Meet the Fairmont Futura, Ford’s downsized and affordable personal luxury coupe for 1978.
In the original Ford commercial spot below, the all-new 1978 Fairmont Futura is given a dramatic intro borrowed directly from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, including the grandiose Richard Wagner musical score. And why not? The Fairmont series was a big step for the Dearborn motor company—the automaker’s first downsized intermediate sedan after a long (and fairly prosperous) line of ever-growing mid-sized models. The Fairmont, we note, also happens to be the first production application of Ford’s soundly engineered Fox rear-drive chassis, which would be next put to good use as the platform for the successful 1979-93 Mustang.
As the personal luxury coupe in the Fairmont line, the Futura received the same distinctive roof and greenhouse treatment as its big brother, the seventh-generation Ford Thunderbird introduced in ’77: Wide, thick B pillars and trapezoid rear quarter glass. (The T-Bird added a small opera glass to the B pillar.) Ford actually played up the family resemblance with an ad campaign titled “Lightning Strikes Twice!” that pictured both the Futura and Thunderbird and listed the base price of each: $4068 vs. $5448. Then or now, that’s an unorthodox approach to automotive marketing. Video follows.
A Fairmont Futura? At least here in Oz Futura and Fairmont were 2 different equipment packages. Falcon, Falacon 500 or GL. Futura then Fairmont and then Fairmont Ghia
Then the Fairlane based on the same platform but longer wheelbase and different front and rear treatment.
As for the car advertised? Fugly to the extreme. Remove the C pillar, fit a tailgate and it would be an ok looking ute. They did that I feel!
So the naming conventions were different. The US didn’t have a Falcon named car at that time. Our Plain Jane mid-sized crocery-getter was the Fairmont. Although, this car was, for all practical purposes, was a down sized Thunderbird, Ford didn’t want to down-value the T-bird, by offering a “cheaper” T-bird tagged car. They brought back the Futura name. This time as an upgraded Fairmont, to follow the naming once used for the upgraded Falcon Futura.
Personally, I liked this better than the Thunderbird. The proportions fit this size car better, to me.
Have always loved the Fairmonts!
I saw one of those converted into a Ranchero, looked pretty good, better than the LTD II version they had.
Fairmont was the first of the Fox platform, a pretty good design. I had a Fox Granada, it was lightweight and agile, peppy with the 250 I6. The thick B pillar always looked a bit odd on the Futura to me, bet it was hard to see around. But, like almost all 70’s and 80’s cars, they didn’t last, you never see any on the road anymore. A few of the two door Fairmonts still run the dragstrips, but even they are few and far between. Everybody seems to love the next year and up Fox Mustangs, the other Fox cars got thrown away like so many others.
Oh, check out that orange interior! Sure don’t have anything like that anymore!