This glossary of terms was developed by using the most commonly asked questions to LOVEfords concerning Fords, Mercurys, Edsels, and Lincolns.

LOVEfords welcomes your questions, corrections, suggestions, and additions.

Breezeway means a power-operated retractable rear window, however the term was not generally applied to station wagons.

The Breezeway window per se was actually only used on the 1963-1968 Mercury full-size models: 2- and 4-door sedans and hardtops, in varying series. 1967 and 1968 models featured a Breezeway window that only lowered 2" as opposed to earlier models that lowered completely. Starting in 1957, and continuing through 1968, Mercury occasionally advertised that its station wagons featured "Breezeway ventilation".

In addition, Ford applied the term to other models. The 1956 Ford Sunliner boasted a "Breezeway" plastic zip-out rear window. The 1958-1960 Lincoln Mark III-IV-V Continental Convertibles also offered a power-operated glass window that lowered completely but it was not referred to as a "Breezeway Window".  See also: Turnpike Cruiser.

The mid-level Mercury Comet was called a Capri for 1966 and 1967.

In 1970 a compact/sports car named the Capri was imported from Germany by Ford; in 1975 it was renamed the Capri II. In 1979 the Capri was reintroduced as a Mustang clone.

In fact the last Ford Capri to date was the Australian roadster of 1989-1994, which although using Mazda running gear was designed from the ground up rather than a clone, and was marketed in the USA as a Mercury Capri.

Club Sedan,

Club Victoria

"Club Victoria" was first used to designate the 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 2-door hardtop body style, similarly being used through 1962 to designate the top-of-the-line Ford full-size 2-door hardtops. See also: Club Coupe, Town Sedan, Town Victoria, Victoria

In 1956, the Continental Mark II was introduced, a 2-door hardtop for 4 passengers. The following year, though technically a 1957 model, Ford did not market the car as such, it simply was referred to as the "Continental Mark II".

In 1958 the car grew in size to match the standard Lincoln, and was referred to as the Mark III Continental, similarly in 1959 (Mark IV) and 1960 (Mark V).

The name was not used again until 1969, when the Mark III was reintroduced, similar in size to a Ford Thunderbird. Subsequent "Mark" cars were the Mark IV (1972-1976), the Mark V (1977-1979), the Mark VI (1980-1983), the Mark VII (1984-1992), and the Mark VIII (1994-1998).

 In 1980, the Crown Victoria was reintroduced as the top-of-the-line full-size Ford (LTD). For the last several years it has been marketed simply as the "Ford Crown Victoria".

The 1960 Fairlane was still a full-sized car but became the entry-level Ford. The 1962 Fairlane was a mid-size car and would remain so through 1968. In 1969, the car was renamed the Torino, and the Fairlane 500 became the entry-level series. The name was discontinued after 1970.

In addition, Flow-Through Ventilation was offered on 1965-1968 Mustang Fastback 2+2 models. Air vents mounted in the rear roof pillars, controlled by sliding levers, expelled stale air.

See also: Silent-Flo Ventilation, Comfort Stream Ventilation.

In April, 1970, the Falcon line was absorbed into the Fairlane/Torino line. At the end of the model year the name Falcon was discontinued, and with it Futura.

Futura was reborn for 1978, when it became an optional trim package for the Ford Fairmont. In 1979 Futura became a separate series and remained in the Fairmont line until it went out of production following the 1983 model year.

Interceptor

V-8

 The 1958 Interceptor V-8 was a 332-cubic inch, 265-horsepower engine, and the "Interceptor Special V-8" was a 352-cubic inch, 300-horsepower engine. The latter engine was also offered on the 1958 Thunderbird but was referred to as the "Thunderbird Special V-8".

Both engines were also offered in 1959 but were marketed as the "Thunderbird 332 Special V-8" and the "Thunderbird 352 Special V-8". The 352-cubic inch engine remained in production through 1966.

See also: Thunderbird V-8

In addition, Lincoln (and Continental) 4-door hardtops from 1958 through 1960 were referred to as "Landaus". They had a traditional all-steel roof and did not have decorative "S" bars.

In 1969, the Marauder was reintroduced as a 2-door hardtop with special trim, a distinctive roofline, fender skirts, and other unique styling features. It was available as a standard Marauder or as a Marauder X-100 model. It was discontinued after 1970.

"Marauder" was used to identify the higher performance engines starting in 1958, through 1966. The Marauder is being reintroduced by Mercury as a 4-door sedan for 2003. See also: Sports Hardtop

From 1983 to 1986, the Marquis was a mid-size, 4- or 6-cylinder car that was basically the same as the mid-size Ford LTD. The Grand Marquis and Marquis Broughams were the full-size Mercurys in this period.

Beginning in 1952, the Monterey was a regular Mercury series, being continuously produced through 1974.

Any other car bearing the Meteor nameplate was produced in Canada.

"Overdrive - The transmission for the man who does a lot of long distance driving. Reduces driver fatigue dramatically through lowering engine speeds. Automatic fourth gear enables engine to 'loaf' at about 30 per cent fewer rpm's than at the same speed in conventional gear. In effect, engine runs at 35 miles per hour while the car is doing 50. This translates directly into gas savings and greatly prolonged engine life. Simple push-pull handle locks out overdrive gear for maximum engine braking effect."

Overdrive was available on Mercury cars through 1958. It was available on Ford cars through 1967. Overdrive was not paired with every engine or every car line.

