Cars

FORD Granada (American)

3 Variants

The Ford Granada is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford in North America from 1975–1982 across two generations, along with its rebadged variants, the Mercury Monarch and Lincoln Versailles.

Available in 2-door sedan, 4-door sedan, and station wagon body styles, the Granada reached a total production of 2,066,335.

There was also an European model of the Granada. It was different & separate from the U.S. built version.

Introduced for the 1975 model year, the Granada was originally intended as the successor to the Ford Maverick. As a consequence of the 1973 energy crisis, the fuel-efficient Maverick continued to grow in popularity; Ford chose to produce both cars. The Maverick was positioned as an entry-level car, while the Granada was created a new niche as “one of the most luxurious compacts on the market". To appeal to potential buyers moving out of full-size cars, the Granada retained many comfort and convenience features seen in the much larger Torino and LTD, only in a smaller package. To emphasize this, the Granada was marketed by Ford as a rival to the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz 280 of the time. The Maverick was produced alongside the Granada until the end of the 1977 model year. 

The first-generation Granada and Monarch were based on the platform of the four-door Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet. Sharing much of its design with earlier Ford compacts and intermediates, it would be the final generation of the platform introduced with the 1960 Ford Falcon. They were assembled in Wayne, Michigan, and Mahwah, New Jersey, and also overlapped with the Maverick/Comet's ultimate successors, the Ford Fairmont and the Mercury Zephyr, which were released in 1978.

For the first generation Granada/Monarch/Versailles, powertrain options included the base 200 cubic inch Thriftpower Six, a 250 cubic inch Thriftpower Six, and 302 cubic inch and 351 cubic inch "Windsor" V8s. Available transmissions included a standard three-speed manual, a four-speed manual with overdrive, and a three-speed automatic.

For the 1981 model year, the Granada underwent a major update. Advertised as being new from the ground up, it was actually based from a longer-wheelbase version of the Fox platform; it shared its body with the newly downsized Cougar, the replacement for the Monarch. It also shared many of its mechanical components with the Ford Fairmont, which had replaced the Maverick in 1978. In keeping with its deluxe niche, the styling of the new Granada was kept more formal (in comparison to the Fairmont) with upgraded trim. The new Granada was roomier inside than its predecessor, in spite of being slightly shorter overall. The Lincoln Versailles was discontinued altogether; it was largely replaced by a downsized and repositioned 1982 Lincoln Continental. In what would later be common in 1980s Fords, the Granada was produced in base "L" and deluxe "GL" trims.  The second-generation was available in three different body styles. In both 1981 and 1982, it was produced as 2- and 4-door sedans; and for 1982, a four-door station wagon was added, basically being moved from the Fairmont lineup to the Granada. Base power for the Fox-body Granada was a Lima four-cylinder, with an optional Thriftpower Six inline-six and a 255 CID Windsor V8. In 1982, the Granada became the first Ford available with the Ford Essex V6. An automatic was standard across the board, with a manual option for the four-cylinder.

 

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