1978 Ford Futura commercial

[atlatahuac]

In my suburban detroit neighborhood in the late 70's were at least 5 Ford Engineers. Four would share the comment: "I cannot believe the cxxx we are building today! Those Fairmonts aren't going to last 8 years ... " True. Either did the Granadas or the 'Lincoln Versaille" (Pimped up Granada). Took Ford decades to overcome their rep for cxxx, with the doors and trunk lids hung crooked, the speedy rusting out, the Pinto and Escort brands. Only sure winner: Ford stock. $24 in '78, $72 in '84

[superman5ds]

Had a 1978 with a 302 second car I owned. Loved it. Had a full bench seat up front, automatic and at full throttle when it would shift into second gear at 40 mph it would chirp the tires lol... not exactly the 5.0 later to be seen in the mustangs, but for a kid in his twenties it was fun... painted it bright red and I used to get a lot of nice comments on the styling.

[FamilyOfMan1975]

I had a 1980 with a 6cyl engine and 4 speed overdrive transmission.

It was the biggest piece of shit I ever owned. I loved how it looked but most of the time I was looking at it while it was in the garage getting worked on.

[1olrocker]

I have to laugh a little at everyone spinning yards so eloquently about how great this Futura and other old cars were..... if anything, if you got into an accident in one of these cars, even wearing your seatbelt, you were in trouble. At least with today's technology you have a decent shot at getting out of your car with minor injuries. Back then there was no such thing. Let's see what happens when another car T-bones this Futura on the driver's side.

[johneddy98033]

The Futura name has been used by Ford for years. In 1962, the redesigned Falcon, in both the U.S. and Australia, introduced the Futura model. Ford Australia would continue to offer a Falcon Futura long after both the U.S. Falcon and Fairmont models ran their course, right up to the BF bodystyle. By the way, the Fairmont Futura's styling bore similarities to the 1977 Thunderbird.

[djshawn5678]

This was actually my very first car giving to me by my parents on my 16th birthday! Mine was a 1979 Ford Fairmont Futura with no A/C, no cassette tape, 2 door coupe (white with the red stock ford racing stripes between the front and rear side windows that ran all way to to the back end ;) My 79 Ford Fairmont was a really cool car for its day, even though it only had a 4 banger small engine, 4 speed manual stick shift it drove like a dream, until the day it meet a 69 Chevy Nova at 70 mph! :(

[blaknoizee]

This shows how much the Dollar has devalued over the years, even before I was born. 4200 was almost exactly 4200 American Dollars.

[pjbaldes]

Im pretty sure my Uncle, Dick James, built the spaceship and shot this commercial...

[fenix144]

LOL AERODYNAMIC TESTING HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. a brick has a better coefficient than that

[howsitgoingeh1]

@fenix144 I think by computer modeling they literally mean they looked at a computer, saw it was square, and then designed the car on that principal.

[fenix144]

@howsitgoingeh1 yah I'm thinking something along those lines too.

[Silvertrine]

If the future looks like the Futura then I want the Ford Past-a.

[barriobajaj]

It looks like a scaled down t-bird. Wasn't there a company that turned these into Rancheros?

[eightysixpony]

@barriobajaj look up the ford durango

[deltapunk21]

get rid of the epa bullshit and the damn thing would be like all pre 70's cars and get 40 mpg

[whattheheck1000]

Nothing screams 1970s like 0:45 screams '70s!

[MattTheSaiyan]

Ford Futura....not a bad looking car, but a bit bland to some other cars I've seen from back then. I'd take it anyday over the latest Daewoo, though.

[JoeyJr702]

Cool old ad. The V-8 version of this car was very fast.

[maplemanz]

CHEESY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[elobservadorenliinea]

i have this car...is not that bad.

[patsaxon]

I sure would love to find such a car available? I love the style and design!

[JusticeMan1776]

got one in my garage ;)

[thelargechic]

fugly

[The6000Sabre]

You'll know when America is back, when they begin making cars like this again and people once again desire owning them.

Until then, start your rice grinder!

[laserstun]

I think that the "rice grinders" were backlash against the "flying brick" design of the 70s...

Still, I do kind of miss this look.

[bigcaddydevill96]

RIC FLAIR SONG LOL

[buuye]

FAILTURA!!!!!

