Was Comet a division of Ford?

[FastMerc]

I was to young to know if this is true. I asked the guy with the 64 Marauder about the dealer label on the trunk why it says Comet? He told me that for 2 or 3 years Comet was a low end Mercury division. I know about Mercury Comets as the car, but not its owne division of Ford?

[RF Overlord]

The Comet was not its own division...it was a model of Mercury, like the Falcon was a Ford.

[cat in the hat]

If that is the car in Ontario, maybe Comet was a separate division in Canada ? I don't ever remember that in the US.

[EMAS]

Things back then were quite confusing. The Comet even more so. First of all every mfg usually had only a single car at time, it had a number of different names for the different trim levels but they were the same car (think Custom, Fairlane, Galaxie or Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala0. So it was common for the dealer to announce all their models in their advertisements. So you would also see dealers with signs touting that they sold Fords and Falcons as well as Mercury-Comet or Mercury-Comet-Continental-Lincoln dealers.

Then you have the fact that the Comet was originally going to be the compact sold at Edsel dealers, since it was the mid market product from FoMoCo at the time. Then they decided to drop the Edsel brand right as the Comet was ready to go. So they quickly came up with a name that was 5 letters that would fill the holes where it was supposed to say Edsel. So for 60 and 61 the only badges on the car said Comet. In 62 the Comet started carrying Mercury badges too.

[cat in the hat]

:)
If that is the car in Ontario, maybe Comet was a separate division in Canada ? I don't ever remember that in the US.

I got the pictures working, now I realize that this is the car in your other thread
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=88333

and not the car in Ontario. Weird having two of these on here at the same time ;)


Things back then were quite confusing. The Comet even more so. First of all every mfg usually had only a single car at time, it had a number of different names for the different trim levels but they were the same car (think Custom, Fairlane, Galaxie or Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala0. So it was common for the dealer to announce all their models in their advertisements. So you would also see dealers with signs touting that they sold Fords and Falcons as well as Mercury-Comet or Mercury-Comet-Continental-Lincoln dealers.

Then you have the fact that the Comet was originally going to be the compact sold at Edsel dealers, since it was the mid market product from FoMoCo at the time. Then they decided to drop the Edsel brand right as the Comet was ready to go. So they quickly came up with a name that was 5 letters that would fill the holes where it was supposed to say Edsel. So for 60 and 61 the only badges on the car said Comet. In 62 the Comet started carrying Mercury badges too.

Thank you, neat history lesson ! :)

[CBT]

:)

I got the pictures working, now I realize that this is the car in your other thread
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=88333

and not the car in Ontario. Weird having two of these on here at the same time ;)



Thank you, neat history lesson ! :)

Word, I didn't know that stuff either. :beer:

[kirk]

The first 2-3 years of Comets did not say Mercury any where on the car. This 1960 Comet brochure doesn't say Mercury anywhere on it either
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Mercury/1960-Mercury/1960_Mercury_Comet_Brochure
They were sold through Mercury dealers.

[EMAS]

Lincoln Mercury Comet dealers http://www.flickr.com/photos/autohistorian/4605953422/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/47661552@N00/6301332932/

And a Ford, Thunderbird, Falcon signed dealership. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bossmustang/4214791344/in/set-72157622945726489/lightbox/

[TP Derrick D]

Did anyone see this week episode of My Classic Car? There was a early 60's Comet that the guess had turned in a old school Gasser drag car that was street legal and he also had a very nice '64 Super Marauder, black, 2 door, 4-speed w/ 390 tri-power. Dennis Gage was in awe of the Marauder, well for the show anyway but I sure was.

[yjmud]

yes the first run were comet only then they were rolled into Mercury

[EMAS]

Did anyone see this week episode of My Classic Car? There was a early 60's Comet that the guess had turned in a old school Gasser drag car that was street legal and he also had a very nice '64 Super Marauder, black, 2 door, 4-speed w/ 390 tri-power. Dennis Gage was in awe of the Marauder, well for the show anyway but I sure was.

Yeah I was drooling over both of those cars. The only thing is that I would have kept the 64Comet's mini Lincoln grille rather that using a cut down full size Merc grille.

[Bruce Wayne]

My first car was a dark green "66 Comet 2 door, short deck, lid, headlites over and under on both sides, 3 on the tree, got towed away in a snow lane in Edmonton, and didn't have the coin to claim it back. I have never seen another one like it , was there a sport model? I thought I read somewhere that they only made a couple of hundred of these , with a shorter trunk than the Caliente model? Wish I still had this car!

[FastMerc]

This is cool history that I never knew pretty cool...