Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

introduced its De Luxe Ford line in 1938 as an upscale alternative to bridge the gap between its base model (usually called Standard) and luxury

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

offerings. The "Deluxe" name was first used starting in 1930 to specify an upscale trim starting with the Model 40-B and Model 45-B, then later the De Luxe Ford line was differentiated as a separate "

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 ...

within a marque" with separate styling and pricing through 1940. During 1939, Ford had five lines of cars: Ford, De Luxe Ford, Mercury,

Lincoln-Zephyr The Lincoln-Zephyr is a line of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars that was produced by the Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company, Ford from 1936 until 1942. Bridging the gap between the De Luxe Ford, Ford V8 DeLuxe and the Li ...

, and Lincoln. After the war, this was simplified to Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln. The

1941 Ford The Ford car was thoroughly updated in 1941, in preparation for a time of unpredictability surrounding World War II. The 1941 design would continue in an aborted 1942 model year and would be restarted in 1946 and produced until 1948 when the more ...

line included "De Luxe" and "Super De Luxe" trim, but these vehicles were not marketed as a separate line. As

Mercury Eight The Mercury Eight is an automobile that was produced by the American manufacturer Ford Motor Company under their now defunct division Mercury (automobile), Mercury between 1939 and 1951. The debut model line of the Mercury division, Ford positio ...

sales progressed, the De Luxe approach was cancelled. This marketing approach was in response to the different General Motors brands, (Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Chevrolet), and the Chrysler brands, (Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, and Plymouth). The De Luxe Fords of 1938 featured a more sloping hood and ornamental heart-shaped grille. This look was passed on to the standard line for 1939, as the De Luxe Fords gained sharp v-shaped grilles with vertical bars. The standard line once again inherited the De Luxe look for 1940, this time with body-colored vertical bars. The 1940 De Luxe Ford featured a three-part grille with horizontal bars.

In popular culture

A 1948 Ford Deluxe convertible was the base car that was transformed into " Greased Lightnin'" in the movie ''Grease''. In the 1984 film ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, an ...

'',

Mr Miyagi Nariyoshi Keisuke Miyagi, better known as Mr. Miyagi, is a fictional character of Robert Mark Kamen's ''The Karate Kid'' franchise, appearing in ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), ''The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), an ...

gives Daniel Larusso a cream-colored 1947 Ford Super DeLuxe convertible as a birthday gift. The car was actually a gift to

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). F ...

from the film's producer. To this day, Mr. Macchio still owns the car. The car reappears in the ''

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American Martial arts film, martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It serves as a sequel to the first three ''The K ...

'' spinoff TV show several times where Daniel is seen to still own it. In the third season, Daniel states that getting his first car from Mr. Miyagi inspired him to go into the car business. In the 1985 film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

'' and its sequel ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...

'', the car which

Biff Tannen Biff Tannen is a fictional character in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. Aidan Cutler played him in the or ...

owns in 1955 was a black 1946 Ford Super De Luxe convertible. The 1946 car is now in a private collection.

References

External links

The 1940 Ford Style Show - De Luxe Ford Car
{{Early Ford cars Ford Motor Company Sedans Station wagons Coupés Convertibles Vans Pickup trucks