San Francisco Street Sighting - 1966 Mercury Comet 202

Around the city it seems like the favored kickaround classics are the Mopar Dart/Valiant twins and the Ford Falcon. They're tough, simple, reliable and practical. And in a town where parking spaces are nigh impossible to find, a small footprint and solid bumpers are helpful. While Falcons are relatively plentiful in urban environments, a Mercury Comet is a little less common. Here's a '66 Comet 202 sedan.

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.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1973 Mercury Comet

I usually prefer to go my own way in choosing what appears on my blog, but the inspiration for it remains Murilee Martin's Down On The Street series of posts on Jalopnik. He confined his focus to cars parked on public streets on the island of Alameda just south of Oakland. When I began blogging, I stayed out of Alameda because I didn't want to invade a fellow car blogger's turf. I got lots of good stuff in San Francisco because I was going to school there. Since Murilee Martin now lives in another state, I enjoy making the occasional trip to Alameda in the hope of finding something new. In some cases I stumble upon one of Murilee's old finds.
I was driving through town with two friends who wanted to see the Pacific Pinball Museum (I've told that story before; it was the day I spotted the green '55 Chevy 210). It was late in the day and we wanted to get there before the place closed, so I bypassed an apparently clean red Ford Maverick. As I got closer and then drove past, I saw that it was actually a Mercury Comet. I've only seen maybe five of these 1970s Comets in the last several years. The next time I was in Alameda, I managed to find the car again and take pictures.

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.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1962 Mercury Comet Custom

By now you probably know about my affinity for the Ford Falcon, and to a lesser extent its Mercury Comet cousin. Since the Comet is rarer than the Falcon, I usually shoot just about every one I see on the street. This well-loved 1962 Comet Custom sedan was parked along one of the main drags in Santa Cruz one evening as a friend and I were leaving the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I parked my car and got out to snap it.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1964 Mercury Comet

While we're on the topic of modestly sized, moderately priced cars slightly more prestigious than their bargain-brand brothers, let's take a look at this 1964 Mercury Comet. Based on Ford's mainstream Falcon, the Comet offered a more stylish variation on the theme using the same underpinnings and powertrains. If that sounds familiar, you're right. The new-for-'64 Mustang followed a similar formula.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1963 Mercury Comet Custom

I don't know what it is about Falcons that keeps me coming back to them. They aren't particularly exciting, aren't revolutionary in their design or engineering, and are still plentiful on the roads. Perhaps what I like about the Falcon is its honesty, with a general lack of gingerbread and a rugged simplicity built to meet the needs of those who wanted economical family transportation in a compact package. The earliest Falcons were only about half a foot longer than a modern Focus sedan, slightly wider and actually weighed less. My first experience with a Falcon was a ride in a blue 1964 Futura convertible once owned by a friend of my dad.
So you get it now. I like Falcons.