why didnt ford continue the falcon name?

ive been wondering this for a while. instead of introducing the maverick as a "new" car back in '69, why didnt ford just continue it as the next generation of the falcon? they kept the comet name around on mercury's version of the maverick obviously so why stop making the falcon? i guess this is just something thats been bothering me for a while, thought i'd ask.

 

because the already had a flacon in the 70's?

 

I wish they would reintroduce the Maverick, maybe in a car the size of the focus but with a v8

 

Actually, they did keep the Falcon name for a while. It was used on the stripper version of the Torino. If I remember right, that started in 68, after the Ranchero got the Torino front cap, after a one year run of Rancheros with the Fairlane front end. Before 67, the Ranchero was Falcon based. I have seen a 70-71 Falcon that was the Torino fastback body style, and it was optioned with the 429 Drag Pack! What a sleeper!

 

Ford also used the Falcon name in Australia.

 

There also was a Falcon Maverick in mexico.

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Falcon name is still used in Australia. USA Marketing departments always want "Change".

Ford will reintroduce the Taurus again after loosing sales on the 500

 

It's all marketing.
They figure if they use a new name, folks will clammer over each other to get one.
Sometimes it is to hide a name that has gone bad.
Like Pinto became Escort when folks likened the name Pinto with cheap piece of junk. Then when Escort got old, they called it Focus.
Falcon became Maverick, then Fairmont, then Tempo, then Contour, then... I don't know what it is today. I don't keep up with the new junk anymore. It's all crap.

FWIW: Ford Falcon was a unique car through 69.
Ford made a single run of Falcons based on a stripped out, post version of the 70 Torino. They are fairly rare and known as 70 1/2 Falcons.
That was it though.

Oh yeah... Taurus... That is just a Torino... Which is just a Fairlane.

 

thats what i didnt understand, why ford would want to hide the falcon name espically on a car that perfectly fit the falcon niche?

like someone else said, you can still get falcons in australia and the name ''FALCON'' sounds cool anyway, i didnt think they had a bad rep like the pintos. if the us auto makers went back using cool names there sales would probably go up. remember back in the day when cars were named after wild animals, weapons, space themes, race tracks etc,?

 

First of all I love Falcons,,, but by the late 60's the Falcon had become a poor sales performer. When introduced in 1960 it was the new car for the new decade, guess it lived its decade.
Dan

 

Well, if they named it Falcon, this great site would look sorta outa place and make you wonder what's a Maverick!

 

Personally, I think "Maverick" sounds cooler than 'Falcon'...

 

The Maverick was called "Falcon" when it was designed, it was suppose to be the 1970 Falcon. I have some books that a Ford engineer gave me, and they show a Maverick with Falcon side scripts on it. If I can find it, I'll scan it.

 

My Dad has one of these cars. It's a 4 door. It say Torino on the hood and Falcon on the quarters. The owners manual is titled "70 1/2 FALCON TORINO". It's an interesting combo.