FORD FALCON and MERCURY COMET INFORMATION
Over 2,900,000 regular Falcon passenger cars were built in the years 1960-1970. An additional 125,000 Rancheros and Sedan Delivery models were built 1960-1966, plus many tens of thousands more Econoline vans and Club Wagons.
The 1960 Falcon captured over 50% of the domestic production sales of the economy car market that year. The remainder was split up between the Chevrolet Corvair and Plymouth Valiant.
The Comet was a stand-alone make in years 1960 and 1961. It did not formally become a Mercury until 1962.
Over 1,250,000 Comets were built in the years 1960-1968. However in 1969 the majority of the car line had a name change to "Montego". In 1971 the Comet name was revived as a cousin of the Ford Maverick. Hundreds of thousands more Mercury Comets were sold until it was removed from production after 1977.
15 different Falcon models were offered in 1963, plus the availability of a Deluxe Trim option for the Standard Sedans.
The "1970 1/2" Falcon was a sub-series of the newer Torino line. First-half model year cars were the "old style" Falcon. At the close of the 1970 model year, the Falcon name was retired.
The best-selling Falcons were the 1961 models, with 474,191 produced. The bucket seat Futura model was introduced in mid-year 1961. The 170-cubic inch 6-cylinder engine was made available for the first time in 1961.
The best-selling pre-1970 Comets were the 1961 models with 183,260 produced. The bucket-seat S-22 model was introduced in mid-year 1961. The 170-cubic inch 6-cylinder engine was made available for the first time in 1961.
Over 118,000 of the 1960 Comets were produced, a remarkable achievement since it was not introduced until March 11, 1960 - some five months after the start of the 1960 model year.
Some Comets were built at the Los Angeles Assembly Plant along with standard-size Fords. This situation causes the "last six" of the VINs of these cars to be "lower" than one would expect based on the scheduled date of production. The Falcon was not built at the Los Angeles Assembly Plant.
Note: Both the 1960 Falcon Tudor Wagon and the 1960 Comet 2-door Sedan models shown above are prototype, preproduction models that were built at the Pilot Assembly Plant in Allen Park, Michigan.
START "The Challenge of the Changing Market" article about 1960 Falcon and 1960 Comet.
