Today in Automotive History
1977 The 100,000,000th U.S.-Built Ford
On this day, at the Mahwah plant in New York, workers completed the 100,000,000th Ford to be built in America: a 1978 Ford Fairmont four-door sedan. The Fairmont series was introduced at the beginning of the 1978 model year, to replace the discontinued Ford Maverick. Several Fairmont models were available in the first year of the series, and the available power ran from a 140 cubic-inch, four-cylinder engine to a 302 cubic-inch V-8. The most popular Ford Fairmont was the Sporty Coupe, which was introduced midway through the 1978 model year, and featured styling reminiscent of the Thunderbird. The vehicle was two inches longer than the other Fairmont models, and featured quad headlights and a unique roof design featuring a decorative wrap-over. In the 1979 model year, the Fairmont Sporty Coupe became the Fairmont Futura Sport, and, by 1980, was available as a four-door sedan in addition to the original two-door coupe. By 1981, the Fairmont Futura series was more of a high-trim automobile than its original manifestation as a sporty vehicle, and a Futura station wagon became available. At the end of the 1983 model year, the entire Fairmont line was discontinued.