Ford sold 20,766 Skyliners for '57, but demand fast tapered to 14,713 for '58, then to 12,915. The model was duly axed after 1959, a victim of new division chief Bob McNamara's no-nonsense approach to products and profits. A full steel-roof model was also offered for $70 less than the "bubble-topper"; predictably, it sold much better: 33,000-plus to just 1999. The totals were 9209 and just 603 for '56, after which the Crown Vic was dumped. Chevrolet sold over 1.1 million, but spent much more money to do so. How much did you pay attention to the ever-changing automotive landscape over the 2010s? A pound of body weight is equal to 16 ounces of fluid, so multiply the number of pounds you drop by 16 ounces and that's how much fluid you'll need to drink in order to not become dehydrated. 1 day: Start your day with breakfast at Austin Java (1608 Barton Springs Rd), where the breakfast taco options satisfy every taste and craving, the migas are famous, and the coffee is roasted to order. Tornados do occur and they can be a threat to the Central Texas area during tornado season, usually March through May, but they're relatively rare in Austin proper.
If you can take this quiz and pass it while upside down on a roller coaster, even better. V-8s were down to a 200-bhp 292, 225-bhp 332, and 300-bhp 352. Also carried over from '58 was Cruise-O-Matic, Ford's smooth new three-speed automatic transmission that proved a sales plus against Chevrolet's Powerglide, if not Plymouth's responsive three-speed TorqueFlite. V-8 choices expanded via two new "FE-series" big-blocks: a 332 offering 240/265 horsepower, and a 300-bhp 352. A deep national recession cut Ford volume to just under 988,000 cars. More importantly, it was new against Chevy's second facelift in two years. Assuming control of a third-rate company in 1945, they'd turned it into something approaching General Motors in less than 15 years. For Ford Motor Company as a whole, 1959 seemed to justify the strenuous efforts of Henry Ford II and board chairman Ernest R. Breech. Chevy then unveiled an all-new line of radical "bat-fin" cars for 1959. Ford replied with more-conservative styling that helped it close the model-year gap to less than 12,000 units.
This concept, suggested by Buehrig and realized by interior styling director L. David Ash, is a forerunner of today's moonroof. Though conceived around a traditional front-engine/rear-drive format, it was a big improvement over Maverick: clean-lined; sensibly boxy for good interior space on a shorter 105.5-inch wheelbase; lighter and thus thriftier than many expected. A redesigned dash gave the interior a more upscale look. The Explorer, for example, was redesigned for 1995 and given optional V-8 power the following year. All were available with six or V-8 power. The 1957 Fords were all-new, offering a vast array of V-8s from a 190-bhp 272 up to a 245-bhp 312. The 223-cid six was standard for all but one model. The standard six gained five bhp to deliver 120 total. At the same time, the Sunliner convertible and Skyliner retractable gained Galaxie rear-fender script (but retained Fairlane 500 ID at the rear). This was the Fairlane Crown Victoria, a hardtop-style two-door sedan with a bright metal roof band wrapped up and over from steeply angled B-posts.
Haulers comprised plain and fancier Del Rio two-door Ranch Wagons, a pair of four-door Country Sedans, and the wood-look four-door Squire -- Ford's priciest '57 wagon at $2684. Only detail changes would occur to this basic design through 1954. Wheelbase crept up to 115 inches for a revised model slate that started with a cheap Mainline Tudor/Fordor, business coupe, and two-door Ranch Wagon, followed by Customline sedans, club coupe, and four-door Country Sedan wagon. So was the basic "CVH" engine retained for all Escorts save the sporty GT three-door. With 130 horsepower, topqq pkv this was easily the year's hottest engine in the low-price field. Styling was handled by Franklin Q. Hershey, who also gets credit for that year's new two-seat Thunderbird (see separate entry). But though Plymouth arguably won the styling stakes with its finned "Forward Look," 1957 was a great Ford year. Ford's '57 styling was particularly simple for the period: a blunt face with clean, full-width rectangular grille; tasteful side moldings; and tiny tailfins. These wagons, by the way, were Ford's first all-steel models (the Squire switching from real wood to wood-look decals).
