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Ford Granada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ford Granada was the name for several cars produced by the Ford Motor Company. A series of cars was produced under this name in Europe, while an unrelated automobile used the name in North America.
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In Europe, the Ford Granada was produced at both its German factory in Köln (Cologne) and its British factory in Dagenham from between 1972 until 1976 when production switched entirely to Germany until it was discontinued in 1985. From 1985-94 the Granada name was used in the UK only. On the European continent the car was called Scorpio.
The March 1972 release Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr/Zodiac, and the German Ford 17M/20M/26M, as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas.
It soon became common as taxi, fleet and police usage. It was also converted into limousine and hearse versions by the British companies Coleman Milne and Woodall Nicholson. The Mk1 Consul/Granada was best known for its regular appearance on the television series The Sweeney in which DI Regan was often driven around in a roman bronze Consul 3.0GT and in later series a silver Mk2 GL model. The show often featured car chase scenes in which the car would be well tested.
Mechanically, the European Granada conformed to Ford convention, the initial range using the Ford Essex V4 unit in 2.0 L displacement, and the "Essex" V6 engine in 2.5 and 3.0 L capacities. German models employed a Ford Taunus V4 engine in 1.7 L displacement, or the 3.0L Essex V6, or, more commonly the "Cologne" V6 in 2.0, 2.3 or 2.6 L capacities. The V4 was later replaced by the Pinto unit. The car generally followed mechanical layout of its predecessors Ford Zephyr/Zodiac, utilizing a coil sprung independent rear end, although front McPherson struts were replaced by double wishbones, introduced 18 months earlier in smaller TC Cortina and Taunus. On the other hand the Granada - like Ford 17M/20M/26M - featured drum brakes at rear, as opposed to the Ford Zephyr/Zodiac rear disc brakes.
The cars were available as two- and four-door saloons, a five-door estate (Turnier) and two-door fastback coupé. The early (1972-73) Coupé had slightly different sheetmetal; a more pronounced "coke-bottle" line. In 1974 the coupé was revised, with more straight lines. The "coke-bottle" coupé was unsuccessul in the UK, as most Granadas were chauffeur-driven, unlike in Germany, where they were owner-driven. The revised coupé was sold only in Ghia-trim in the UK, elsewhere in all trims with all engines available. This was the reverse of the situation with the TC Cortina and Taunus, where the British model had the "coke-bottle" styling.
In South Africa, the Granada Perana V8, built by Basil Green Motors, was available through Ford dealers with the 302 in³ Windsor V8 engine, developing 220 DIN HP.
The square and straight-lined Granada '78 appeared in August 1977 and was produced until April 1985 following a mild facelift and attention to drivetrain NVH in 1982. It was a development of the previous car, the main differences being the "Cologne" V6 engine in 2.3 L and 2.8 L forms replacing the older "Essex" unit, and the introduction of features such as air conditioning and fuel-injection. The coupé was discontinued when the new model began production, although there was a 2 door saloon version in certain European markets.
As the range matured another two models were introduced. A sports based Granada was introduced as the Granada 2.8 Injection which had alloy wheels and a rather odd looking black bootlid spoiler. This model borrowed the 2.8i "injected" engine from the Ghia model range. Towards the end of its production run, the introduction of the 2.0 and 2.3 LX saloons and estates provided versions with a slightly higher specification than the "base" L models.
A special edition version of the Ghia X model was later introduced as the "Ford Granada Ghia X Executive" which added luxury appointments such as high grade Connolly leather interior.
There was also a special "Taxi" edition, available only in black, which included a foot-operated "panic button" in the drivers' footwell which would operate the alarm system.
In addition to these two models the range was complemented by estate models which reflected the same appointment levels as the entire saloon range including the Ghia X, but not the Ghia X Executive model.
Ford subcontracted assembly to Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea for export of this model to Southeast Asian countries.
The Mk II model was best known in the popular television series The Professionals as the car belonging to charactor George Cowley. A red Mk II Granada Ghia 2.8 featured extensively throughout the series and in the final series in 1983 the red car was replaced with a midnight blue example.
The robust and tough nature of these cars has made them a popular choice in the UK for using as banger racing cars in recent years as older cars become harder to get hold of, and many have met their end on banger racing circuits.
