Starting in the late 1950s, GM, Chrysler, as well as Ford each created luxed-up sub-models of the full-size automobiles offered by their entry-level departments. GM’s Chevrolet Division had the Impala, Chrysler’s Plymouth Division had the Fury, and Ford provided the Galaxie. When that trend got really rolling during the 1960s, proletarian American automobile buyers wanting to flaunt their enhancing wide range really did not need to move up from a Chevy to a Pontiac, a Plymouth to a Dodge, a Ford to a Mercury; instead, they might sneer down at the jealous Biscayne-driving Joneses following door from the trendy boundaries of a brand-new Caprice. A bewildering flurry of design names as well as trim degrees perplexed everyone for a while, but the LTD ended up being the king of full-size Ford sedans throughout the middle 1960s and also ended up being comfortably established in its throne throughout the following years. Below’s the cars and truck that lived on top of the LTD pyramid in mid-1970s America: a 1976 LTD Landau Pillared Hardtop Sedan.
By this time, the course differences that as soon as divided each firm’s vehicle divisions had actually begun to blur, weakening Alfred Sloan’s “Ladder of Success” system (in which a GM consumer would begin with a Chevrolet and after that move up via Pontiac, Oldsmobile, as well as Buick prior to ultimately ruling the globe– or at the very least the Accounting Department– from behind the wheel of a brand-new Cadillac). Once the Malaise Era got rolling and every marque got secured right into it own internal-prestige arms race, you started seeing (for instance) Caprices with fatter price tags than Olds 88s. The Ford Motor Company’s variation of the Ladder of Success never ever had as several distinct steps as GM’s (the ill-fated Edsel was an attempt to glide a Buick-style marque in between Mercury and Lincoln), so couple of tears were lost in 1976 over today’s Junkyard Gem offering brand-new for a lot greater than its purportedly higher-zoot Mercury Marquis brother or sister.
Just as Chevrolet had five different Caprice versions for 1976 (the Impala name had actually experienced a tragic downgrading already, now being utilized to designate the very cheapest huge Chevrolets), Ford split up the LTD line into three degrees: base, Brougham, as well as Landau(by this factor, all U.S.-market full-size Fords indicated for private consumers were LTDs, while the old Custom 500 name went on cop autos and taxicabs). The LTD Landau Hardtop Car was the most pricey new four-door cars and truck an American might get with Ford badges in 1976, with an MSRP of$5,560(regarding$29,625 in 2022 dollars). It absolutely was a Landau, with the padded-vinyl C pillar that name implied at the time (though a 19th-century landau carriage was more like a full convertible ), however this “hardtop”actually wasn’t any kind of such thing; there are slim yet visible columns in between the front and also back doors. Ford fudged this by periodically describing it as a”pillared hardtop”in its marketing products, to ensure that’s the classification I’m using right here. This was the Golden Age of outrageous, French-cathouse-style vehicle interiors out of Detroit (and also, even
a lot more gloriously, outof Kenosha). This auto’s interior still maintained some of its vinyl-and-fake-wood glory by the time I got here. It appears to have the Landau Luxury Group alternative plan, that included split bench seats “meticulously tailored “in “100%nylon deluxe knit Kasman Cloth which has the feel and look of cashmere “as well as added 472 dollars($2,515 now
)to the rate. It was feasible to overdo ’76 LTD alternatives until you were paying almost as much as you would certainly have paid out for abrand-new Continental. The Landau obtained power front lights covers, much like the magnificent Lincoln Mark IV, and the taillight assemblies obtained these cool-looking chrome designs on the backup light lenses. My very own family has a respectably
deep history with the full-sized Fords of the 1960s as well as 1970s; the very first automobile I remember riding in was a 1967 Ford Custom two-door sedan with a 289 and three-speed handbook, and my grandpa happily drove his big-block-powered 1968 Ford LTD sports car till Minnesota rust dissolved it. Being a long-lasting Ford guy after an unfortunate postwar dalliance with a brand-new Crosley, my grandfather instantly bought a new ’77 LTD to change the’68. Power was means down for mid-1970s Detroit V8s, as engineers struggled to adjust to
ever-stricter emissions and fuel-economy guidelines with the confusing engine-control modern technology of the time. This 4,394-pound auto has a 351-cubic-inch(5.7-liter)V8 rated at 152 horse power, which called for unleaded gas to stop the destruction of its popular catalytic converter. If we were to use this auto’s power-to-weight proportion to its 2022 equivalent( which I’m mosting likely to state is the Explorer, though an instancecould be made for the Edge), that would certainly cause a new Explorer that struggled to drag its vast mass down the road with just 176 equines. To be reasonable, this 351M engine (not-too-distantly related to the 351 Clevelands of earlier Mach I Mustang popularity)did make pretty good torque: 274 pound-feet. 1976 LTD buyers can update to larger(and thirstier)optional V8s, including a 400(6.5-liter)with 180 horsepower as well as a 460(7.5-liter)with 202 hp. A transmission was common devices; if you desired a U.S.-market Ford car with a hand-operated transmission that year, the greatest one you can get was a Granada with an antique three-on-the-tree( the unassociated European Granada had an appropriate four-on-the-floor manual as its only readily available transmission that year). You ‘d believe that an automobile this luxurious would have included a radio as well as a/c at no additional cost, but that wasn’t the situation for many lower-priced marques during the 1970s. The single-speaker AM radio you see here price 78 dollars ($415 currently), though it might have been a (slightly)less expensive dealer-installed system. The A/C cost an extra$486, much more than the optional 460 engine would certainly have price, as well as the equivalent of$2,590 in 2022. Following time you start understanding that auto deals were much better in the old days, just think about the number of formerly-optional features we now obtain for no extra cost in also the cheapest brand-new cars. There have been Ford dealerships with the Cavalier name in a number of locations around the nation, so all I can claim regarding this car’s beginning is that it possibly wasn’t offered new below in Colorado. The original door tag was indecipherable, so I wasn’t able to seek out the Ford sales workplace that prepared initial delivery. The university stickers come from around. I believe this cars and truck was well-traveled during its life. Better mileage, bigger trunk, even more towing
ability, and better conventional functions than the Impala!