Two at the Top (Ford Granada launch film) - 1971
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- When Ford chose to replace the enormous Mk IV Zodiac and Zephyr range, they took a massive leap forwards with the new Granada and its cheaper brother, the Consul. Smaller than its forebear, it was lighter, faster, and smarter. This is a shortened version of the launch film for both cars, and shows how high Ford were aiming with this car in terms of the cars it was competing with.
Absolutely love this film. What I wouldnt give to be able to travel back in time, pop into my local Ford dealers and buy a brand new one of these....too cool.
A friend of mine drove an early Mk I 2.3 V6 Coupe (no hip swing) and a ´75 Saloon, subsequently converted to 2.8 i. Great cars, with lots of space inside and a great engine in power and sound. I like these Ford, as well as the Opel Rekord II & Commodore B - the counterparts to Granada / Consul, which appeared almost at the same time. These were good, classic 70s cars. Best regards from south germany - stay healthy and take care of yourself !
I love this! December 1971 is my year of birth, and December 1971 was when they began producing the MK1 Granada, and released it in 1972. I have the greatest memories of my dads MK1 Granada's and Consul's as a kid, the most memorable being his last one, a black on black Granada. 4 weeks ago, after waiting for 35 years, I myself got my own MK1 black on black Granada at long last! happy days!
: )
@RichJW I do Rich! I also have a few more now too 👍
In my own opinion the mk1 granada 3.0 auto is the best and prettiest car i ve ever owned 6 of them to make sure i did
I was on my apprenticship with a Ford Main Dealer when the Mk1 Granada and the Consul were launched
They were excellent cars back in the day.
These cars were absolutely top of class when they launched - many of the motoring magazines were favourably comparing the 3 litre models with BMWs, Mercs and Jags which were considerably dearer. The Granada shown is obviously pre-production spec - note the twin exhausts, which production cars never had, the black grill, which didn't appear till the Series 2 of 1975, and some elements of interior trim.
Glad you approve. And you're even more attentive to detail than me! I agree about the black grille, but the double exhaust had got past me. You're right though, they were quite something when launched. Shame so few survive.
Beloved steed of the banger racing fraternity unfortunately.
Those door gaps at 7:27 are outrageous! The chrome trim gap between the top left side of the rear wing and the boot trim at 7:20 is also insane. I guess this is a pre production car used for the film.
Two brand new Fords...BOTH displaying loose and hanging handbrake cables...Top quality !!
Pre production models dopey prick....
I remember getting lifts in the back of Granadas and they had incredibly soft, pillowy rides.
Qué material! Digno de ver! Aplauso largo desde Argentina.
I've always loved these Granadas.
Still have a Granada 5.0 V8 Ghia in my garage.
Probably the best looking Ford for many years.
In 1982 aged 19, I bought a 1973 GRANADA 2500 XL (HOW 148L) for £350. I kept it for 4 years. I added a Sharp radio cassette, Clarion graphic equaliser and cheap but huge shelf and door speakers from a local market. Quick and comfy compared to the stuff some of my mates had. Lots of stories but that’s enough for now ....
I just love old Fords. If I was fortunate enough, I would have a huge warehouse full of classic cars which I would just spends hours glancing at. What I love about classic cars are the lines, simplicity and the smells. You certainly don't get those attributes from modern cars. The likes of Granadas, Escorts mk1 and mk2, Cortinas, Capris mk1 and mk2 where proper Fords and also cars of my childhood. Modern Fords don't excite me.
Love the bit about 'safety' at 3:50. Oh how times have changed!
And not a single outside rear view mirror on either the Consul or the Granada - true pre-production cars. :)
@Jupp Schlabutt Fraud gives you more?
They are clearly pre-production examples, hence some of the quality issues you point out Paul, and I have referred in a previous post the Granada not being to production spec (witness the twin exhausts, lack of chrome surrounds to dash air vents and clock, the black grill and the wrongly fitted GXL badge). I agree this would not happen now, but I wouldn't say that that makes it a very poorly made film. Anyway, they were great cars in their day, and it's nice to get a reminder of them.
Who has pressed the dislike button? Someone who drives a KIA i bet. The mk1 Consul/Granada range is a work of art.
Wow, thanks for posting this. Really interesting, would love to tackle a GXL Grandad as my next project. Pete PNO 922K
I'm in, where can I buy one? Much better than those modern SUV fashion symbols we have these days... 7:01 ....
These midsized sedans still make sense today if you remove the "keeping up with the Jones's" attitude. It's a terrible failure and loss when Ford stopped making regular cars.
