NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario– It didn’t quite replace the Comet (at first), but when introduced for model year 1975, this cousin to the Ford Granada certainly cut into the old compact’s sales numbers. This c1979 Mercury Monarchwould itself basically be replaced with yet another Ford rehash — the Mercury Zephyr (née Ford Fairmont). They co-existed for a few model years (197
Once Cadillac introduced the Seville back in 1975 (based largely on the Chevy Nova platform), you knew it wouldn’t be long before a similar car emerged from Dearborn. The 1977 Lincoln Versailleswas supposed to be their answer to the Seville. The mid-size Cadillac had sales of over 16,000 in its shortened first model year, and nearly 44,000 for MY 1976. Surprisingly (or was it?), the Seville
They weren’t quite as blatant as the Ford Granada ads which compared themselves to a Mercedes-Benz in both looks and quality. However, the brochure for the 1980 Mercury Monarch, the Granada’s near-identical twin, did manage to mention that with the ESS option it had“…the styling accents of a European sports sedan”while the base Monarch,“with its clean elegant l
If Ford was comparing their very similar Granada to a Mercedes-Benz (bottom of page), I wondered to myself “What did they compare this 1977 Mercury Monarchto in their ads?” After all, Mercury was conceived back in 1939 as a step up from a Ford. While most of the old print ads I found on the internet didn’t specifically liken the Monarch to any upscale luxury brand, some of the ad
Now here’s something you don’t see every day… a 1977 Chevrolet Concourssedan. What, you say? It’s a Nova?! Move two spaces back and lose your turn. The brochure cover announces it as “Concours by Chevrolet.”There’s nary a Nova badge to be found anywhere on the car, nor will you find the word “Nova” mentioned anywhere in the Concours’ adv