[journeylive]

damn $4,ooo for a new car? damn now days they run around $14,ooo for a small car. gee why did car prices go through the roof in the last 25 y ears or so??? cuz the new cars today are so cheaply built, now this is a car, this futura cool ride.

[UncleBuck1967111]

Lumotaku

But most had the 200 six which was a pos

i don't think so ive had 3 fairmonts with the 200 six and took them over 300,000 miles with no problems.

[BevoBill31]

HAL, open the pod bay doors..... I want to launch my Futura into the monolith...

[TempleTXLive]

Buying an average car today will run ya about $24,000 which means vehicles go up in price an average of $600 a year. In 2039 an average car is going to run ya about $50,000 but minimum wage will still be less than $10 an hr lmao...

[lrd9999]

It was about $2.30 back then.

[CtrlRm]

@TempleTXLive And people like you who only care about cars will do nothing about it.

[bxlxix69]

at 0:45/1:01 there is NO radio.... nice.

[mansiondweller]

I bought one of these new in 78...oh how I loved it .

[zukomatico]

con ese dinero de la epoca me compraria una casa en gringolandia que ese coche tan devaluado estos dias

[Obsoliit]

i remember these cars... i always thought the roof should end and that bigassed B- pillar and made into a mid sized ranchero (El Camino for those of you who never heard of or seen a Ranchero)

[Germany1111]

There were actually a few of those made by a company called National COach Corporation. They were called the Ford Durango though. Wiki or Google it.

[themx83]

this is a joke right? lol

[390merc65]

yes..it was aero dynamic at the time[1978] thats 31 years ago...these futuras are kinda like baby t-birds of the day ...hell if u got 1 now all that fox chasis mustang stuff bolts onto these things and you could have a real nice car...the 6's were dependable , but very slow ..thro a 302 of 351 in it and you wood have something ....was a 1978 monte carlo with a 267 v8 any better?...that was a joke motor ..at least these fords could come with a v8..a/c and a moon roof, cruise, ..not bad

[lrd9999]

They were much lighter than any other midsized car, so the 302 could actually give respectable (for 1978) acceleration. This pretty much had  the most graceful lines of any early FOX platform cars, strange as it seems; those early FOX Mustangs and Thunderbirds were hideous looking. I think the quasi-third-world interior was what kept the "squaremonts" from getting much respect.

[390merc65]

yeah.the 302 powered cars werent to bad

and these fairmonts futura's were pretty dam good looking cars , but the 200 6 powered cars were terrible for power ..i know..i had a 82 grananda with the 200-6 and i always bitched about the power and gas milage wasnt that good for a 6..i got a 90 grand marquis to replace my grananda and my milage actually went up and it was twice the car , but in the 5 years i ouned the grananda it was reliable as hell and never gave me trouble

[SteelCity1981]

No they don't the last year the mustang used the fox platform was in 04. the 05 models and up use the S197 platform that was originally used in the Jaguar S-Type sedans starting in 1998.

[DamnStraightM35A2]

the ad agency that made this commercial must have been blind...........striking design? Aerodynamic testing? come on!

[brendabaloyan]

When American cars were No. 1 in the World! This used to be a hell of a good country! By this time (late 70's) the Japanese already had a lot of small realiable cars on the road! And American companies understimated them! You know the rest fof the story!

[63whiskey]

This is kind of like watching The Original Star Trek in today's world. High Tech and fascinating back then but look like shit today.

Outside of being kinda ugly these cars really weren't that bad. There were far worse choices for 1978

[sandman19681012]

A decent car for the times. People today are just a bit spoiled. The 200 cubic inch engine and auto transmission delivered dependable service and surprising fuel economy. It took a while to get it up to speed but what the hell.

[ClefDeDavid88]

@sandman19681012 Exactly. People now have no clue how good they have it with their impatient driving. The only thing to come out of making cars handle better and more efficiently is that people are now more demanding drivers.

[Creigs9]

I had the Mercury version, the Zephyr. It had a 200cid six / with the 1 bbl., and the 3 speed auto. It was a good, reliable car that returned mileage in the 20's.

[dandiacal]

They probably returned it when they found out how much gas it took to maintain.

