Ford Fox Platform

The Ford Fox platform is an automobile platform that was used by Ford Motor Company from the 1978 to 1993 model years. Originally introduced to underpin compact sedans, the Fox architecture was utilized for a wide variety of vehicle designs for Ford and Lincoln-Mercury vehicles. Serving as the direct replacement for the long-running Ford Falcon architecture, the downsizing of intermediate-size cars expanded its use, with the Fox platform also replacing the Ford Torino platform. For the 1980s, the chassis came into wider use, supporting both the Ford Mustang and the Ford Thunderbird.

Designed to be relatively lightweight and simple, the Fox platform was a rear-wheel drive chassis that utilized a wide variety of powertrains. Along with the sedans, coupes, and station wagons introduced by the inaugural Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, models were offered as hatchbacks, convertibles, and as a coupe utility. In addition to pony cars and economy cars, the Fox architecture supported personal luxury cars and luxury sedans.

As Ford transitioned its compact and mid-size vehicle lines to front-wheel drive, the usage of the Fox platform began to decline during the mid-1980s. In its original form, the architecture was produced through the 1993 model year, with a substantial redesign of the Ford Mustang extending its life into the 21st century, ultimately ending production in 2004. Produced across 26 model years, the Fox platform is the second-longest car architecture ever designed by Ford Motor Company (behind the 33 model years for the Panther platform).

Background and development

In the American automotive industry, 1973 marked a significant period of transition. In May, the EPA released the first comprehensive list of fuel economy data; in addition for providing information for consumers, the data was required to establish protocols for CAFE and gas-guzzler taxes. October 1973 marked the beginning of the first 1970s oil crisis, leading gas prices to increase to per gallon.

Under chairman/CEO Henry Ford II and president Lee Iacocca, several changes were made at the executive level of Ford Motor Company. William O. Bourke, ex-chairman of Ford of Europe and one-time managing director of Ford of Australia, was made executive vice president of North American Operations; Robert Alexander, previously with Ford of Europe as vice president in charge of car development, was moved to same position in the United States. Hal Sperlich was Ford Vice President of Product Planning and Research.

A proponent of downsizing, Sperlich conceived of a " World Car" that could be sold in both Europe and North America as a solution to the needs of the various divisions. At the time, the Ford small-car product line included the subcompact Pinto and the Mustang II and the compact Maverick; while the Mustang II was several months from release, the Maverick was derived from the Falcon. Lincoln-Mercury sold no small cars of its own, importing the Capri from Ford of Europe. Ford of Europe sold the Escort as its smallest car; Ford UK sold the Cortina while Ford of Germany sold the Taunus

Fox platform development

In December 1973, Lee Iacocca formally approved development of the Fox platform. Sharing its name with the Audi Fox (although not named after it), Ford executives experienced with the automotive industry outside the United States sought to benchmark a new design from a popular European subcompact design.

Development started in early 1973 on both a short-wheelbase version to replace the Pinto/Cortina/Taunus lines and a long-wheelbase version that would become the Fairmont. Although the Fairmont would be the first Fox-based car to reach the market, development was guided by an anticipated sport coupe to be based on the new platform.

By 1974 the difficulties faced in meeting the conflicting regulatory requirements in different markets and differing production methods used by the various divisions had killed the world-car idea. While unable to replace the Cortina/Taunus, the Fox platform remained a multiple-wheelbase design, as the short-wheelbase version remained in development to replace the Mustang II. In 1975 North American Automobile Operations took over development of the Fox platform from Sperlich's Product Planning and Research group.

The first running Fox (Fairmont) prototype was a Cortina with a modified suspension, using MacPherson struts and torsion bars. The torsion bars would not appear in the final version.

Chassis overview

The Fox platform, like most compact and mid-size cars of the late 1970s, was designed with a rear-wheel drive layout. In contrast to the full-size Fords and Mercurys of the time, the Fox platform used unibody construction.

The Fox platform used MacPherson strut front suspension, continuing the use of a live rear axle suspension configuration. Initially configured with rear drum brakes, four-wheel disc brakes were added to higher-performance vehicles, including the Continental Mark VII, Ford Mustang SVO, 1994–2004 Ford Mustang, and the Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.

Due to the use of strut front suspension, the Fox platform was designed with a wider engine bay than its Falcon-chassis predecessor. As a result, the chassis was flexible in its use of longitudinal engines, accommodating a wide variety of powertrains, including four-cylinder (naturally-aspirated and turbocharged), inline-6, V6, and V8 engines, ranging from a 2.3 L inline-4 to a 5.0 L V8. To further improve the fuel economy of Lincoln Fox-platform vehicles in the 1980s, the platform was adapted for the use of BMW diesel inline-6 engines.

The Fox platform was produced in four separate wheelbases, 100.5 inches (for the Ford Mustang/Mercury Capri; lengthened to 101.3 for the SN95 redesign), 104.2 inches (1983–1988 Thunderbird/Cougar), 105.5 inches ("standard"; sedans/wagons), and 108.5 inches ("long"; 1980 Thunderbird/Cougar XR7/ Continental Mark VII/ Lincoln Mark VII/ Lincoln Continental).

Design history

1979-1981 model expansion

For 1979, Ford introduced the third-generation Mustang to replace the Pinto-derived Mustang II. Moving to the Fox platform, the Mustang grew slightly in size (closer to the 1964 original), joined by an all-new Mercury Capri (replaced by the unbranded captive-import Capri). Sharing no body panels with the Fairmont, Ford shortened the wheelbase of the Fox chassis by 5 inches for the Mustang.

