In 1961, the Ford Motor Company simultaneously offered two noticeably different cars named Meteor, one a Mercury and another on the Ford platform. Let’s sort that out.
In our recent story on the 1962-63 Meteor, Mercury’s version of the midsize Ford Farlaine, we mentioned a curious bit of blue oval trivia that we’ve been asked to explain further. (You can read the feature here.) It seems that the automaker also used the Meteor name in North America one year earlier, but on two remarkably different cars. Long story short, there was a Ford-based Meteor for Canada and a Mercury-based Meteor for the USA. Let’s take a closer look at each.
We’ll address the Canadian Meteor first, as the nameplate already had an established history there, namely as a separate Ford-class brand sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers. As Ford enthusiasts will instantly recognize, the ’61 Meteor was a mildly facelifted U.S.-style ’61 Ford with minor changes to the lamps, trim, and grille to give it some Mercury flavor. Powertrain choices and options were similar to the U.S. Ford as well. Montcalm, Rideau 500, and Rideau were the three trim levels, in descending order.
Meanwhile, the Meteor name was new at the USA Mercury brand for 1961. As the division shifted its entire product line downmarket in an attempt to increase volume, the Meteor became the new base model. The price leader shared its one-inch-longer-than-Ford wheelbase and five-inch-longer body shell with the Mercury Monterey but offered a minimum of standard equipment. According to Lincoln-Mercury, this was the first Mercury available with a six-cylinder engine. The two trim levels, 600 and 800, were distinguished in part by their tail lamps and the availablility of hardtop body styles in the 800.
Whatever minor confusion the presence of two different Meteors in the FoMoCo product line may have caused, it lasted only a single year. (And anyway, there was considerble component-sharing between the Ford and Mercury platforms.) For 1962, both models were kicked to the curb to make room for the intermediate-class Mercury Meteor.
After the Fairlane-based Meteor was discontinued for 1964, the Meteor name was never used by the L-M division again, at least in the USA.The nameplate was returned to the Great White North, where it remained in the Ford Motor Company of Canada product line through 1981, first as a separate brand and later as a Canadian Mercury model.
1961 Mercury Meteor Two-Door Hardtop (USA) 
My father bought a Meteor 800, new in 1961, trading in a rusted out 1957 Merc Monterey. The 57 had the “312”, the 61 had the “352”. Luckily I talked him out of the “292” because the “352” was a stone. Our high school had 61 Fairlane Fords with the “292” for the driver ed class that I took, and that was a bigger stone. The Merc felt heavier, rode better , and was quieter. I learned to drive on the Ford, took my drivers test on the Merc (same car), and then was condemned to drive my mother’s 61 Falcon, the biggest stone. My father kept the 61 Merc for 2yrs (it kept overheating) and traded it in on a 64 Merc.
What a crazy way to make cars. It wouldn’t be done today.
I wonder how the wide-spaced headlights on the Canadian Meteor worked. I’ve never seen that spacing used before or since. I’m guessing there’s a reason for that.
Fours and rusted out….we’ve come a long ways
My dad had Meteors (Canadian) in ’65, ’66 and ’67. Very nice cars. The 67 had the 390 and I just about burned off the rear tires. 😂
One car was meteor than the other!
We had the 3-seat Canadian wagon in white on red interior. With the tailgate it didn’t have those distinctive taillights, rather they were just like the Ford’s. Not sure but I think the tailgate window was hand-cranked.
It figures–since back then the Canadians had Mecury trucks instead of Ford trucks from FoMoCo. Eh?
Mercury vehicles always had an excessive style to them–in the States and especially in Canada. And these Canadian Meteors demonstrated this in 1961. The USA Mercury Meteors of 62-63 were nicer styled vehicles .
I just inherited my Dad’s beautiful 64 Meteor Custom Convertible, with a 390 and four-on-the-floor. It’s a car I’ve lusted after for my entire life, and begged him never to sell it. He bought it brand new when he was 23 years old and looking for a wife.. Researching info about the car was confusing, there is not a lot of information about it on American websites, which dominate the internet.. This article pulled it all together.
Great article.. Nicely done!