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The Ford Fairmont is a mid-size car that was produced by Ford for the North American market that was sold from the 1978 to the 1983 model years. Introduced as the successor to the Maverick, the Fairmont was sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers as the Mercury Zephyr, which replaced the Mercury Comet. The Fairmont and Zephyr were sold as two-door notchback sedans, two-door coupes, four-door sedans, and five-door station wagons. The Fairmont and Zephyr marked the introduction of the long-running Ford Fox platform, used for a wide variety of later models. Those most closely related to the Fairmont included the 1980–1982 Ford Thunderbird, the 1981–1982 Ford Granada, the 1980-1982 Mercury Cougar, the 1979–1993 Ford Mustang (and 1979–1986 Mercury Capri), and the 1982–1987 Lincoln Continental. While retaining a conventional rear-wheel drive platform, the Fairmont was efficiently packaged and offered excellent passenger and cargo room for its size. Contemporary reviews uniformly praised the Fairmont and it was favorably compared with contemporary Volvo and BMW models. Rack-and-pinion steering gave the Fairmont much better handling and roadability than its Maverick predecessor and despite its roomier interior, lightweight components were used which gave the Fairmont better fuel economy than the Maverick. As Ford switched to lighter, more aerodynamic cars with front-wheel drive in the 1980s, the Fairmont was replaced by the all-new Tempo for 1984. ==Design History== At the time of introduction, all Fairmonts were sold as sedans or station wagons. In an unusual move, the rear door of the station wagon was changed from a traditional tailgate to a hatchback-style single-piece liftgate. During the 1978 model year, Ford introduced a coupe version of the Fairmont. Borrowing the ''Futura'' name from the 1961-1963 Ford Falcon, the Fairmont coupe wore a separate roofline from the two-door sedan. Borrowing heavily from roofline of the 1977 Ford Thunderbird, the Fairmont Futura was also inspired by the 1955 Ford Crown Victoria. While sharing the grille of standard Fairmonts, the Futura coupe shared the four-headlight fascia given to Mercury Zephyrs. For 1981, the Fairmont (and Zephyr) received slightly higher equipment, with a slim molding strip along the side becoming standard, as well as power disc brakes in front. Convenience equipment was also increased. Instead, the turbocharged 2.3-liter four was dropped without fanfare. Later in 1981, to increase parts commonality, all Fairmonts were switched to the four-headlight fascia. Additionally, as the higher-priced Granada was switched onto the Fox platform, the Fairmont took on a new role, focusing towards entry-level and fleet sales. For 1982, the Fairmont lost its station wagon model, as it was moved into the Granada lineup. To expand the model line, the Futura now was an optional trim on four-door models. The front fascia of the Fairmont differed from that of the Mercury Zephyr at the time of introduction. While the Zephyr always had four headlights, the Fairmont was originally designed with two (with the exception of the plusher Futura coupe). As part of a minor facelift during the 1981 model year, the entire Fairmont lineup received the four headlight treatment as well. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ford Fairmont」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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