There seems to be a lot of confusion about the final Ford Falcon that appeared in America. As you may know, the Ford Falcon was a compact that was produced from 1960-70, upon which it allowed the Maverick to take over as Ford’s compact. Then, Ford took the Falcon name and applied it to a mid-size model that was only available for eight months.
The Falcon was part of a trio of compact cars introduced by the Big Three for 1960, which included Plymouth’s Valiant and the Chevrolet Corvair. As the most conventional of the bunch, the Falcon was also the most successful. Such austere beginnings eventually led to many sporty features such as bucket seats and console, with the platform underpinning what would become the first pony car—the Mustang.
A redesign in 1966 shed much of the sportiness that the Falcon had, and changing safety regulations led to its demise. That Ford felt a need to introduce a brand-new model to replace it shows the Falcon name didn’t carry the weight that it once had in the segment. In fact, the 1970 Maverick was introduced in April 1969, while the Falcon continued into December 1969, so they existed concurrently.
Come January, a new Falcon would appear at Ford dealerships. This car was based on the mid-size platform, slotted at the bottom under the Fairlane 500. Available as a two-door sedan, four-door sedan, and station wagon, the 1970½ Falcon featured something strange that no other Fairlane or Torino had: a two-door sedan. Why engineer such a thing that would only last half a model year? Only someone at Ford knows, and he’s likely not of this world anymore.
So, if Ford already had the Fairlane 500, why make a move to offer something that was cheaper? A possible scenario is the 11-month recession of 1969-70. If you look at other cars that were introduced in the middle of the model year and the following, many were created with value in mind—Pontiac T-37, Mustang Grabber, and Duster Twister and Demon Sizzler are some that come to mind. Ford touted that the 1970½ was the perfect alternative to the Maverick buyer who needed more room.
While the 1970½ Falcon has fans of muscle cars due to the 160 or so built with the 429 Cobra Jet (plus a handful of 429-4V and 351-4V versions), it often elicits confusion with enthusiasts who say, “That’s a Torino!” or ask, “Is it from Australia?” All you need to do is notice the B-pillar and vent window to know that this is not your usual Fairlane or Torino. Join Adrian Clements and his Yours in old FoMoCo iron… channel as he explains more about this transitional nameplate and the different features between them.
