San Francisco Street Sighting - 1967 Ford Falcon

This has to be one of the most visually interesting cars I photographed in 2015. The '67 Ford Falcon never set out to be exciting originally, just a basic economy car that lived in the shadow of the Mustang. Ford produced a car that checked the boxes for a car of the era: Four doors, two doors, station wagon; six or eight cylinders; automatic or manual, done. The body was conservatively styled and the chassis conservatively engineered. The colors it was offered in were generally conservative as well. Nothing about this car really stands out, but for the incredible patina it wears.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1965 Mercury Comet Caliente

My love of the Ford Falcon does not always extend to its Mercury Comet cousin. The Comet had some iffy model years, but so do many models. For 1965, Mercury stylists worked pretty hard to differentiate the Comet from the Falcon, and they pulled it off. Whether the full package is attractive is open to debate. However, I do like certain angles of it, and it looks more modern than the '64 which was trying to be a Ford, Lincoln and Mercury all at the same time. The profile has a racy, forward-leaning look while remaining Falcon-practical for family use. The '65 adopts the stacked headlights that became so fashionable in the industry around that time, and in lieu of the Falcon's big round taillamps the rear features a narrow horizontal strip with little rectangular lights in it, beneath a heavy-looking rear panel. It also features more deeply sculpted sides that as far as I can tell, serve no purpose except to enable Ford to use Falcon doors on both cars. The Comet has a stout, mid-size look to it that makes it appear larger than the compact Falcon, though under the skin the two cars are very similar.

El Segundo Street Sighting - 1962 Ford Falcon Ranchero

Avid readers will already know that I love the Ford Falcon in almost all of its forms. Australian friends, that includes many of the Falcons sold down under as well. And speaking of Australia, the car-based coupe utility pickup, or 'ute', is virtually a way of life in that country. Here in the states, it's more of a novelty, but the Ford Ranchero is one of America's best known and most popular utes. I featured a 1968 Ranchero years ago, a larger version based on the redesigned Fairlane and new Torino. That version was more akin to the Ranchero's roots as a large Fairlane-based pickup from 1957 to 1959. For most of the 1960s, though, the Ranchero existed as a compact Falcon variant, and again as a Fairlane for 1967.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1961 Ford Falcon

It seems like there's something about Ford Falcons and Dodge Darts/Plymouth Valiants that makes them nigh unkillable. It's a testament to the simple, basic economy car of the 1960s, a reliable six-cylinder engine and no-frills packaging based on solid platform engineering. The end result is a car that doesn't look like much and isn't fast but it won't die. Basically this was in 1961 what the Toyota Corolla is now. Except that unlike the current Corolla which still heavily resembles the 2003 model, the Falcon was still fresh in 1961, its second year of production.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1963 Ford Falcon Club Wagon

A while ago, I featured a Ford Falcon Club Wagon I found parked on Haight Street in San Francisco. It was a well-used example and was in rather ratty condition. The van, being a Falcon-badged variant of what is more commonly called the Econoline, confused some people. The post made it to an Australian Falcon forum, and mind you, the Aussies take their Falcons very seriously. They couldn't believe that such a thing existed, because clearly it was an Econoline someone put 'custom' Falcon badges on. Well, it wasn't the only Falcon Club Wagon van out there.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1965 Ford Falcon

I hate seeing tow tags on cars. It means that the car was left in one spot too long and either someone complained or the police decided it was abandoned. When you see a vehicle with a tow tag, you never know if that's the end of the road for it. There used to be a Chevy El Camino that sat in the same parking space near my local Taco Bell for what must have been years. It was in good shape, but it was always there. When people started throwing garbage in the back, the police tagged the car. Usually when you get tagged, it means you have 72 hours to move it or the city comes and tows the car away. Then there's meter maids, street cleaning, permit parking, you name it, that allow for even less time before the car goes to impound. The El Camino sat for over a week with a tow tag before it disappeared for good.

Point Reyes Station Street Sighting - 1961 Comet sedan

Oh dear, here we go again with another Falcon. Or is it? Nope, this is a Comet. We've already had a 1962, 1963, and 1964 Mercury Comet show up here, so why not an early one that predates the car's official association with Mercury? Originally devised as a baby Edsel for 1960, the Ford brass nixed the horsecollar grille in a hurry when the Edsel brand went down in flames and made the Comet a stand-alone economy brand for two years. Aside from some cosmetic touches, the Comet's Falcon roots are plainly evident. But hey, it was 1961 and you got four headlights AND tailfins on a compact car that was no less frugal than the bargain-basement six-cylinder Falcon.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Ford Falcon

It's a funny thing about the American Ford Falcon, that a lot of people forget that it was still produced after 1965. Of course our Aussie friends will tell you that the Falcon never went away, but in the US it's getting harder and harder to find the late model 1966-70 Falcons. Perhaps it's because in the rush to modernize while minimizing cost in the mid-sixties, the Falcon lost what style it had. I suspect that a little thing called the Mustang had something to do with it. Why eat into the sales of a cash cow? The Falcon was still around at a lower price point, and last I checked, it wasn't possible to buy a four-door Mustang at the time (unfortunately a four-door Thunderbird was available, ugh). Lord knows how many of these nondescript econoboxes rolled out of the factory over the final five years of production, but the vast majority of them seem to have been used up and scrapped long ago.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1966 Ford Falcon Futura Sports Coupe

This is one of those cars I wish I'd photographed more in depth. It's yet another Ford Falcon, but not an early one. The vast majority of Falcons one sees on American roads are 1960-65 cars. The 1966-70 generation seems to be much less common, and I don't think I've ever seen a 1970-1/2 Torino-based Falcon. It makes me wonder, where did all the later Falcons go? Well, I managed to catch one of them.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1965 Ford Falcon

Ah yes, time for another Ford Falcon. This time it's a 1965 Falcon sedan, the second one from that year I've featured. I like most Falcons, but the '64-'65 Falcon generation has special significance to me. A friend of my dad owned a 1964 Falcon Futura convertible when I was younger, and he trusted the car to my dad to do some repairs. For several weeks, the metallic blue ragtop with 260 ci V8 sat in our garage. When the work was done, it was of course time for a test drive, and I was allowed to come along. That ride cemented my love of the Falcon ever since.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Ford Falcon Club Wagon

While browsing the archives, I noticed that I had a few old vans to post. So, this week is going to be Big Three Vintage Vans week.

Second in this week's Big Three Vintage Vans feature is this 1963 Ford Falcon Club Wagon. Much like the previous Dodge A108, the Falcon Club Wagon is effectively a station wagon whose driver happens to sit on top of the front axle instead of behind it. Buyers could still order an array of miserly-to-punchy six-cylinder engines and have a fully appointed interior. The Club Wagon was even set apart from the much truckier-sounding Econoline by its Falcon nameplate, in case you couldn't tell this was a station wagon!

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Ford Falcon

It's funny, I imposed a rule on myself against posting a bunch of Mustangs, but not one against posting Falcons. I suppose in a way I have, since I've passed up many Falcons in the months following the creation of this humble blog. This particular Falcon was one of my earliest blog shoots, taken several months ago. It intrigues me, as it's a perfect example of a custom car long past its prime.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1965 Ford Falcon Futura

I thought it would be appropriate to follow the 1969 Dodge Dart Custom sedan with a bread-and-butter compact car from another of the Big Three: Ford. This nicely kept example is a 1965 Falcon Futura, the swankier trim level. It's also powered by the optional 289 cubic inch V8 it shared with the Mustang introduced the previous year.