In 1960, Ford Canada introduced the Frontenac to give Mercury-

Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

dealers a compact vehicle to sell. It was a separate marque, like Lincoln was to Ford. Produced for the 1960 model year only, the Frontenac was essentially a 1960

Ford Falcon The Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate by Ford Motor Company, Ford that applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford ...

with its own unique grille, tail lights, and external trim, including red maple-leaf insignia. It was the second-best selling compact in Canada during its one year (5% of Ford's total Canadian output). A total of 9,536 Frontenacs were built at its

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Generally seen as a commuter suburb of Toronto, it is located on Lake ...

, plant. In August 1960 a prototype 1961 Frontenac was driven from Halifax to Vancouver for a

photo shoot A photo shoot is the process taken by creatives and models that results in a visual objective being obtained. An example is a model posing for a photographer at a studio or an outdoor location. A photo shoot is a series of images that are taken, ...

only for the crew to learn that the Canadian model was discontinued from the domestic market and replaced by the

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

for the 1961 model year. At launch the Frontenac was available in 2-door and 4-door sedan body styles with 2-door and 4-door station wagons added later. The Frontenac is one example of U.S. automakers' attempts to market slight variations of U.S. models as unique Canadian makes. Like the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

and

brands marketed by the

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited (Canadian French, French: ''Ford du Canada Limitée'') was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford cars in Canada. It was originally known as the Walkerville Wagon Works a ...

, the Frontenac was not part of the Ford or Mercury lines. It was its own

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

, and was marketed as such. The Frontenac was named after a late 17th century governor of New France. The name had been used previously, from 1931 to 1933, on a car assembled in Toronto by Dominion Motors. Model Information

References

External links

1960 Frontenac
at Old Cars Canada

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford Frontenac Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Canada Ford Motor Company of Canada Vehicles introduced in 1960 Frontenac Compact cars Coupés Sedans Station wagons Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 1960s cars Ford Motor Company marques

Further reading

References

External links