[duncan36]

The 2.3l in the late 70's Mustang was a dog I cant imagine it in this larger car. There was a V8 available in the Fairmont however.

[delcpayou]

This car was junk. I owned the Mercury version. Couldn't get out of it's own way.

[jakesaintsrow123]

hey do you remember what the mercury version was called??

[delcpayou]

Zephyr

[taintedmeatallica]

In a world where cars are looking more and more alike....this ones a square like all the rest of em haha.

[playingwithfirehurts]

queue dramatic music: DUN DUN DUNNN

[gearheadmatt]

Hey cars from that time not only looked better and actually had alot of style but the adds were cooler back then too

[littlebigsim]

Poor 1978 people, they thought that was futuristic? But now I want to see what 1960s commercials looked like (cheesy)?

[Lumotaku]

well weve lost sight of what futuristic looks like we have no clue. Starting with the 86 taurus cars got more and more like jelly beans. Aerodynamics saves you about 1 mpg and is something that looks hardly different from an 86 futuristic? If you ask me the 80s camaro looks more futuristic than the camaro from the 90s or today. Also the cars from the late 50s with fins and fake jet engine styling.

[duncan36]

OMG that interior, holy hell my eyes!

[ornumjc]

These were actually pretty decent looking cars, scaled down Thunderbirds. And yes, they could get 33 mpg with the 4 cylinder and manual transmission...and don't forget, there wasn't all this additional emissions stuff on the cars like there is today.

[Lumotaku]

wtf are you talking about!!! This thing had more emissions stuff! It had vacuum hoses going every where. an emission pump and a catalytic converter. Todays cars handle emissions way better.

[MrBalut09]

Yes.This car replaced the Granada. Later called the Fairmont. You are correct. I remember the vacuum hoses and that coffee can it used to equel out the vacuum pressure. But if you got the one with the 250 straight six in it that was one of the best six cyl. engines ford built at the time.

[Lumotaku]

it didnt replace the granada 1980 was the last year for the falcon based Granada. 81-82 granadas were on the fox platform. the 250 or the 302 would be the matters to have in these. But most had the 200 six which was a pos.

[lonelysavior2288]

My grandfather was one but of 1981,nice car,im tray to keeper but was imposible too old, many problem,was very sad.

[randomrazr]

such as

[lonelysavior2288]

the engine was great but the doors couldnt close and would open when the car turned the starter was dead we just couldnt afford it

[shnorth888]

My uncle had several Fairmont Futuras and regular Fairmont's (sedans, a wagon and a regular 2 door). Some he ran others were for parts. The Fairmont and its Mercury counterpart were decent cars not great but still a decent ride. You could even get the 302 V8.

[WolfspringLV]

"Extensive aerodynamic testing"?? If that's the case, I'm glad Ford revised their aerodynamic testing a few years later for the Ford Taurus.

[taxiguy57]

LOL I know

[firstmusic00]

I think that may be the voice of Robot B9 from lost in space. Anyone else think so?

[randomrazr]

that hunk of metal gets 33highway and 23 city??? are u kidding mee?????

[firstmusic00]

With the 2.3L 4 cyl and manual tranny.

[randomrazr]

oo well....i would so drive that car with gas prices today lol

[BRENTHENRY1989]

i would rather buy this then any new car out there!! the value is good less than 5 grand! we should start making futuras again, good price and good gasmilage and ya can stand out in the modern shit hole that is modern cars

[Justchecking78]

God the interior of that thing makes me want to puke.

[1969diesel]

Did I see that right? 33 hmpg and 23 cmpg? Whaaaaat?

[dvaifilmsdotcom]

jokes

[dlight2020]

It's really sad that gas mileage hasn't improved one bit in 30 years for a car this size...

[otterhead45]

these were very lightweight cars

the 2 door weighed near the same as a pinto

[transhuman7]

So this is what commercials were like when I was 1 year old! Wow!!

[chuckycheese22]

Ford should've had Darth Vader behind the wheel.

[bmtimv]

33 mpg for this car.. bullshit

[otterhead44]

maybe the 2.3 4 with a stick

[bmtimv]

maybe

[keyofdavid88]

These cars were actually a very good design. The Fox body chassis was used throughout the run of the 80s and 90s Mustang, influenced the next gen Mustang, and even influenced this latest design. The car was very light and nimble for its size and efficient. And it wasn't the worst looking car either.

