A brief history of the Ford Granada

The Ford Granada became a special breed.  Their handling, style luxury and of course their sound was unmistakable.  America had their petrol guzzling muscle cars, and this is what made the Ford Granada so popular.  It looked and sounded just like them!

So where do we begin?

Well, the decade that taste forgot.  The 1970's.  Some bright spark decided to design a big saloon, for executives and families alike.  They produced two versions with different trim levels. They were known as The Ford Granada and Ford Consul

The Consul was available in basic and L trim and came with either a 2000cc V4 or 2500cc V6 power plant available with the top of the range being the now much sought after 3000cc Consul GT.

The Granada range offered the 2500cc and 3000cc versions only in basic trim and the very luxurious fleet leader GXL version. With their tinted windows, sunroof, and power steering these Consul and Granada’s sold very well on their launch with Fords also having to respond to public demand by introducing an estate version which was released in October.

 

In 1974, the Ford Granada coupe appeared sporting a 3.0 V6 litre Essex engine, with only 2 doors and of course that famous fastback look.
The 3000 Ghia also appeared and caused a stir.  It had a superb level of trim, with lovely wood dash, thicker sound proofing and of course the famous Ghia badge.  Ford had bought Ghia in Turin and let them loose.  The results would ensure that the word Ghia was always associated with a high level of trim in Fords and is still used to this day.  

In 1975 as the world went mad on fuel crisis after fuel crisis and the government grabbed hard earned cash, Ford produced some smaller engines.  The smallest was the 2.0l fitted into the 2000 L.  Then there was the 2500 L and finally the 3000 GL.  The GL and L were produced when Fords decided to phase out the Consul name. The L and GL was later joined by the “S” model to replace the Consul GT

With sports suspension and some lovely Rostyle wheels tied in with Power Steering and a 3.0 it was the one to have.  Fun Fun Fun!

Of course the Ghia still remained top of the stack and had adopted the alloys and instead of the aluminium grill, which I think looks much nicer, a black front grill.   In late 1976/early 1977 many models were sold with trim upgrades and extras.  This was to make room for the new Mark 2.
 

A new Punk hits the town!

In 1977 and new model was unveiled.  Basically it was the same car as the Mk1 S2, but with a new improved body shape. And would last for 8 years with some cosmetic changes.  The interior was modernized and there was now a new range of engines available:

2.0 L

2.3 L

2.8 L V6

2.1 L diesel
This meant that the range was vast, with various levels of trim, starting from the L as the lowest spec, all the way to the Ghia model.  Most also had central locking.  Double  wishbones, coil springs and gas shocks and a subframe mounted anti roll bar all helped with the performance of the vehicle.  Rubber mountings to help reduce vibration and engine noise with light alloy wheels for the more executive models.  

2.0 L

2.3 L

2.1 DL

2.8 L

2.8 iS

2.8 GL

2.8 GLS

2.8 Ghia

 
Injection had also been introduced for the 2.8 models.  It gave better fuel economy and smoother ride and of course there was the estate also.  The estate had acres of rear space but still remained an elegant design.
Pass the lippy

In 1981, a face-lift model was revealed to the awaiting public. The rear lights were shaped with ribs in them and the bumpers flowed round the car.  The grill was no longer black plastic, but painted and chromed to give it a more classy appeal.  However, the dainty chrome side mirrors were replaced by big chunky "modern" plastic ones. 

The Ghia and above, sported lots of chrome on the bumpers and lovely over-riders with fitted light washer jets.  

 

The range changed to:

2.3 L

2.5 DL

2.8 i L

2.3 GL

2.8 Injection

2.8 Ghia / iGhia

 

Power assisted steering was also standard throughout the range with a failing flow system that at low revs provided maximum assistance to make steering light and the flow automatically decreases when the engine speeds up reducing assistance and therefore feeding more direct messages back to the driver.

The level of trim had also been up-rated.  The Ghia had electric windows all round and not just at the front like that of the Mk2 series 1.

 
 

Equipment made standard to the "face lift" model included remote control driver and passenger door mirrors, electrically operated on all apart from the  L model, Power assisted steering, torch key, laminated windscreen, boot light for the saloons and intermittent windscreen wipe. 

There was also a new kid on the block.  The 2.8 Ghia X (also available in injection, much preferred by many).  The X included heated front seats, air conditioning, trip computer and electric sunroof.  The stereo was pretty good as well.

 A multi function trip computer was available to the Ghia X estate and saloon models incorporating a clock, average fuel consumption average speed and how much fuel was left, in miles, in the petrol tank.  Very useful ! 

 

An "executive" pack was made available for those who wanted a little extra luxury.  This was finished off with a lovely soft leather seat option..

CAR Magazine at the time summed up the Granada, having given it a serious test drive, by stating that they "outhandle and outride some of the best cars in Europe".

E Can't argue with that !
 

Fantastic in plastic !
In 1985, it all jelly mould shaped  and Ford introduced their new sleeker model, the Mk3. The introduction of a large saloon hatchback was very unusual and the Granada still kept it's spacious interior and luxury feel.  ABS was also introduced, which made light work of stopping the car.

Again there were face lift models, and an estate, but also a saloon model, non hatchback, which proved popular with executives as well as families.

Engine sizes varied from 2.0 through to 2.9i and even a fast Cosworth version.

During the late 80's, the name Granada was dropped and changed to Scorpio, seen already in Europe, and then finally to the Ultima. in the 90's.
Back to the present

The Granada range was replaced with the Jaguar as the top model, as Ford now owned them, Mazda, Aston Martin and many other companies we cannot be bothered to list.  Either way, the Granada memory lives on in the fans and enthusiasts alike.

  I am sure there can be disputes over when cars came out and what some models might have had compared to others.  What you have to remember is that with the introduction of so many optional extras, anything was possible.

 So now you have read this brief history, make sure you go to the classic car shows, locally and the big ones around the country and give your support.  There truly are some glorious examples of this magnificent vehicle.

                           Author: Rob Coleman

Acknowledgements : Kevin Carpenter and Steven Radley