The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford from model years 1955 to 2005, across 11 generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was offered variously as a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible.
The Ford Galaxie is a full-sized car that was built in the United States by Ford for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford's full-size range from 1958 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race. In 1958, a concept car was introduced called "la Galaxie" which incorporated the headlights into pods inline with the grille and a reduced front profile.
The Ford Torino is an automobile that was produced by Ford for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was a competitor in the intermediate market segment and essentially a twin to the Mercury Montego line.
The Chevrolet Chevelle is a mid-sized automobile that was produced by Chevrolet in three generations for the 1964 through 1977 model years. Part of the General Motors (GM) A-body platform, the Chevelle was one of Chevrolet's most successful nameplates. Body styles included coupes, sedans, convertibles, and station wagons. The "Super Sport" versions were produced through the 1973 model year and Lagunas from 1973 through to 1976.
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1981 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, the Bel Air name was changed from a designation for a unique body shape to a premium level of trim applied across a number of body styles. The Bel Air continued with various other trim level designations, and it had gone from a mid-level trim car to a budget fleet sedan when U.S. production ceased in 1975. Production continued in Canada, for its home market only, through the 1981 model year.
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate. The Cutlass was named after Vought F7U Cutlass, as well as the type of sword, which was common during the Age of Sail.
The Pontiac Catalina is a full-size, junior series automobile produced by Pontiac from 1950 to 1981. Initially, the name was a trim line on hardtop body styles, first appearing in the 1950 Chieftain Eight and DeLuxe Eight lines. In 1959, it became a separate model as the "entry-level" full-size Pontiac.
The Buick Special was an automobile produced by Buick. It was usually Buick's lowest-priced model, starting out as a full-size car in 1936 and returning in 1961 as a mid-size. The Special was built for several decades and was offered as a coupe, sedan and later as a station wagon. When GM modernized their entry level products in the 1960s, the Special introduced the modern Buick V6 that became a core engine for GM for several decades and lived on in upgraded form until 2006.
The Mercury Montego is a nameplate that was applied to three separate generations of vehicles marketed by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. Taking its name from Montego Bay, Jamaica, the nameplate made its first appearance for 1967 in the Canadian market as part of the Mercury-derived Meteor model line. For 1968, the Mercury Montego made its debut across North America, becoming the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Torino intermediate-size model line for two generations.
The Pontiac LeMans is a model name applied to automobiles marketed by Pontiac. The name came from the French city of Le Mans, the site of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest active sports car endurance race that began in 1923. Originally a trim upgrade package based on the Tempest, the LeMans became a separate model in 1963.
The Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.
The Mercury Montclair is a series of full-size sedans that were manufactured and marketed over five generations by the Mercury division of Ford. The nameplate was used by the division twice, from the 1955 to the 1960 model years and from the 1964 to the 1968 model years. The model was offered as two-door and four-door hardtops, four-door pillared sedan, and a two-door convertible.
The Mercury Park Lane is a full-sized automobile that was produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. While not officially introduced as the replacement of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, the Park Lane became the flagship of the Mercury model line upon its introduction. The second-generation Park Lane was positioned above the Mercury Montclair.
The Ford Fairlane is an automobile model that was sold between the 1955 and 1970 model years by Ford in North America. Taking its name from the Dearborn, Michigan estate of Henry Ford, the Fairlane nameplate was used for seven different generations of vehicles. Through its production, the model line would be marketed in a wide variety of body styles, including two-door and four-door sedans, two-door and four-door hardtops, station wagons, and both traditional and retractable-hardtop convertibles.
The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner is a two-door full-size retractable hardtop convertible, manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1957–1959. However, early into the 1959 model year, its name was expanded to Fairlane 500 Galaxie Skyliner. The retracting roof system was marketed as the Hide-Away Hardtop, and was exclusively sold on this Ford-branded model, for three model years.
The mainstream Ford line of cars grew substantially larger for 1957, a model which lasted through 1959. The Crown Victoria with its flashy chrome "basket handle" was no more, and the acrylic glass-roofed Crown Victoria Skyliner was replaced by a new model, the retracting-roof hardtop Skyliner.
Leading into the 1950s, Ford, along with many other top of the market car manufacturers were capitalizing on the post war boom. Many new advancements in technology and products were being developed during this time that allowed for cars going into the future to have features never seen before or features that were not normal until now. The automatic window, for example, was a new feature that made Americans see their current cars as outdated and technologically behind. The 1960s were one of the best eras for the production of cars, as the war between Ford and Chevrolet heated up and produced some of the most classic and recognizable cars in America still to this day.
The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1950 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the initial Mercury Monterey served as the top-of-the-line two-door sedan model for 1950 and 1951 to compete with the hardtop models of Oldsmobile and Buick. It came with a vinyl roof covering, upgraded upholstery, and other features. The hardtop was introduced for 1952. During its production, the Monterey would be offered in multiple body styles, ranging from coupes, convertibles, sedans, hardtops, and station wagons.
Full-size Ford is a term adopted for a long-running line of Ford vehicles with a shared model lineage in North America. Originating in 1908 with the Ford Model T, the line ended in 2019 with the Ford Taurus, as Ford withdrew from the full-sized sedan segment in North America. Across 111 years, 15 generations, and over 60 million examples of the model line were produced across over 50 model nameplates. By contrast, the longest-running single nameplate worldwide is the Chevrolet Suburban, in use since the 1935 model year.
The Chevrolet Impala (fourth generation) are full-size automobiles produced by Chevrolet for the 1965 through 1970 model years. The 1965 Impala was all new, while the 1967 and 1969 models featured new bodies on the same redesigned perimeter frame introduced on the 1965 models. All Impalas of this generation received annual facelifts as well, distinguishing each model year. Throughout the early 1960s, Chevrolet's basic body designs became increasingly subtle, while the bright trim that was part of the Impala package added more than a touch of luxury to the look. The same pattern was followed in the interiors, where the best materials and equipment Chevrolet had to offer were displayed. In short, the Impala was on its way to becoming a kind of junior-grade Cadillac, which, for both the company and its customers, was just fine.
