Ford Elite

The Ford Elite wis an automobile produced bi the Ford Motor Company for the North Americaen mercat frae 1974 tae 1976. The Elite wis based on the Ford Torino, an wis a twa-door coupe intendit tae be, in the words o Ford's advertising, a "mid-size caur in the Thunderbird tradition"—a mair affordable personal luxury caur than the Thunderbird, intendit tae compete wi sic caurs as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo an the Chrysler Cordoba. It wis essentially the concurrent Mercury Cougar XR-7 wi a mild front end restyle.

In the 1974 model year, the Elite wis considered a sub-model o the Torino; awtho advertised separately, the side script said "Gran Torino Elite" an the caur wad be titled an registered as a Gran Torino. In 1975 an 1976 (wi "Elite" side script) ,the Elite wis fully its awn model. In aw three years, the caur sauld well.

The Elite name wis dropped efter 1976 acause the Ford range wis bein restructured an dounsized. The Thunderbird wis dramatically reduced in size an price for 1977, movin tae the LTD II platform that replaced the Torino. In effect, the Elite continued unner the mair-recognised Thunderbird name, wi the lairger caur bein discontinued.

Standard equipment

As standard, the Elite came wi:

351W 351M V8 ingine o 351 CID (5.8 L)
3-speed automatic transmission
Pouer brakes (front disc brakes, rear drum brakes).
Pouer steerin
Cloth bench seats
Vinyl roof wi twin opera windaes, Landau (partial) vinyl tap for 1976 model year.
Protective padded body side moldings

Options

Amang the options that coud be specified on the Elite wur:

400M V8 ingine o 402 CID (6.6 L)
460 V8 ingine o 460 CID (7.5 L)
Pouer gless moonroof
Pouer steel sunroof
Air conditioning wi standard manual control or optional Automatic Temperature Control
Metallic Glow paint
Cruise (speed) control
Gauge package wi tachometer, ile pressure gauge, coolant temperature gauge, an ammeter gauge
Fuel Sentry Vacuum Gauge - monitors intake manifold vacuum tae gie an indication o hou haurd the ingine is workin, an sicweys economy (no available wi gauge package).
Fuel Monitor Warning Licht - as abuin, but an on/off licht insteid o a gauge.
Bucket seats an centre console (1976 ae).

References

The Ford Torino Page. Ford Elite. Retrieved on Aprile 24, 2005.
Ford Motor Company. 1975 Ford Elite advertising Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine.