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Traveling in the hip-swinging Granada - 40 years of Ford Granada/Consul

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Created on November 21, 2012

Text:

Stefan Fritschi

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

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Bruno von Rotz

42

Archiv

21

Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - space almost like in the four-door sedan

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - impressive front end

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - acceptable engine only from 2.3 liters upwards

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback Sedan (1973) - comfortable long-distance vehicle

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - after the Granada, Ford no longer built "big" cars

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the hip swing was dismissed as old-fashioned at the time

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the hip swing did not meet the taste of the car world at the time

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the front remained largely unchanged throughout the entire production period

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - Ford lettering on the rear, but no emblem

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the hip-swinging coupé was only built until 1973

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the hip swing is particularly recognizable here

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the fastback sedan was intended to make a "normal" two-door sedan unnecessary

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - plenty of luggage space for the big Ford

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - straight radiator design

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - powerful design at the rear of the car

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback saloon (1973) - the different variants were almost indistinguishable from the front

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback saloon (1973) - looks elegant today and impresses with its large windows

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - large light units turn night into day

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback Sedan (1973) - Luxury feelings in the seventies

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - leatherette and wood - luxury attributes of the early seventies

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the Granada models had six instrument bays, the Consul models had two

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - beautifully drawn instruments in deep caves

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the instruments were located in deep caves

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the deep cavities were intended to prevent the instruments from being mirrored

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - clearly labeled switches

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the radio slot cover looks very classy

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the clock on the passenger side

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback sedan (1973) - the leatherette seat was retrofitted to this vehicle

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the door panels - wood and imitation leather

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback Sedan (1973) - the V6 engine from Cologne

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - an eight-cylinder engine would have fitted in there too

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - simple engine construction, lots of space in the front of the Granada

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback Sedan (1973) - View into the trunk

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the Ford lettering on the rear

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the Granada lettering

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - engine capacity and number of cylinders on the flank

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the Ford lettering on the front

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback Sedan (1973) - Door opener

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 Fastback sedan (1973) - Rear hinged windows - tend to come loose as they are only glued in place

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback saloon (1973) - the Granada lettering was reserved for the more upmarket versions

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback saloon (1973) - steel wheels and attractive decorative covers

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Ford Granada 2300 V6 fastback sedan (1973) - the beautiful wheel covers

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Ford 20 M (1969) - the indirect predecessor of the Consul/Granada model

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Ford Granada at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - compact body and modern chassis

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Ford Granada at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - the new generation is shown for the first time in Geneva

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Ford Granada at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - the Ford stand is dominated by the new Granada

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Ford Granada GXL at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - the overloaded rear end is criticized by design critics

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Ford Granada at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show - just like its sister model Consul, the Granada is also available as a station wagon with two engines

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Ford Consul (1972) - the 1972 model range, here the Consul variants

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Ford Granada (1972) - See-through drawing of the big Ford

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Ford Granada (1972) - front and rear suspension

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Ford Consul GT (1972) - largely identical in construction to the two-door Granada

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Ford Consul (1972) - Steering wheel and dashboard of the Consul L - in contrast to the higher-level Granada with only two cavities for the main instruments

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Ford Consul (1972) - as a two-door fastback sedan, largely identical in construction to the Granada

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Ford Granada (1972) - GXL variant as it was sold in England

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Ford Granada (1972) - four-door sedan

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Ford Consul (1973) - this is how cars were sold in the seventies, e.g. the Consul L

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Ford Granada (1973) - the four-door sedan

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Ford Granada (1973) - the hip-swinging coupé was only built until 1973

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Ford Granada (1973) - the two-door fastback sedan only featured the famous hip swing until 1973

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Ford Granada (1974) - already without hip swing

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Ford Granada (1974) - the smoothed coupé without the hip swing

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Ford Granada II (1977) - technically based on the original Granada, the modernized line convinced all doubters

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Summary

In 1972, Ford presented the large Granada and its identical brother Consul, a joint development by Ford England and Germany. This was also the last big Ford. Its successor, the Scorpio, never really succeeded it, and after that Ford only built mid-range models. This driving report looks at the vehicles from 1972 onwards, shows their strengths and weaknesses and portrays a two-door fastback saloon from 1973 in detail.

This article contains the following chapters

First broad collaboration between Ford England and Germany
Consul or Granada?
Four body variants
Press launch of the Granada met with a mixed response
Dance class for the disk shower
Elaborate and American-soft chassis
OHC, Cologne, Essex engine or Peugeot diesel?
The V6 is better suited to the Granada character
No more Consul from Granada '75 onwards
A lot of car for the money
Granada II with Pininfarina practicality
The hidden plum
Scorpio or the end of the upper class
On the road in the hip-swinging coupé
Great loss of historic cultural assets
Further information

Estimated reading time: 16min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Ford Granada and its practically identical twin, the Consul, were jointly developed by Ford England in Dagenham and Ford Germany in Cologne. And it was also the last big Ford - unfortunately. Its successor, the Scorpio, with its compromised concept, never really succeeded it, and after that Ford only built mid-range cars. In 2012, the Consul and Granada turned 40 years old. We look back on a truly great car - and not just in terms of its dimensions. From the earliest days of its global expansion, the American Ford Group was a rather inhomogeneous entity - especially in Europe. Ford England, based in Dagenham to the east of London, and the German headquarters in Cologne were almost like two different brands that had much in common but did not really operate as a single entity, although both had been operating under the partly autonomous Ford of Europe since 1967.

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