[duaneducane]

I had a 1979 Mercury Zephyr Z-7, which is the twin to this Fairmont Futura. Mine had the 2.3 4cyl. and it was automatic to boot! It was slow off the line, but once you got it going, it really went--believe it or not! I totally miss that car! And the gas milage was great! Not the 33 advertised here, BUT it did get well over 20. Around 25 if memory serves me correctly. These cares a really gaining in popularity now... another 5 years, they will rival an old Nova in price... guarrantee it!

[fkhill]

My Mom had one that looked just like this one. It was a '79 She had a little nicer interior though. It really was a pretty car back then. But I wanted her to get a Thunderbird. :(

[ygt76]

4,000 dollars for a brand new car? shiiiittt!!!!

[94aerostar]

in 1914 a top of the line model a would be priced at about $500

[micismyname]

the 302 v8 where fast i rented a new 78 futura great burn outs esp. in revirse and step on it. thay had some carb problems vapor lock the 6 cy were good foe 300000 miles havnt seen one in years

[freeballer81]

Ford Fairmont was a great car for the time and the Fox platform made many cars for Ford before the Taurus. This was a modern car for the times, Americans have just become spoiled, a car with vinyl interior and no radio wouldn't make it today, another reason we pay $30,000 for 4 cyl Camrys....The "extensive aerodynamics" made me laugh though, it looked like a flying brick. My grandpa had one and it was a great car.

[7644]

o how things have changed....

[Lumotaku]

This is sad because this car they are showing off is equipped with a pinto motor IM NOT KIDDING! This thing had to have been slower than horse shit and it cant have got that mileage with all that weight to pull around.

[nilagorilla]

The crazy thing is back in that time ppl still believed everything ads said... very sad lol

[snowrocket]

Actually the average Fairmont/Futura weighed around 3000 pounds. The 2.3L put out 88HP, the 3.3L straight six 85HP (that's right 3 LESS!), and the 5.0L around 140HP. 0-60MPH on the 2.3 & 3.3 was 11.5-13 seconds with a manual transmission, considered good for the times. 0-60MPH on the 5.0L was around 9.5 seconds. NOBODY got the EPA mileage on ANYTHING prior to 1985 when they revised them downward around 15% city & 20% Highway.

[Lumotaku]

1978 Ford Fairmont with inline 6 0-60 15.8 seconds source consumer guide auto test 1978 even with the manual I cant see the 4 cylinder going any faster. I had the 78 Monarch with a six and its 0-60 time was 21 seconds. also the pinto with the 4 was 15 seconds with a manual and it was under 3000 pounds.

[Lumotaku]

I want an 8 track player in mine please.

[eyeh8cbs]

Ford included demo tapes when you bought cars with their stereos in them, usually with a mixture of disco and Muzak stuff. I have a few of them, including some in Quadraphonic!

[Lumotaku]

Holy shit QUADRAFUCKINGPHONIC!!!!

[montrosepatriot]

The Futura nameplate was once used as part of the Falcon back in 1962 although Pep Boys owns the name for its in-house rubber.

[montrosepatriot]

The 2001 theme song was used again in 2003 for another Blue Oval product...

[thekidrocks72]

Dang, they seem like a joke today - but back then they were a decent low priced car. Decent handling AND ride, but cheap fit/finish. Bought one new in '78. In '79, the new Mustang was on the same chassis.

[Psychocurt77]

i have a 78 and it has a straight six i payed 600 for it, only had 50,000 orig miles on it,

its still runnin good

[wvrq]

I bought a 80 futura for 300 and traded an 83 labaron 4 cyl, the futura did get good mileage and had power with a straight six engine, it was a deluxe fairmont, mine had power everything and air, I traded it a few cars ago and it is still running I see it alot.

[evilnub]

Nothing says "car of the future" like fake wood grain on the dash. LOL

[FendtFarm]

Absolutely fantastic.

[DetSonnyCrockett]

An obvious parody of Star Wars (1977).

[flightsuit]

And what the Hell is "high-strength, low-alloy metal?"

I believe the word is, "rusty tin can."

