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A small American - Ford Taunus 12 M 1.5 l in the (historical) test

Name: Ford Taunus 12 M 1964
Brand: Ford

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Created on April 20, 1964

Text:

Jürgen Stockmar, Clauspeter Becker

Photos:

Archiv

Ford Taunus 12 M (1965) - unusually chic for its price class with two-tone paintwork

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - at DM 5600 the cheapest 1500 on the market

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - as a four-door sedan

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - two-door version

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - the TS causes a stir

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Ford Taunus 12 M TS (1963) - front-wheel drive car with a 1.5-liter V4 cylinder engine and 62 SAE horsepower

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - modern car, charmingly presented

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Ford Taunus 12 M estate (1965) - The boat has to go on the roof. But there is enough space in the load compartment for the rest of the equipment

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Ford Taunus 12 M station wagon (1965) - The business car of choice for the florist, unusually chic with whitewall tires

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - The rear wheel on the inside of the bend lifts off in fast corners

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - Side tilt and raised rear wheel look more spectacular than they are

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Ford Taunus 12 M station wagon (1964) - sheet metal loading floor, but unprotected seat backrests

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - Dashboard with heavily cupped steering wheel

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - overall higher quality equipment and fastening points for the seat belts

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - the coupé is a real four-seater

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - Front axle design and engine

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - Sectional drawing of the V4 engine

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - the inner workings of the V4 engine (40 hp at 4500 rpm)

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - the short V4 engine

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1966) - Space saving thanks to V-engine, good accessibility despite low position - Geneva Motor Show 1966

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - cutaway model of the V4 engine

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - the V4 engine for the front-wheel drive car

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - Front radiator without fan

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - the sporty version TS

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - three-door and sporty as TS

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Summary

The Taunus 12 M had been put into the nest of the Cologne Ford works by the big mother from Dearborn. In keeping with its origins, it was also very American in some respects, such as the suspension, steering and body size compared to other European small cars. But this also had its advantages. Because with the 1.5-liter engine, the 12 M suddenly belonged to the middle class - and was unrivalled in terms of price. This historical test report is dedicated to the big little Ford.

This article contains the following chapters

Americanisms in front of and behind the wheel
Comfortable, but terrifying
A concentrated load of power
Minor shortcomings in the interior
Plenty of space for luggage and ashes
Better spacious or cheap?
Ford Taunus 12 M estate
Different from the sedan, but no worse
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 21min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It is now several years since market analysts and sales psychologists at the Ford factories in America believed that the public wanted a new type of car. In response to the wishes of buyers that had been surveyed and registered, a huge development effort was made to design a new car that was destined to become America's biggest seller. This model, christened "Edsel", was built with a few modifications for about two years, after which production was discontinued. As the profit margin in the automotive industry in the States was only a fraction of the usual margin here, the Edsel investment was far from being amortized. The bottom line of the Edsel balance sheet was the biggest loss in American automobile production for a long time, if not the biggest loss ever.

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