at the Ford Falcon from
1960 through 1970. The 1960 Falcon was powered by a small lightweight 95 horsepower 144 cubic
inch straight 6 with a single barrel carburetor. A three-speed manual column shift was standard and
the two-speed Ford-o-matic automatic was optional. Ford used unibody construction as opposed
to full frame. This method of construction had been previously introduced on the 1958 Ford
Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental. It featured coil over front suspension, a leaf spring rear
suspension, and drum brakes front and rear. The Falcon had room for six passengers. Body
styles included two and four-door sedans, two and four-door station wagons, and the
Ranchero car-based pickup. First year sales topped 435,676 and the Falcon easily become the most popular Ford passenger vehicle. Robert McNamara became Ford's President briefly but was offered the job of the U.S. Defense Secretary and left Ford shortly after the Falcon's introduction. His dedication to the Falcon was vindicated with these record sales numbers. Now there's a great new Falcon with a great new look. The exciting new Falcon sports Futura. Falcon's new look starts here with a sleek new thunderbird style roof
available with a distinctive vinyl covering. The new sports Futura's beauty continues inside where
you are cradled in comfort by a pair of deep foam bucket seats and between the seats you'll find a
handy personal console right at your fingertips. This is the new Falcon sports Futura bringing you
new beauty, new luxury, and the added performance of an optional 170 special engine. Yet for all its
features the sports Futura is still priced below some standard compacts. It's just one of 14 Lively
Falcons that offer you proven top gas mileage and the lowest price of any six passenger car in
America. See them all at your Ford dealers home of the Lively ones. The 1961 model year Falcon
introduced an optional 101 horsepower 170 cubic inch straight 6 and two new models were added. The
Futura which featured bucket seats and a console and a slightly higher trim level and a Delivery.
There were no other changes of note as this was mostly a carryover year for the Falcon. In Ford's
marketing fuel economy was front and center. Ford claimed the Falcon could achieve 30 MP gallon.
Falon sales numbers were again impressive with 474,241 cars being delivered. The 1962 model
years saw the introduction of The Squire model four-door station wagon. It featured
faux wood trim on the sides. The bucket seat Futura model was offered with a slightly
upgraded interior, factory installed safety belts, and featured different side trim and
emblems. Halfway through the model year Ford changed the roof line at the back window and
offered a four-speed transmission for the first time. Ford introduced the Ford Falcon Club
Wagon and Deluxe Club Wagon. Ford also promoted that in a Mobile gas economy run the Falcon
got 32.5 Miles per gallon. Ford dealers delivered 396,129 in 1962. For the 1963 model Ford added even more models to the lineup. Now a four-door Futura and a deluxe wagon were available Futura convertible and Futura
Sports convertible models were also included. Later in the year hard Tops and the new Sprint
model were introduced. Halfway through the model year Ford dropped in the Fairlane 164 horsepower
Challenger 260 cubic inch V8 into the Falcon. The V8 option was only available in the 63 and half model and
these cars were produced in very limited numbers with only 10,479 Sprint two-door hardtops and
4,602 Sprint convertibles. On a side note the Falcon Sprint cars were the basis for the 1965
Mustangs released by Ford one year later. Much of the Interior, chassis, suspension, and drivetrain
components from the 63 and 1/2 Ford Falcon Sprint are nearly mechanically identical to the 1965
Mustang. I've about 3 hours and 60 Minutes of carefully prepared notes on the changes in this
lovely new Falcon for 1964 but, look at it. That car is so lovely that I shan't talk about that much
we'll just take some shots of it. Some beautiful shots of A really lovely automobile. Then I won't
even have to mention the new styling change or the new wide grill or the new excitement in this
car. Nor even that it's still the all-time economy champ which it is. In fact the less I say and the
more you just look at this lovely car the less I'll need to point out that the inside of this
new Falcon has been redone for more convenience and a roomier feeling or even mention Falcon
twice a year or every 6,000 mile maintenance or the many other economy features that I might. We
won't need all these notes at all as a matter of fact. Cuz you're going to find out all these things
and more when you drop in at your Ford dealers and for yourself see the 64 Falcon. One of the total
performance cars from Ford. The 1964 model year sees Ford release a second generation Falcon. It was
launched in 1963 and featured revised more squared off styling. Front suspension was coil spring pivot
mounted on upper a A-arms, six cylinder cars had four lug hubs and 13-in steel wheels, V8 cars got five
lug wheels. While visually different the majority of the car remained the same. Ford added a Sprint
package and these cars featured a 164 horsepower 260 V8, a stiffer suspension, and a louder exhaust.
