Ford Fairlane (Australia)
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- See also Ford Fairlane (North American)
The Ford Fairlane is a large, luxury automobile model manufactured by Ford Australia from 1960 to the present day, with only a brief absence in the mid-1960s. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan. The name Fairlane was also used for a model sold between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company in North America.
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 mid-sized model spawned the Australian-built Fairlane in 1967, although it was considered a large car there.
Ford Australia introduced the Fairlane (ZA series) in 1967 as its most luxurious domestically built model. The Australian Fairlane was not a muscle car, but instead a luxury, long-wheelbase version of its mainstream Falcon. There were limited imports of the American Ford Galaxie 500 as the absolute top of the range, until 1973 when they were replaced by the local version of the LTD, which was a plusher, rebodied Fairlane. The Australian Fairlane line has continued uninterrupted since 1967, a claim that its nearest rival, the Holden Statesman, cannot make.
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[edit] Imported American Fairlanes
Fairlanes had in fact been sold in Australia since 1960 as the company's top model line there. Initially, the 500 sedan was offered, but this was joined in September by the Ranch Wagon. These featured a 332 in³ V8.
From April 1962, a 221 in³ V8 was offered instead. The Ranch Wagon was deleted at the end of 1963, while there were two sedans for 1964, with either a 260 in³ or a 289 in³ V8. The ’64s were the last imported Fairlanes.
Model changes tended to follow the US models'.
[edit] The stretched Falcon
The ZA series, from March 1967, was equipped with either a 200 in³ or 289 in³, and resembled the American Fairlane sedan of that year. The smaller engine was available as a manual or automatic, but the larger one was only an automatic.
Annual model changes to the ZB in March 1968 saw the 289 in³ grow to 302 in³, the top model being the Fairlane 500 with the larger engine.
The facelifted ZCs of 1969 (from July) had the Fairlane Custom as the base model, with either a 221 in³ or 302 in³ engine. The range-topping 500 model featured either a 302 in³ or 351 in³ V8. Interestingly, the ZCs featured stacked headlamps, rather than the standard four headlamps of earlier years, harking back to the 1966–7 US models.
The ZDs were released in November 1970 for the 1971 model year. The base engine became a 250 in³ unit, while the 302 and 351 remained, the latter found only in the Fairlane 500. Externally, there were new tail lights.
[edit] All-Australian: the swoopy Fairlanes
An all-new, 100 per cent Australian-designed Fairlane was launched in April 1972, with swoopier bodywork, but there were criticisms that it looked too much like a four-headlamp version of the basic Falcon. The ZF Fairlanes were joined by an even more upscale LTD, with hidden headlamps and vinyl roof. Model names remained the same (Custom and 500), as did the engine choices, as the previous model year. The 1973 ZF also saw the last manual transmission; afterwards, all Fairlanes would be automatics.
November 1973 saw the next series of changes, to the ZG series. The changes were mainly cosmetic, with a four horizontal bar grille and revised tail lights.
An anniversary model was released in 1975 with the 302 in³, but otherwise the range stayed the same as the ’74s.
The ZH addressed earlier complaints about the Fairlane being too close to the Falcon in May 1976. The designers retained the same central section but put on lengthened front and rear ends, giving the car more bulk and a luxury impression. The range-topping LTD went further upmarket with a fancy, Rolls-Royce-inspired grille. (It was not dissimilar to that found on the Lincoln Continental Mark V.) Another sign of the upmarket move was the 500 becoming the basic trim (the Custom was deleted), and the Fairlane Marquis being the upscale version. ZH also moved to the use of the metric system to denote the engine sizes: the basic engine was the 4·9 L, with a 5·8 L option.
[edit] The 1980s: the boxy Fairlanes
Ford would wait until May 1979 before updating the Fairlane to the ZJ series. This model was a leap ahead into the new decade, with squared-off lines and a six-light bodyshell, clearly distinguished from the new Falcon of that year. The trim levels were deleted: there was now only a single Fairlane, with 4·9 L or 5·8 L V8 engine choices. In October, recognizing the fuel crisis, Ford introduced a Fairlane with a 4·1 L inline six from the Falcon.
The ZK of 1982 saw the deletion of the 5·8 L V8, which was the first sign the company would no longer offer bent-eights in the local line-up.
The following year, the 4·9 L V8 was deleted, although Ford introduced a fuel-injected version of the six to compensate for its market-place absence, claiming the new engine had a greater power output than the eight. But buyers did not really have a choice: Holden had exited the long-wheelbase, full-size sedan market with the cancellation of the Statesman. The revised ZLs of 1985 (launched October 1984) kept the two six-cylinder engine options. It was only at the end of 1986 that the carburettor version of the Fairlane was deleted.
[edit] Aero-look Fairlanes
June 1988 saw the next major revision: the Fairlane's straight edges gave way to gentle curves. The philosophy was the same: a long-wheelbase Falcon with a six-light body. The 4·1 L six was heavily revised, becoming a 3·9 L unit with improved fuel economy and power. These models were part of the EA26 development programme and platform (E for the market segment, A for Australia, 26 the project code). Therefore, officially they were EA26s, but colloquially, Ford aficionados prefer a two-letter code. Hence, the new Fairlanes were given the NA series code.
