Ford Granada (Europe) Mark I / Consul 1972-1977

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Ford Granada #1

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An evil Communist European one.

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The European Ford Granada is a large executive car manufactured by Ford Europe from 1972 until 1994.

The first-generation model was produced from 1972 to 1976 at Ford’s German factory in Cologne and at its British factory in Dagenham. In 1976, production switched entirely to Germany. The original version was replaced in 1977 by a second-generation model which was produced until 1985. From 1985 to 1994, the Granada name was used, in the United Kingdom and Ireland only, for a third-generation model which was sold in other European markets as the Ford Scorpio and in North America as the Merkur Scorpio.

Mark I (1972–1977)
Launched in March 1972, the Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German P7-series as Ford's European executive car offering, and completed the integration of Ford's British and German model ranges.

At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul. This may have been because of a lawsuit by Granada Group a major British conglomerate of the time; however, their application for an injunction failed at appeal and they could not prevent Ford registering the name Granada as a trademark thus from 1975 on they were all called Granadas. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet, and police use. It was also converted into limousine and hearse versions by the British companies Coleman Milne and Woodall Nicholson. Traditional four-door limousines were offered (both long and short versions) alongside an unusual four-door "coupé limousine" (only 12 built), as well as hearses in either two- or four-door configurations.

Mechanically, the British Granada conformed to Ford convention, the initial range using the Ford Essex V4 unit in 2.0 L displacement, and the Essex V6 engine in 2.5 and 3.0 L capacities. German models employed a Ford Taunus V4 engine in 1.7 L displacement, or the 3.0L Essex V6, or, more commonly the Cologne V6 in 2.0, 2.3, or 2.6 L capacities. The V4 was later replaced by the Pinto unit. The car generally followed the mechanical layout of its predecessors Ford Zephyr/Zodiac, using a coil-spring independent rear end, although front MacPherson struts were replaced by double wishbones, introduced 18 months earlier in smaller TC Cortina and Taunus. However, the Granada – like Ford 17M/20M/26M – featured drum brakes at rear, as opposed to the Zephyr/Zodiac rear disc brakes.

The car was available as a four-door saloon, a five-door estate (Turnier), and a two-door fastback coupé. The early (1972–73) coupé had slightly different sheet metal - a more pronounced coke bottle styling. In 1974, the coupé was revised, with straighter lines. A two-door saloon joined the range in May 1973, reducing the entry-level advertised German price of the car by 415 Marks, but the two-door saloon version was never produced nor officially sold in the UK. The revised “straight line rear wing” coupé was sold only in 3.0 Ghia trim in the UK, but elsewhere in Europe it was sold with other trims and all engines were available. This was the reverse of the situation with the TC Cortina and Taunus, where the British model had the "coke-bottle" styling. In continental Europe, the 1976-1977 Granadas were also available with the fuel-injected Cologne V6, producing 150 PS (110 kW).

South Africa
In South Africa, the Granada Perana V8, built by Basil Green Motors, was available through Ford dealers with the 302 cu in (4.9 L) Windsor V8 engine, developing 255 PS (188 kW; 252 hp) and 405 N⋅m (299 lb⋅ft) at 2600 rpm. Most Granadas in South Africa, however, were fitted with the 3.0 L six. The 2.5 L V6 was also offered, although this model was discontinued in 1975 as the six-cylinder Cortina increased in sales. The Granada was introduced to South Africa in late 1972 in 3000 GXL automatic trim, with other models (3000 XL, Coupé, 2500 L) to follow. The coupé was the last model planned, with a scheduled introduction for May 1973. The Granada replaced both the Australian-made Falcon (sold as a "Fairmont" locally) and the 20M of German origins.

Source: Wikipedia

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