Midyear Ford added the 116 horsepower 200 cubic inch straight 6 and the 200 horsepower 289 V8 as
options. 300,770 Falcons were sold in 1964. The 1965 model Falcon was mostly a carry-over year and
the changes were minimal. A new grill and revised side trim on the deluxe models were the only
exterior changes of note. A padded instrument panel, power steering, power brakes, a radio, a remote
control trunk release, and a parking brake warning light were optional. The three speed cruis-o-matic
transmission became available. Front seat belts were now standard. The Sprint was overshadowed
by the Mustang and it was discontinued after 1965. Also production for the convertibles ended
on June 26th 1965. 214,601 Falcons were sold in 1965. [Music] Falcon 1966 [Music] [Music]
Falcon has a low, lean, long hooded look. more muscle in the suspension
this has got to be the smoothest riding compact ever. Great gas savings
even with a branny 200 cubic inch six [Music] Falcon Best Buy yet for
66 with a Sleek tough new wagon. Falcon America's all time economy
[Music] champ. You're ahead in a Ford all the way In late 1965 Ford launched a third generation
Falcon as a 1966 model. It was based on a shortened Fairlane platform with revised styling. At the top
of the line was the highly trimmed Futura sports coupe which featured chrome side window frames
it also featured a premium all vinyl interior. The heater defroster became standard, brakes were
9 inch for 6 cylinder Falcons and 10 inch for V8's The two door hardtop and convertible were both dropped
and the station wagon and Ranchero were moved to the larger platform Fairlane. 148,630 1966 Falcons
were produced. 1967 was almost a complete carryover year. The engine lineup saw the addition of the
225 horsepower 289 4 Barrel V8 and other than that only the Federally mandated safety equipment
was added. These updates included dual circuit brake system, an energy absorbing steering wheel
with a large padded center hub, four-way flashers, soft interior panels, and mountings for front
shoulder belts, these were available as an option. total production for the year was 64,344. I'm
going to include the 1968 and 1969 Falcons the same segment as there was really no changes. They got
new side marker lights or reflectors, the shoulder belts became standard, and headrests were added
to cars built after January 1st 1969. The basic body and mechanical specifications remain the
same as the 66 and 67 models. Midyear 1968 saw the 230 horsepower 302 replace the 289 and the
302 2 Barrel become the standard V8. Combined sales for both years were up slightly at 226,405. Sales
declines and the inability of the car to meet the forthcoming safety standards resulted in a short
run of 1970 model Falcons. These were identical to the years prior they were built through the end of
December 1969. None of the 70 model Falcons used a locking steering column that would be standard
on all other 70 Ford products. Ford did renew the Falcon badge introducing a 1970 and half Falcon. It became the lowest priced Ford intermediate car and was based on the Torino platform. The 70 and half Falcon was offered in
three body styles including a two-door pillared sedan, a four-door sedan, and a five-door station
wagon. As the lowest intermediate series The Falcon was marketed with a limited number of options
and conveniences. These included standard manual windows, optional power windows were limited to the
station wagon, radios, (all of these were optional) and air conditioning. The heater was standard by
1970. The model line was offered with the entire range of powertrains offered to Ford intermediates
and these ranged from the 155 horsepower 250 cubic inch inline 6, to the 370 horsepower 429 Torino
Cobra-jet Ram Air. 67,000 70 and half Falcons were sold. and that was the end of the line for the Falcon.
The Maverick took its place in Ford's economical lineup and the Mustang supplanted the Sprint as
the sporty Coupe. My brother-in-law has owned a 65 Falcon Sprint for over 40 years. He's owned
the car almost as long as I've known [Music] him. Yes it's got a 64 grille in it because, he
just likes that better. That's it for today's video. If you like the Falcon I'm going to point
you over here, it's my brother-in-law's car, it's one of my first videos, so yeah it's not the
greatest editing, because I didn't know anything about it when I started, but it's a neat looking
car. He'll give you the story behind it and it's a a heartwarming story. That's it for now, thanks for
watching, until next time, we'll see you
