The Ford Country Squire (later the Ford LTD Country Squire) is a series of station wagons that was assembled by American automaker Ford. The premium station wagon of the Ford division, the Country Squire was distinguished by its external woodgrain trim. From the 1950 to 1991 model years, eight generations of the Country Squire were produced. Following the discontinuation of Edsel, Mercury marketed the Mercury Colony Park as a divisional counterpart of the Country Squire, sharing bodywork and trim.
As part of the full-size Ford model range, the Country Squire was the station wagon counterpart of several model lines. For its first two generations, the Country Squire was based upon the Ford Custom Deluxe (and the Ford Crestline that replaced it). For its next three generations, the Country Squire was a distinct model range; initially sharing its trim with the Ford Fairlane, the Country Squire later adopted trim of the Ford Galaxie. For its final two generations, the Country Squire became a counterpart of Ford LTD (the Ford LTD Crown Victoria after its downsizing).
The Country Squire was discontinued as part of the development of the 1992 Ford Crown Victoria. Following a decline in full-size station wagon sales, the Crown Victoria was introduced exclusively as a four-door sedan, leaving the Country Squire with no direct replacement. As of 2019 production, Ford does not sell a sedan-based station wagon in North America. The 41-year production run of the Country Squire is the third-longest of a Ford car nameplate in North America, surpassed only by the Ford Thunderbird (46 years) and Ford Mustang (56 years, currently in production).
Eighth generation (1979-1991)
For 1979, Ford downsized its full-size car lines. Eleven inches shorter and nearly 1000 pounds lighter than its 1978 predecessor, the redesigned Country Squire retained its 8-passenger seating capability with only slightly reduced cargo capacity. While retaining a V8 engine, the Country Squire shifted from the 400 and 460 V8 to the 302 cu in (4.9 L) and 351 cu in (5.8 L) Windsor V8s, sharing engines with the Ford Granada.
For 1983, as Ford underwent a revision of its full-size model lines, the Country Squire remained in production; as the LTD became the replacement for the mid-size Granada, the Country Squire became the counterpart for the LTD Crown Victoria. In another change, the 4.9L V8 adopted throttle-body fuel injection. For 1986, the V8 was updated again, adopting sequential multi-port fuel injection (identified by a large EFI 5.0-badged intake above the engine).
For 1988, the Country Squire received its first external updates since 1979, sharing the front fascia update of its sedan counterpart; new front seats received larger head restraints. For 1990, the dashboard received its first major update (since 1979) with the addition of a driver-side airbag; the outboard rear seats received 3-point seatbelts. For 1991, the front turn signal/parking lamp lenses were changed from amber to clear.
Discontinuation
During the mid-1980s, sales of full-size station wagons began to decline, following the introduction of the Chrysler minivans and the Ford Aerostar. By 1991, the Country Squire was the slowest-selling Ford vehicle in North America, with less than 4,000 produced. Production of the 1991 model ceased in December 1990.
For 1992, as Ford redesigned its Ford and Mercury full-size vehicles, the station wagon body style was not included in the redesign, although there is published photographic evidence that a full-size clay model for a 1992 Country Sedan was made in 1988. General Motors redesigned its B-platform station wagons for 1991, which were poorly received in the marketplace.
At Ford, the role of the 8-passenger station wagon was passed onto the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable; redesigned alongside the Crown Victoria for 1992, the Ford Taurus became the best-selling car in the United States. Functionally, the role of the family towing vehicle in the Ford product line was split between the Aerostar (and the larger Ford Club Wagon) as well as the then-new Ford Explorer (as buyers began to shift towards SUVs).
Source: Wikipedia
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