For 1979 the LTD went on a diet, losing 15 inches and nearly 500 lbs. Ford called it “a new American road car.”

After two years of boasting that (unlike General Motors) Ford still offered a real full-sized car, in 1979 the Dearborn carmaker joined the downsizing trend and shrank the LTD down to size. While Henry Ford II was a proponent of small cars for the international markets, he was wary of their potential in the USA. There was a saying around the Motor City: “Big cars, big profits. Small cars, small profits.” The company with his name on the sign hesitated—on the full-szed car lines, at least.

But for 1979, the LTD got the full treatment on the new Panther platform. Overall length was reduced from 224.1 inches to 209 inches, while the wheelbase shrank from 121 to 114.3 inches and the curb weight was pared down by nearly 500 lbs. The 400 CID and 460 CID V8s were banished from the option lists, and now the standard 302 CID V8 and optional 351 CID V8 were the only engines available. All of it was mainly in the pursuit of improved fuel economy: the ’79 LTD was EPA-rated at 14 miles per gallon in the city, 20 on the highway.

In the spot below, the slimmer, more fuel-efficient LTD is touted as “a new American road car,” available in two-door, four-door, and wagon body styles. As you would expect, the four-door Sedan and deluxe Landau Sedan were the volume leaders. We wonder if  folk singer Woody Guthrie ever suspected that his 1940 song, “This Land is Your Land,” would one day become a commercial jingle for a corporate giant. Naturally, the verses condemning capitalism are omitted. Video below.