Tuesday, April 05, 2005

to Country Squire or not

I've read in several places that Ford was thinking of reviving the Fairlane name. One possible candidate was a replacement for the Crown Victoria, but they didn't have a picture. The other was a new MPV to fit between the Freestar and Freestyle. I didn't like using this name for either.

If I'm not mistaken Ford first used the Fairlane name in the mid 50's as a trim level for their full size sedan and coupe. And in around 1957 it became a new model. Fairlane was also the name of Henry Ford's farm/home near Dearborn, which is now a tourist attraction. I was disappointed that I did not stop their when I went on my pilgrimage to Dearborn a few years ago.

The first car I remember was my parents 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 sedan in powder blue with a 260 V-8 and automatic. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Fairlanes and don't see the name used on either of these suggestions.

For the MPV, why not use Country Squire, another name that Ford fanatics have always loved.
Country Squire was a trim level for station wagons from the mid 50' until the late 80's. All Country Squires as I recall had the wood side appearance. I loved that. Why not take this new vehicle and try that?

I recall my uncle had a couple of Country Squires the first that I remember was a 1966 Galaxie 500 in black with the woodie sides and red vynl interior. Then came the 1971 Country Squire in brown with the brown vynl roof and woodie decals. They were great with the third row seats and the roof racks. My family of 7 would load up and go on vacation all over the east coast.

Hey that reminds me, why revive the Galaxie name? I know they call the European minivans Galaxies, but why not revive the name for a sedan or wagon here? I'm getting sick of all the F names and E names at Ford. Focus, Five Hundred, Freestyle, Freestar/ Escape, Explorer, Expedition and Excursion. Almost forgot Econoline. The only non E or F names are Taurus, Mustang and Ranger.

They could have called the Five Hundred Galaxie 500 and the Freestyle Country Squire.
My buddy thinks they should bring back the wood trim too, I was against it at first, but he may be on to something. Ford are you listening???????

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ahhhhhhh.... no wood sides..... jesus in heaven no woodies.

ok got that out of my system, now about the E & F names I agree one hundred percent ... just keep the fake wood in the 70's

Big Ford Fan said...

Now take a deep breath and relax dude. And for Christs sake don't take our lord and savior's name in vain. I don't want a bunch of Right wing Chrisofascists picketing outside my door again.

It's just an idea, some people might like it. I know a guy who has a PT Cruiser with the woodie look and he loves it.

That's what's so great about this country if you don't like the woodie wagon, you don't have to buy one.