Park Lane

Parklane

In 1956, Mercury gave the name "Phaeton" to its 4-door hardtop models in the Monterey, Custom, and Montclair series. Starting in 1957 and continuing through 1958, Mercury gave the name "Phaeton" to all of its 2- and 4-door hardtops and convertibles in the Monterey, Montclair, and Park Lane series.

The Mercury Comet S:22 was offered from 1961 to 1963. The Mercury Meteor S:33 was offered in 1962 and 1963. The Mercury S:55 was offered in 1962, 1963, and 1966; it was an optional Sports Package offered on the 1967 Monterey 2-door hardtop and convertible. The S:22, S:33, and S:55 all featured bucket seats, console, and special trim. The 1966 Mercury S:55 (and 1967 package) had a 428-cubic inch V-8 engine as standard equipment. See also: Ford 7-Litre.

In 1966 similar features were moved overhead in the Thunderbird. The same basic concept of the Safety Convenience Control Panel was offered in full-size 1965-1968 Fords and Mercurys, although exact features varied by year.

It was adapted for use in later years on certain full-size Fords. Mercury used the identical feature starting in 1965 but called it Flow-Through Ventilation. In 1967, both Silent-Flo/Flow-Through and Comfort Stream Ventilation were available on the full-size Fords and Mercurys, depending on model and equipment.  Silent-Flo/Flow-Through were discontinued from use after 1967 in favor of Comfort-Stream Ventilation, however, it remained in use on air conditioned Thunderbirds through 1971.

See also: Flow-Through Ventilation and Comfort Stream Ventilation.

 The 1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner was a 2-door hardtop (see also: Victoria) with a tinted plexiglass forward roof section. The 1955 and 1956 Ford Crown Victoria Skyliners had a tinted plexiglass forward roof section (see also: Crown Victoria).

The 1957-1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliners were  all-steel, retractable hardtop convertibles. In October, 1958, Ford introduced the new high-line Galaxie series, and the Fairlane 500 Skyliner was replaced by the Galaxie Skyliner. See also: The 1959 Ford Registry.

From the 1965 Mercury salesman's product data book: "The Studio-Sonic speaker with momentary time delay...produces concert hall tone quality...is available for all sedans and hardtops. The reverberator unit mounted in the trunk is connected to both the front and rear seat speakers. It is controlled by an independent on-off switch.  When 'off;' the speaker or speakers function in the normal manner. Control of sound apportionment between the front and rear speakers including the reverberator is by the conventional fader control on the radio. Dealer installed."

Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee/Heritage Editions

For 1977, Thunderbird reintroduced the Town Landau model. It was a highly equipped model (but with an optional padded vinyl roof), and it  shared other Thunderbird body style features. It remained in production through 1982. The 1978 Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee model had a padded vinyl roof and small rear passenger side windows. The 1979 Thunderbird Heritage Edition had a padded vinyl roof and no rear passenger side windows.

In 1980, the Lincoln Continental Town Car and Town Coupe became the official name of the series and body styles.

The Town Car options were never offered on the Continental Mark series in any year.

"Town Victoria" refers to a 4-door hardtop (a.k.a. "pillarless sedan"). Although Ford first produced a 4-door hardtop in 1956, the car was referred to as the (Fairlane) Fordor Victoria. The body style was called the "Town Victoria" beginning in 1957, and continued in used through 1962.

The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser was offered in 1957 and 1958. It featured a high-performance engine, a power operated, backward slanting rear window, and a host of decorative and ornamental features not found on other Mercurys.

The 1957 Turnpike Cruiser was offered in a 2-door hardtop or 4-door hardtop. A convertible model was also offered, but it did not offer the power rear window. It was called the Convertible Cruiser. For 1958, the Turnpike Cruiser line was integrated into the Montclair series, and was offered in 2- and 4-door hardtop models.

Tutone Paint was the marketing term used by Ford to designate its standard two color paint schemes, beginning in 1949.

Toptone Paint was the marketing term used by Ford to designate its station wagon two color paint schemes, that effectively had only the upper portion of the roof in a different color, i.e., the pillars did not have the contrasting color. This term came into use in 1959 and was phased out two years later.

Style Tone Paint referred to the two color paint schemes that featured a contrasting color (usually white) laterally in the center portion of the car. It was first offered in 1955 and was discontinued after 1959. The 1958 Ford Custom 300 Style Tone was marketed and promoted as a separate series, but it was in actuality a paint option.

See also: Flo-Tone Paint

The Victoria continued to be a 2-door hardtop through 1956. That same year a 4-door hardtop was introduced, and it was called the Fordor Victoria. Starting in 1957 and continuing through 1962, a Ford 2-door hardtop  was called the Club Victoria and a Ford 4-door hardtop was called a Town Victoria.

The Mercury Comet Villager appeared in 1962. It was a 4-door, woodtone paneled station wagon. It was actually part of the Comet Special series. The Villager was produced through 1967, and again in 1970 and 1971*, when the name was retired until more recent times.

*Thanks to M. Green for this edition!

The Mercury Comet Voyager was a 4-door station wagon produced in 1966 and 1967, of the same size as a Comet Villager.

In 1977 Mercury offered the Zephyr line, which was identical in nearly all aspects to the mid-size Fairmont. The Zephyr was discontinued after the 1983 model year.