1965 mercury comet12/20/2023 On the next page, learn more about the 1966 Mercury Comet lineup.įor more information on different types of cars, see:įrom the outset, the 1966 Mercury Comet lineup strove to distinguish the car from the Falcon via a longer wheelbase for coupes and sedans and more "important" styling that included quad headlights. Sales sagged a little in 1965, but by that time, Mercury had an ace up its sleeve. Or something did, because in the 1961-1964 period, Comets outsold the full-size Mercury each year, making it Lincoln-Mercury's best-selling line. Arriving in Fairbanks, race-car builder Don Bailey told the press, "Mechanically we didn't even adjust the carburetor for altitude, didn't suffer a single breakdown, didn't replace so much as a sparkplug." Comets, God bless 'em, were durable.Īnd yes, durability did sell Comets. Here, four 1964 Comets set 732 FIA endurance records at an average speed of more than 105 mph.Īs an encore, a factory team of 1965 Comets traveled 16,247 miles from the tip of South America to Fairbanks, Alaska, in 40 days. Now, as Lincoln-Mercury general manager, a post he'd held since 1958, Mills and his staff put the first-generation Comet through a number of hoops for publicity purposes, the most dramatic being a 100,000-mile run at Daytona International Speedway. After the war, he teamed with Tex Thornton, Robert McNamara, and seven other ex-Air Force officers to help the 28-year-old Henry Ford II get his grandfather's ailing company back on course in the wake of catastrophic financial losses. Born in Oklahoma in 1915, he studied engineering at Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University), but ultimately took a degree in law from Southwestern University in 1937.ĭuring the war, he was awarded a Bronze Star and became director of programming and progress analysis for the U.S. They wanted the Comet to be known as "durable." Unromantic as that sounded, durability became the early Comet's watchword.īen Davis Mills was one of the 10 "Whiz Kids" who'd brought Ford Motor Company back from the brink after World War II. As a result, they decided to promote the Comet in endurance events. Lorenz, knew from the beginning that they had to do something to make the Comet stand out, something to catch the public's attention. Mills and his general sales manager, Paul F. Lincoln-Mercury Division General Manager Ben D. Most buyers had no illusions: They recognized that the Comet was an upmarket Falcon dressed as a Mercury. See more classic car pictures.ĭuring its first iteration, the 1960-1965 Comet played second fiddle to America's best-selling compact car, the Ford Falcon. In Mercury's marketing for the 1966-1967 Comet. It does not store any personal data.The origins of the 1966-1967 Mercury Comet are a tale of sticking to it: Having tried once and failing to join the ranks of the important new intermediate class sweeping the American car market in the early Sixties, Mercury made a second attempt a few years later with a bigger, beefier Comet.ĭrag racing, not durability, figured prominently The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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