Revisions from November 1989 for the 1990 model year saw the release of the 'NA II', the most notable change being the fitting of a four-speed, rather than three-speed, automatic transmission. (Since the Fairlane's début it had a three-speed.)
Although Ford Australia's official historian, Adrian Ryan, is emphatic there was never officially an NB Series Fairlane, at least one early 1989 prototype fitted with a four speed automatic escaped from the factory bearing a compliance plate marked "NB" and was registered as an "NB Fairlane". Ford also produced an alloy wheel identification guide poster for its parts counters listing one wheel as being for an "NB Sportsman Fairlane" and it seems likely that at one point the Series II NA was going to be called the NB. Third party parts suppliers also often list both an "NB Fairlane" an "NB - Series II Fairlane" in their parts catalogues adding to the NB mystery. DOTARS (the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services) has no record of giving Ford approval to use an "NB Fairlane" compliance plate for a production model which might explain Ford's reluctance to officially ackowledge the "NB".
August 1991 saw the news that many Fairlane purists had awaited: the reintroduction of the V8, in the NC. Ford had never recovered from deleting the V8s in the 1980s and bowed to public pressure with its reintroduction. The 5·0 L engine was identical to the one used in the United States. The inline six continued. The NC also introduced a higher-spec Fairlane, called the Fairlane Ghia, and it was in this model that the V8 was available.
The 1992 NC IIs redesignated the 3·9 L engine a '4·0 L', but trim levels remained the same.
To appeal to younger buyers, Ford briefly sold a Fairlane Sportsman Ghia in 1993 with the 4·0 L six.
In 1994, the base model was deleted, leaving only the Ghia.
The Fairlane was rebodied in 1995 (EA77 series in Ford-speak), but remained on the same platform. The new NF was longer and curvier, hiding its 1980s origins reasonably well. The exterior design was more ornamental compared to the relatively clean NAs to NCs. The Sportsman reappeared for 1996, with the same formula was 1993, with the 4·0 L six.
In September 1996, the revised NLs appeared, without the Sportsman.
In 1997, Ford introduced a higher Fairlane Concorde trim, with the same 4·0 L and 5·0 L engine choices.
For customers, 5 Dealer modified NL Fairlanes from Sydney and Melbourne utilized parts from the 5.0 Litre Mustang Cobra and Australian Delivered SVO parts due to the limited edition run of the Fairlane by Tickford and customers wanting to maintain the Luxury look but sport the GT's performance.
Ford expanded the Fairlane range greatly in 1998. Beginning with the Ghia, there was also a basic Concorde (six-cylinder) and Concorde Ghia (V8). A Tickford-modified version was also available, with the larger engine, as well as a luxurious Fairlane Special Edition Ghia.
[edit] Deviations
- In the early 1990s, the Falcon Utilities were still of the previous generation XF. A prototype EB Falcon utility was made which looked Fairlane based. To impart a look of solidness, the ute had a Fairlane frontal treatment. It did not enter production.
- An idea proposed in the late 1980's was a Fairlane Wagon. Most likely, had it entered production, it would have used the Falcon wagon (which rode on the Fairlane's wheelbase) body, coupled with the Fairlane's front clip.
[edit] New Edge Fairlanes
Ford introduced its 'New Edge' look to the Fairlane in February 1999, with some success, though the EA169 series (called AU colloquially) was considered a flop, allowing rival Holden to overtake the company in the sales of full-size cars. The AU Fairlane, sharing the code with the Falcon for the first time, had Lincoln Town Car styling cues, especially around the C-pillar. The range was pared back to six- and eight-cylinder Ghias, though there was a limited-edition Millennium Ghia in December 1999.Image:46milsp.jpg
Ford brought forward revisions to the Falcon and Fairlane ranges when market acceptance of the new cars proved poor in July 2000. The 2001 model year AU II models featured some improvements, and another limited edition was offered: the 75th Anniversary Ghia in October, with the same engine choices as before. The Sportsman Ghia was revived in March 2001 and lasted for more than one model year this time, remaining in the range to the end of 2002.
Ford's new attempt to battle Holden came in July 2003 with the BA series. The BA Fairlanes were closer to the Falcon in looks, even sharing the lower model's tail lights for the first time since the 1967 ZA. The 5·0 L gave way to the larger 5·4 L, already used in the US. To capture younger buyers, the G220 (denoting its 220 kW power output) took the place of the Sportsman, and featured the larger engine only. The traditional automatic gearbox was replaced by a sequential automatic.
The highly successful BA Fairlanes, introduced in 2003 included the Ghia, G220, and LTD. In 2005, the G220 was renamed G8, in relation to the cars eight cylinder engine.
[edit] See also
- Ford Fairlane (North American)
- List of Ford vehicles
- Ford Falcon
- Ford Torino
- Ford LTD
- Mercury Montego
- Mercury Cougar
- Meteor
- Holden Statesman - direct competitor in Australia
