Ford
Fairmont
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Ford's
first compact police car was the Ford Fairmont. In the retail market the
1978 Fairmont was the replacement for the aging Ford Maverick, which was
taken out of production out in 1977. The Fairmont was based on the so called
Ford "FOX" platform, that would later yield such cars as the Ford Mustang
(1979-1993), Ford LTD (1983-1986), Ford Thunderbird (1980-1988) and several
other Ford products. At a wheelbase of 105.5 inch, the Fairmont was classified
at the time as a compact car. Ford also offered a police package on the
identical Mercury Zephyr. Both were full police package cars. Very few
Mercury police cars were made. Two engine choices for police package Fairmonts
in 1978. The first was a 200 cu inch inline 6, that offered only 85 hp.
Second choice was a 302 cu inch V8 at 138 hp. The Fairmont was the smallest
of the compact police cars. The Chevy Nova was at a 108 in wheelbase, and
the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare twins at 112.7 in wheelbase. The Fairmont
was the least popular of the compact police cars, due to its small size
and weak engines, as compares to the competition. However, the Fairmont
was one of the best selling cars for Ford at the retail level. Ford 1979,
the Fairmont police car returned with the same 200 cu inch inline 6 as
the year before, and a new 255 cu inch V8. These engine choices were
carried over for the 1980 model year also. For 1981 a new base engine was
added for the Fairmont police car, a 140 cu inch inline 4 . For 1982 the
Fairmont got a front end restyled with a new grill and headlights. The
engine choices were the same as the year before. 1983 was the last year
for the Fairmont. It was replaced in the retail market by the new front
drive Ford Tempo, and in the police market by the Ford LTD, that was based
on the same platform as the Fairmont. For its last year, the police Fairmont
was only available wit the 4 and 6 cylinder engines. No V-8 was offered
in the police version for 1983. The Fairmont was never a great selling
police car, it was never able to match it competition like the Chevy Nova,
Chevy Malibu, Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare. |