[flightsuit]

I bet it cost them almost nothing to use "Also sprach Zarathustra," which, of course, existed prior to --and apart from-- 2001 A Space Odyssey. So Ford's marketing weasels were attempting to cash in on whatever credibility or mystique they might get from reminding people of 2001, yet they didn't have to get permission or pay Stanley Kubrick one red cent for so besmirching his film's image.

[uglipenguin]

at 0:43, how come there is no radio in the dashboard?

[eyeh8cbs]

Believe it or not, you used to have to pay EXTRA for it! Then you had your choice of AM only, mono or stereo FM, then either an 8-track or cassette player. I've taken long trips in cars with only an AM radio, it's pure torture!

[joh2]

You're right! I have a 1980 Ford Escort (British), which when bought had a blanking plate where the radio was meant to be! (that was soon rectified!)...

...but a lack of radio on a high end Futura? C'mon Ford, the Japanese were doing them as standard!!!

[boogiewoman303]

but high end ford was Thunderbird! & it even came with an am radio stock!! funny!

[mansiondweller]

Mine did not have one either...I had to have a stereo installed.

[queensplazasouth]

When I was a kid the lunch lady of my Elementary School had a Futura, and as of last year when I moved away she STILL had it! She lived in my neighborhood so I always saw her coming and going in her blue Futura.

[JohnTaurus]

I had a 1978 Mercury Zephyr Z-7 and I loved it. I was moving from Seattle and couldnt take it with me, and I had accidently put on a bad carborator and didnt have time to fix it. It was an awsome car. I also had a 1983 Mercury Zephr GS Sedan, it went over 250,000 miles before somebody stole it and wrecked it.

[surveillance89101]

That commercial was so cheezy. The car looked like a baby T-bird. I had a friend that had this car but it was yellow & came with the V-8, it was so fast! They were great cars.!

[trainluvr]

33 mpg highway. how could they get away with lying about something as quantifiable as fuel consumption? oh well on to the next video. Watch till your eyelids drop I say.

[queensplazasouth]

EPS test results. Every automaker went by/goes by the same test results. That's why hybrids claim crazy numbers and often only get half what they claim.

[freeballer81]

This commercial is great LOL. My grandpa had a 78 Fairmont, it ran great through 1995 when he finally traded it.

[mhevalow]

1978 and beyond? my ass!! Maybe they would go to 1979. This is a typical ford p.o.s.- at least ford circled their problem!! it is not worthy of having a capital f in ford!!

[RitzyTrailer]

ya think? I still have an '82 Futura and it runs just as good as ever.

[randomrazr]

good casue ur saving gas :[)

[cuttingwoodnow]

In now are junk.

[Jac2Mac]

Notice that on the dashboard of the 1978 Futura, it was one of the very first cars to feature the seatbelt guy on the dashboard rather than the words Fasten Belts. Has anyone else noticed that?

[bongomanfromdalou]

Considering Fairmont was introduced as "the Ford in your future" when the original models were introduced in the fall of '77, the Futura (and its theme) seemed logical...but by 1980, when Lauren Bacall introduced the Futura 4-door, it seemed very old hat...

[tennguy]

bought a ford fairmont futura, 4 sp. ghia with a sunroof new in '79. i think the window sticker was about 4800.00 it was a great car. we drove it till we traded it in in 86. no problems. loved this clip

[blitz811]

Thanks for posting. I own a restored 1980 Fairmont!

[radiojim1023]

actually,the 1978 futura was a re-release of the name for the concept car of 1953 also called the futura but most remember the 1953 futura as the better known BATMOBILE like the one that Adam West drove in the t.v. show!

[rob2057]

my uncle just bought one just like this.its an 1982 fairmont futura.the futura name is like the gt of fairmonts.

[EmanBos]

The intro to "Also sprach Zarathustra"! Thanks to "2001," anything with a futuristic theme needs to carry that piece. But why did they cut out the ending? Also, I wish I could get a car for $4,267 these days! But did they actually sell brandad "Futura" cars as opposed to just "Fairmont"?

[DrDanielLee]

I own the 1978 Futura (it was $400 from a neighbor.)

And yeah, it says "FUTURA" on the nameplate. They had a different roofline than ordinary Fairmonts.

My family drove half a dozen used fairmonts between 85-95, and they were all pieces of crap. I bought mine out of nostalgia.