The Ford Falcon was once the most beloved car in Argentina, but ultimately it became a national symbol of death and terror.

In 1962, the Ford Falcon was formally introduced to the people of Argentina with a spectacular display at the Predio Rural de Palermo in Buenos Aries that featured a full-sized Falcon held between the anvil and spindle of a giant micrometer, symbolizing precision manufacturing. The first few Falcons in Argentina were assembled at Ford’s La Boca plant in Buenos Aries from CKD knock-down kits shipped from the USA, but a full production line was soon set up and Argentinians eagerly embraced the Falcon as their own native product.

While Falcons for the North American and Australian markets were continually redesigned through the years, the Ford of Argentina version continued on with the first-generation 1960 sheet metal, with only minor facelifts, all the way through 1991. (Headlamps and instrument panels were among the periodic updates.) Nearly half a million cars were produced and the Falcon eventually became one of Argentina’s most beloved and familiar cars, a bit like the ’57 Chevrolet in the USA. Naturally, the nation’s most popular car was also a favorite choice of government authorities, and that’s where a dark and terrifying image of the Falcon began to materialize.

In 1976, the government of Isabel Perón was toppled by a military junta, launching a series of horrors known as la Guerra Sucia or the Dirty War of 1976-83. Military-backed  death squads,often driving government-issue dark green Falcon sedans, rounded up untold numbers of suspected opponents to the regime, who were then jailed, tortured, assassinated, or were simply never heard from again. Exact figures are unknown, but it is esimated that approximately 12,000 Argentinians were detained in secret prison camps and another 9,000 were murdered or never found. For nearly eight years, one of the most bone-chilling sights in Argentina was the sudden apearance of a green Ford Falcon at one’s front door.

The military dictatorship was ejected and a democratically elected government was reinstalled in 1983. Since then, vintage car collectors and enthusiasts, who always held the cars in high regard despite some previous owners, have worked to restore the Falcon’s image among the general public. But for many Argentinians, the Ford Falcon continues to be a symbol of state-operated terrorism.