By Al Aiello, 8/2001

FCA #2502

It is generally regarded that Robert McNamara was the Father of the Falcon. However, McNamara left the Ford Motor Company shortly after the birth and delivery of the Falcon. After McNamara's departure, Lee Iacocca unexpectedly became the Falcon's Stepfather. This relationship of several years eventually led to the introduction of his own "Special Falcon", the Ford Mustang.

The first generation of Falcons like this 1960 version were developed under the direction of Robert McNamara who as one of the "Whiz Kids" at the Ford Motor Company.

To understand how this relationship developed, we have to look back to when Robert McNamara, left the Ford Motor Company.

In December 1960, President John Kennedy asked Robert McNamara, who was then President of the Ford Motor Company, to become his Secretary of Defense. He accepted the President's offer and was off to Washington D.C. to serve his country. While Robert McNamara is regarded as the "Father" of the Falcon, he is more widely known for his involvement with the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the World Bank.

Back in 1960, the Falcon was a shining star rising from the ashes of the Edsel debacle. The 1960 Ford Falcon was a huge sales success! At the time that McNamara left Ford, the 1960 Falcon set a sales record of 417,000 units in one year. Iacocca was greatly impressed with the sales record of the new Falcon, but he was disappointed at the profit margin generated by the sales of Falcons. The first Falcons were highly utilitarian and lacked the extras and options that are the bread and butter of the auto sales world. Lee had to do something to increase the profit margin on Falcons and compete with the sporty imports and newly introduced "Monza" Corvair.

The early Falcons were all about economy and simplicity. The 6 cylinder motors were available with 144, 170, or 200 cubic engines. This particular motor is a rare Canadian version.

When McNamara left the Ford Motor Company, Lee Iacocca was promoted to General Manager at Ford. He assumed the role of "Stepfather" to the Falcon. Iacocca's new position allowed him to highly influence the styling of the Fords introduced throughout the next decade. Lee's success in marketing ultimately led to his appointment to President of the Ford Motor Company in 1970, but that's another story.

Beginning with the Sports Futura introduced in 1961, the character of the Falcon began to change. Falcons were offered with many options such as bucket seats, upgraded "Futura" trim, air conditioning, and power steering. The public was responsive to the new offerings and the Falcon continued to be a sales hit!

Although the continuing sales success could be partially attributed to the new options and offerings on Falcons, certainly simplicity, utility, and basic value were the core reasons for the success of the first generation (1960-1963) Falcons.

To respond to what Ford termed an "emerging youth market", many changes were in store for the Falcon. Iacocca took McNamara's Falcon from a basic form of transportation and began offering the Falcons in convertible form, and "Sprints" with V-8 engines and chrome packages.

The first Falcon Convertible was produced in 1963. The last Falcon Convertible was produced in 1965. The introduction of Falcon convertibles can be traced to Iacocca and the demand from the "emerging youth market". The pictured 1963 Sprint Convertible was part of Ford's "Total Performance" image of the 1960s.

Lee promoted the importance of a factory racing program coupled with effective advertising that supported the "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday!" sales concept. If McNamara had remained at Ford, there most likely would not have been a return to racing, or the "Total Performance" efforts of the mid-sixties.

One of the best examples of the "Total Performance" sales campaign was the introduction of the 1963 1/2 Falcon Sprint at the famed Monte Carlo Rally. This was a major advertising blitz that was orchestrated by the J. Walter Thompson advertising company. Lee Iacocca and the Ford Motor Company wined and dined a multitude of media types as the new Ford models were displayed in Monaco.

A major restyle of the Falcon body was offered in 1964-1965. V-8 motors, convertibles, and Sprints were offered, along with the standard and economy models. The second generation (1964-1965) Falcons had more of the "pony car" look when compared to the purebred Falcons of the first generation (1960-1963).

The second generation of Falcons (1964-1965) was highly influenced by Lee Iacocca and Company. On the left is a 65 Sprint Hardtop, and on the right is a 64 Sports Futura Convertible.

After the major restyling of the Falcons for 1964 -1965, Iacocca was eager to introduce his own "Special Falcon" as it was referred to at Ford. The "Special Falcon" was the wildly successful Mustang. When Iaccoca asked a product planner (Dick Place) to make a sporty car out of the Falcon, Dick remarked that "making a sporty car out of the Falcon was like putting falsies on Grandma". Iacocca saved Ford Motor Company a ton of money by taking the Falcon chassis placing the new Mustang body on it.

The last Falcons (1966 -1970) returned somewhat to their roots of economy and utility, although a handful of sporty Falcons were still offered. In fact, some of the most powerful Falcons were offered in the final American generation. The last Falcons were no longer constructed on the chassis that was used from 1960-1965. The last Falcons were based on a shortened Fairlane chassis.

In 1966, the Falcons were restyled again. Sprints and Convertibles were no longer produced. The above photo of a 1966 Club Coupe appeared in the Falcon sales brochure that year.

While Robert McNamara is regarded the "Father" of the Falcon, let's not forget Iacocca's influence on the Falcon. Whether one considers his influence as good, bad, or indifferent, Iacocca's impact on the Falcon cannot be disregarded. McNamara was only around for one year after the American Falcon was introduced, and Lee was remained at Ford for the last nine years (1961-1970.5) of its production.

Information for this article gathered from a number of sources: Iacocca, An Autobiography, by Lee Iacocca; The Fords, An American Epic, by Peter Collier and David Horowitz

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