Have I Scared Him?

Position the stripe stencil so the stripes are perpendicular to the edges of the canvas. The latter was a spiffy limited version with upgraded inside and a top coated in canvas or vinyl. The most luxurious was the XR-7, boasting a wealthy interior Diamond Art Canada with leather-based accents and full instrumentation in a simulated walnut dashboard. That year’s Mercurys used more of the raw materials that had been scarce throughout wartime: mainly aluminum (for pistons and hood ornament) and chrome (inside hardware and grille body).

CJs carried a practical hood scoop when geared up with optionally available Ram-Air induction. The inboard parking lights and two-band fender moldings remained, but the hood was blunted above a new vertical-bar grille carrying a large „Mercury Eight“ nameplate. Despite few major changes, sales continued robust for the following two seasons: near 294,000 for 1950 and a file-setting 310,000-plus for ’51, when Mercury once more claimed sixth.

An identical array on the identical 120-inch wheelbase returned for diamant schilderij 1963, Diamond Painting when a heavy reskin introduced „Breezeway Styling“ for nonwagon closed models: reverse-slant rear home windows that dropped down for ventilation as on the previous Turnpike Cruiser (and 1958-60 Continental Marks). Volume dropped to about 286,000 and the make’s manufacturing rank fell from seventh to eighth — not encouraging for an all-new design in a fairly strong gross sales yr. Significantly, the ’57s had their own bodyshells on a brand new 122-inch-wheelbase chassis — the first time Mercurys had been neither „senior Fords“ nor „junior Lincolns.“ Like that year’s all-new Ford, this was done partly to organize for the ‚fifty eight Edsel line that borrowed some from both makes.

As Dearborn delayed its first all-new postwar fashions to 1949, interim Mercurys were similar to the ‚forty two editions. The primary arrived on the low finish of the 1961 full-dimension line: two- and four-door sedans and hardtops in „600“ and nicer „800“ trim, supplied at vastly lowered prices starting at $2535. A budget Medalist returned for a quick encore with two- and four-door sedans, but again proved disappointing: Only 18,732 have been bought.

Following an business trend, Diamond Painting wagons had been all-steel four-doorways with simulated wood trim. Custom, Monterey, and broderie diamant Montclair all beat the value-leader by greater than 2-to-1. With that, Medalist was duly dropped, solely to resurface for ’58, when it interfered in a price bracket that should have been reserved exclusively for the new Edsel. The „Big M“ shrunk noticeably in both size and value for 1961. Actually, it was again a „deluxe Ford,“ though on an inch-longer, Diamond Art Diamond Painting (My Home Page) 120-inch wheelbase.

The truth is, one reason Meteor did not sell well is that Comet was comparably sized yet more reasonably priced.