I for one had not heard of the Ford Elite until about 1993, when a friend of mine showed me his. I was quite amazed, but admittedly, I was but a toddler concerning knowledge of Ford history.
The Ford Elite's production years were from 1974-76. The Elite can be thought of as a transition of sorts, from Ford having a Torino as a target for non-family oriented persons (LTD covered that) who didn't want a Mustang or a Maverick to the Granada (pictured is the Mercury Monarch, which differed only in a few extremities, such as tail lights and grille), the big Thunderbird, the Pinto, and the Pinto-esque Mustang II. Note that the muscle cars were dying that this time, and the Torino (more muscle in this one) was Ford's Chevelle (if I may). The size and style of the Torino was going out of popularity, and a nice way to get the most for their money concerning machining, etc, was to make the Elite. It had many accents that were passed on to the Granada, and did not resemble a Torino a great deal. It was an American Jaguar of sorts. Fancy and powerful (as powerful as a car could be in the mid-'70s). It was available with a 351W, and the 460 was the biggest mill it came with. I am not sure if it came with a 351M or 400M, or 302. A Brougham and Ghia version were also produced.
This one has miles on it since May 5th, 1996.
Thanks to Net Digits for this nifty access counter.
