Ford Fairlane Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1969 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan. Over time, the name referred to a number of different cars in different classes; the Fairlane was a full-size car during the 1950s but became a mid-size car in the 1960s.
The Fairlane lives on to this day in Australia, manufactured by Ford Motor Company as a large luxury sedan. The Australian models began with the ZA line in 1967, based on a long-wheelbase version of the domestically produced Ford Falcon. A more upmarket version of the Australian Fairlane is called the Ford LTD.
For 1955, the Fairlane name replaced the Crestline as Ford's premier full-size offering. Overshadowed then and especially now by the contemporary Chevrolet Bel Air, the Fairlane was nevertheless successful and considered quite desirable and stylish. Six different body styles were offered, including the Crown Victoria Skyliner with a tinted, transparent plastic roof, the regular Crown Victoria hardtop coupe with lots of stainless steel trim, a convertible Skyliner, Victoria coupe, and traditional sedans. All featured the trademark stainless-steel "Fairlane stripe" on the side. Power options were a 223 in³ (3.7 L) straight-6 engine and a 272 in³ (4.5 L) V8.
1956 saw few changes; a 4-door Victoria hardtop was introduced, and two new, more powerful V8 options, of 292 in³ (4.8 L) and 312 in³ (5.1 L), the latter available up to 225 brake horsepower (168 kW).
For 1957, a new look gave a longer, wider, lower and sleeker look with low tailfins. A new top trim level was added, the Fairlane 500. For the first time, the lower-level Custom line had a shorter wheelbase than the Fairlane. Engines were largely the same as the year before. The big news for '57 was the introduction of the Fairlane 500 Skyliner power retractable hardtop, whose solid top hinged and folded down into the trunk space at the touch of a button. Unfortunately, it attracted more attention than sales; the option was expensive, somewhat unreliable, and took up almost all the trunk space when retracted. Even so, it required the roof to be made shorter than the other Fairlanes, and the trunk to be larger.
Another facelift for 1958 saw fashionable quad headlights, a grille that matched the '58 Thunderbird, and other styling changes. New big-block V8s of 332 and 352 in³ (5.4 and (5.8 L) replaced the previous largest V8s, and a better 3-speed automatic transmission was also available.
1959 saw a new top-level full-size model introduced, the Ford Galaxie. Lower-level models still bore the Fairlane name. Oddly, the Fairlane 500 Skyliner retractable and Sunliner convertible were officially part of the Galaxie line.1950s full-size car