For 1980, the Fox platform was expanded further, as it now supported newly downsized versions of the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar XR7, inherited from the discontinued Ford Torino chassis. The redesign debuted a longer-wheelbase variant of the chassis, intended for mid-size cars. In contrast to the well-received Mustang, the redesign of the Thunderbird and Cougar were poorly received, leading to a sales collapse of both models.

For 1981, the Fox platform replaced the Falcon chassis entirely, as it now supported the second-generation Granada and the Mercury Cougar sedan (which replaced the Monarch); the Lincoln Versailles was discontinued. Sharing the same wheelbase as the Fairmont/Zephyr, the Granada/Cougar featured formal styling elements from full-size Ford and Mercury sedans. In 1982, station wagons were moved from the Fairmont/Zephyr to the Granada/Cougar lines.

1983 model year changes

During the early 1980s, the Fox platform played a central role involving changes to multiple Ford nameplates. The redesigns of the Ford Granada, Ford Thunderbird, and Mercury Cougar (XR7 and sedan) had each fared poorly in the marketplace, leading to a collapse in sales for each nameplate following the 1980 model year. In addition, fuel prices had begun to stabilize as the decade had progressed, shifting consumer demand back towards full-size cars; in response, Ford postponed its intended discontinuation of the full-size Panther-platform vehicles (originally slated for 1985-1986). To rectify the sales collapse and capitalize on the move back towards full-size lines, Ford commenced a multi-year shift of its best-selling vehicle nameplates in all three divisions.

For 1981, Lincoln saw the first changes (largely to eliminate a large degree of model overlap). The Lincoln Continental (its primary model line) was rechristened as the Lincoln Town Car, with the Continental becoming a mid-size sedan for 1982 (again competing against the Cadillac Seville). After the Mark VI lived out its model cycle, it was replaced by a far more contemporary Continental Mark VII for 1984; both the Mark VII and the Continental shared a wheelbase (but no body panels) with the 1980 Thunderbird.

For 1983, Ford and Mercury saw extensive changes to their product ranges. In moving their full-size lines upmarket, the full-size sedans became offered only as the Ford LTD Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis. As part of a mid-cycle exterior update, the Granada and Cougar were renamed the Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis. To reverse the sales collapse of both model lines, the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar (now solely a coupe, replacing the previous XR7) underwent complete exterior redesigns, becoming the first Ford vehicles in North America to feature aerodynamically-enhanced body design.

By 1984, the revision effectively tripled the size of the Lincoln model range, along with eliminating the duplication of several Ford and Mercury vehicles (the Ford Fairmont/Granada and Mercury Zephyr/Cougar sedan and wagon).

SN-95

By the early 1990s, the Ford Mustang had become the sole model produced on the Fox platform. For the 1994 model year, as the Mustang underwent a major redesign (under the body family program code name Fox-4), the Fox platform itself saw major changes to its architecture. As part of the upgrade, most of its parts were redesigned carrying over only the floor pan and front suspension cross member with major changes to the suspension and improvements to noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH); the updated Mustang-specific platform became known as the SN-95 platform.

The 2003–2004 Mustang SVT Cobra became the ultimate development of the Fox/SN95 platform, with a 390 hp supercharged 4.6 L DOHC V8. The SN95 platform would be produced for 11 years, extending the life of the Fox platform to 26 years of production. For 2005, the Mustang was completely redesigned, using the all-new Ford D2C platform.

Discontinuation

As the company entered the 1980s, Ford became part of a growing trend among automobile manufacturers using front-wheel drive in its vehicles. For 1984, Ford replaced the Fairmont and Zephyr with the front-wheel drive Ford Tempo/Mercury Topaz, using a long-wheelbase of the Ford Escort platform. The 1983 revision of the Mercury Cougar range reverted to its role as a personal coupe (replacing only the 1980-1982 Cougar XR7).

For 1986, the Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis were sold alongside their Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable successors until production ended at the end of 1985. In a quieter change, the Mercury Capri was discontinued; Ford no longer produced the Mustang with a divisional counterpart.

For 1988, the Lincoln Continental became a longer-wheelbase version of the Ford Taurus, ending sedan production on the Fox platform.

Though the two model lines continued with a rear-wheel drive layout, the all-new MN12 platform replaced the Fox architecture for the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar for 1989; the MN12 design introduced extensive suspension and handling upgrades over the Fox platform. The change left the Lincoln Mark VII (derived from the 1982 Continental; itself, the 1980 Thunderbird) and the Ford Mustang as the final Fox platform vehicles. As the Mark VII was replaced by the Lincoln Mark VIII for 1993, the Mustang became the sole Fox-platform produced by Ford.

In its 1978 form, the Fox platform was retired after the 1993 model year. For the fourth-generation Mustang, the Fox platform was given the SN-95 platform designation, following substantial upgrades across much of its design (largely making it a second generation of the architecture).

Vehicles

In total, fifteen distinct vehicles were produced on the Ford Fox platform, with the Ford Fairmont, Mercury Zephyr, Ford Durango, Ford Mustang SVO, and Continental/Lincoln Mark VII produced exclusively on the architecture. The platform would be produced in a variety of body styles, including two-door and four-door sedans, two-door coupes, three-door hatchbacks, five-door station wagons, two-door convertibles (marking the return of the bodystyle to Ford), and a two-door coupe utility (the last coupe utility produced by Ford in North America).

References

{{Ford platforms

Fox