One thing that is known is that the last Falcon would share the body developed in 1967 by Bill Shenk for the 1970 Torino/Montego twins. This is the car that in a sense, never was. To this day, even knowledgeable Ford watchers call it a Torino. The car would be gone in a season (literally) and leave no lasting legacy except confusion.

This would explain the bizarre coming and going of one of the most obscure models ever intended for a mass market. He approved it as a project after just a single viewing. On the other hand, what would become the ’70 Torino was one of Iacocca’s favorite designs of this era. More than likely, it was a collective effort of anonymous committee men with no real power to lose or perks to share. Thus the real history of who exactly greenlighted the Falcon of 1970 ½ is hard to pinpoint with any accuracy.

Characteristically, company chairman Henry Ford II had grown bored, resentful or just jealous of Knudsen and thus the way was paved for his favorite marketing Svengali, Lee Iacocca, to ascend the greasy pole to the company presidency in December 1970. The corporation went through an entire year with no president after “Bunkie” Knudsen (above) was dismissed on September 2 nd and remained rudderless during almost all of 1970. The executive suite at FoMoCo had become, by 1969, a seething palace of intrigue and political infighting that threatened to split the company into warring camps. The original Falcon had been made superfluous by the new for ’69 Maverick and imminent federal crash protection standards that the car couldn’t meet, and Ford pensioned it off in December 1969 after a short run of 1970 models.Įven before Ford released the Falcon as a “half year” model, there were many sub-plots taking place out of sight of the public at the company’s Dearborn, Michigan headquarters. The original Falcon’s ashes weren’t even cold when FoMoCo pirated the name for a new sub model to be carved out of the Fairlane/Torino series in time for the new decade. But with an unclear purpose and a half hearted commitment by a management very much in turmoil, the last Falcon was an endangered species from the moment it appeared on the scene.

The new “Falcon” that buyers saw in showrooms that day was not in itself a bad car. So it was on this day 42 years ago when Ford re-launched a trusted marque that had, in its former life, defined what it meant to be sensible and thrifty. A fresh start, if you will, to take stock, begin anew or re-commit to what’s important. Happy New Year ! For most of us, the turn of the calendar represents a new (hopeful) beginning.

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