Launched at the 1970 São Paulo Auto Show, the Ford Landau was a full-size
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
, manufactured in Brazil from 1971 until 1983 by
Ford Brasil
Ford Brasil is the Brazilian subsidiary of American automaker Ford Motor Company, founded on April 24, 1919. The operation started out importing the Ford Model T cars and the Ford Model TT trucks in kit form from the United States for assembly ...
at their
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
facility. It became Ford's flagship in that country. It was based on the U.S. 1966
Ford Galaxie
The Ford Galaxie is a full-sized car that was built in the United States by Ford for model years 1959 through to 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford's full-size range from 1958 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the e ...
. It was only offered as a 4-door sedan, although the American version was offered in a wide variety of bodystyles. After 1976, it gained more differences from the Galaxie and LTD, and featured the newly introduced 302 engine, a lighter 5.0L V8, and its radical restyling clearly resembling the 1965
Lincoln Continental
The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edse ...
.
American origin, Brazilian style
The Landau joined the existing models Galaxie 500 and LTD in the showrooms in 1976 as Ford's new top-of-the-range model. All three models featured the new 302 CID engine with 4942 cc and , which replaced the heavier 292, but the Galaxie and LTD kept their design elements from the American original. Initially the Landau offered in the single colour scheme “Prata Continental” (Continental Silver), an exclusive metallic clearcoat. The vinyl roof was painted silver coloured too.
Trivia
On June 25, 1979, during the oil crisis in Brazil, Ford includes in Galaxie/ Landau range an 302 CID engine with higher compression ratio (11,0:1 vs. 7,8:1), and that made use of true dual exhaust, aluminum intake manifold and nickel-covered carburetor, to accept the use of
Ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
(sugar cane alcohol). The first car was a present to the Brazilian president at the time,
João Figueiredo
João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (; 15 January 1918 – 24 December 1999) was a Brazilian military leader and politician who was the 30th president of Brazil from 1979 to 1985, the last of the military regime that ruled the country follo ...
.
From the total of 77,647 Galaxie versions built in Brazil in 16 years of market presence, 2492 units ran with alcohol as fuel.
Production figures
* 1971 – Unknown exactly.
* 1972 – Unknown exactly.
* 1973 – 3539.
* 1974 – 3720.
* 1975 – 2911.
* 1976 – 5556.
* 1977 – 2422.
* 1978 – 3903.
* 1979 – 4412 gasoline; 22 ethanol.
* 1980 – 1390 gasoline; 1581 ethanol.
* 1981 – 538 gasoline; 587 ethanol.
* 1982 – 929 gasoline; 270 ethanol.
* 1983 – 93 gasoline; 32 ethanol.
Until 1980, includes Ford LTD.
References
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External links
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{{Ford vehicles
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
1970s cars
Cars of Brazil
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Full-size vehicles