In April 1985 the third-generation car arrived, which was essentially a rebadged Ford Scorpio, the Granada name being used in the UK and Ireland only, with the Scorpio badge being reserved for the top-range versions.
This version of the Granada continued the theme from the previous version. This time the car superficially resembled a larger version of the Cortina's successor; the Ford Sierra.
The final incarnation of the Granada proved itself to be a reliable and solid car. In August 2006, 12 years after the last model was made, a survey by Auto Express magazine revealed that more than 40,000 of the 265,640 MK3 Granadas registered in the UK were still on the road.
The entire range was called Scorpio from 1994.
In North America, an unrelated car of the same name was introduced in 1975 along with a twin model, the Mercury Monarch. The Granada was touted by Ford as a rival to the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz 280 of the time. The Granada and Monarch were available as a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan.
The Granada and Monarch were originally intended to replace the Ford Maverick and the Mercury Comet, but ended up being sold alongside them for three seasons, when the new models were repositioned as more upscale models intended to lure buyers moving from fully-equipped full-size models. They were assembled in Wayne, Michigan and Mahwah, New Jersey. They also overlapped with the Maverick/Comet's ultimate successors, the Ford Fairmont and the Mercury Zephyr, which were released in 1978. The first-generation Granada and Monarch were based on the platform of the Maverick/Comet four-door. It shared much of its design with earlier Ford compacts and intermediates, dating back to the 1960 Ford Falcon. Powertrain options included the base 200 CID six-cylinder, a 250 CID six, and 302 and 351 CID V8s. Available transmissions included a standard three-speed manual, a four-speed manual with overdrive, and a three-speed automatic(standard on 351-powered cars).
Ghia versions of both the Granada and Monarch included higher-level interior and exterior trim and added sound insulation. The 1975-76 Grand Monarch Ghia [1] was a top-of-the line, feature-rich predecessor of the 1977-80 Lincoln Versailles. The Granada Sports Coupe [2] was produced from 1976 to 1977; Mercury offered a similar treatment with its 1976-77 Monarch S [3]. A 1977-1/2 [4] variation on the Granada Sports Coupe, produced from May '77 through the end of the model year, featured blacked-out molding, modified trim, taillights, and color selections. Documentation of this half-year model exists in Ford advertising from spring 1977. This car is perhaps the "rarest" of Granada production.
The '76-77 Sports Coupe and S packages included standard heavy-duty suspension, styled steel wheels, striping unique to this option and unique interior trim with standard bucket seats. The 1978-80 ESS [5](European Sport Sedan) replaced the Sports Coupe and S models. Sports Coupes, and ESS models equipped with bucket seats, can be identified by trim codes beginning with "P" on the car's data sticker on the edge of the driver's door. The Granada and Monarch ESS models featured "blacked-out" chrome, and a standard-equipment bucket seat interior with a floor-mounted shifter, although a bench seat was optional. The ESS option included standard color-keyed wheelcovers (styled-steel wheels were optional) and unique opera-window louvers.
The 1978 model year brought a minor restyling including rectangular headlamps and revised taillights, features which continued through the end of first-generation Granada/Monarch production in 1980.
The range was moved to Ford's newer Fox platform (introduced as the 1978 Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr) for the 1981 model year and was sold through the 1982 model year. The Granada name was retained, but the Monarch name was replaced by Cougar in Mercury's lineup. Styling of these cars resembled a slightly bigger and more formal version of the Fairmont, with upgraded interior trim. Base power for the Fox-body Granada was a 2.3 L I4, with an optional 200 cid straight six and 255 in³ V8.
A wagon joined the lineup for the 1982 model year, replacing the Fairmont and Zephyr wagons, available in 'L' and 'GL' forms. For 1983, the Granada name was retired in the North American market, replaced by a Fox-platform-derived downsized model of the LTD. Mercury offered this car as the Marquis.
- Ford Granada Consul 1972-1985 (Europe)
- Ford Granada Performance Site (United States)
- AmericanGranada - American Ford Granada, Mercury Monarch/Cougar & Lincoln Versailles Owners Club
- GMV Registry American Granada, Monarch and Versailles Registry
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