I love this Car
The best 70's British Saloon, Good enough for The for Jack Regan, good enough for me, a top Motor......thanks for sharing the video
Just to remind all those who get it wrong it was a Consul not a Granada,
@@COIcultist Wow a reply 8 years on (lol) yes it was an M reg Consul GT manual early on, in fact in the pilot (Regan) there was an early K plate Consul and later on he actually did have a silver MK1 Granada for a while before an S plate silver MK2........Got I'm sad, but do love these old cars.
@@m0ogy M295NHK I need to watch again. Don't remember the silver MK1.
As a kid I did love the Granada Ghia Coupe. Can't think of the last one I saw.
The mother and father will be in their late 70s or early 80s, the "kids" will now be about 60 and grandma will be a fading memory.... Yet they all looked so young. - How cruel ageing is.
As of March 30th 2022 the father is 79 today. Hes acted by Micheal Redfern - more famous for playing the Oxo dad alongside Linda Bellingham in the 1980s.
@@byronmills5952 I'm in the USA so we are not really familiar with your father, but he's the epitome of what I always thought of as a regular Englishman! Distinguished, no nonsense, and capable of accomplishing whatever he might put his mind too!
Safety is paramount. Well apart from lack of headrests and safety belts :D
+Ben Collins And slippery vinyl seats
Ben Collins they wound have had safety belts Ben.it's just that nobody wore them !
no need they very rarely started
They do have seat belts: minute 11:00
@@MrTheMiguelox none in the back though.
Notice at 3:17 the red Consul only has one brake-light working. Lenses faded not long after, as well as flooded headlamps.
... and if that corner had a wall instead of a hedge the back arch would have been bashed in as it turned.
Fords had great styling in the 70's but they rotted faster than a parcel being passed around at a Muslim pass the parcel party.
Our company chauffeur told me that the Granada was the most reliable car he had driven and had never had a spanner touch it except for light maintenance.It was very comfortable and well built.I did'nt like the fake wood on the instrument surround but everything else was OK for me.
Ford needed to bring over some of the Brit engineers to America in the 1970s
My Dad had a 72' Granada...red with the black vinyl roof. It's that car that's the reason I bleed blue
All that luxury..and no bloody door mirrors 😂
It's fabulous compared to the Grenada we were offered here in the states. I will never understand why Ford didn't sell this car in the U.S., especially during the Oil Embargo. Perhaps doing so would have also aided in the wave of Asian cars that were flooding the market at the time. 30 miles to the gallon would have sold them here faster than Big Macs during that period, and look at how gorgeous they were!
Imperial not us gallons, so better than you first thought
@@p.istaker8862 Worse surely. UK = approx 1.2 US gallons so 30MPG /6 =5 X 5 = 25MPG www.convertunits.com/from/UK+gallon/to/US+gallon 1UK gallon = 1.2009499204287US gallon.
This car was made for left-hand traffic.
@@Exorbity This car was also sold in Continental Europe and was also in left hand drive form too. Could have easily been sold in the USA at the time, and it should have been. It was better than any USDM offering Ford had at the time in the USA market.
They were a big step forward for Ford, vastly better than the old Zephyr (Heffer) and closer to the big Mercs and BMW's than you'd think. The quality was nothing special though, typical Dagenham thrown together jobs. The German built Mark II was much better in that regard.
Structure pressings from the rear foot wells forward were Mk3 Cortina with a different rear end spiced on to accommodate the irs and lengthen the wheel base
Look at that shut line at 7.30 looks like the back door is open 😂
I personally think they should scrap the Mondeo name and replace it with the Granada because the current generation Mondeo is almost the same size as the old Granada plus the Granada name has prestige and may tempt some 3-Series owners to Ford...it's a sad day when more people buy more 3-series' then Mondeos despite the latter being less to buy and more equipped!
That is surely a bit pretentious though isn't it my ford timeline reads: Cortina to Sierra to Mondeo. Then Granada to Scorpio to nothing. The Mondeo is an uprated Cortina not a Granada.
It's a much nicer Granada than the one USA got in late 70's
1975-80 USDM Ford Granada was TERRIBLE in every way compared to this
Ford of Europe product. I know my family owned one back in 1976 from brand new, it was junk.
I recognise the distinctive music at the end. But does anybody know what it's called, or WHERE it was used? Was it used as a theme tune for somebody's radio show?
I got to visit England in September. I loved it! I didn't see any vintage Ford cars, I'm sorry to say. No Granada or Consul.
Jason Carpp They are now toaster ovens or rubbish compactors.
You should have visited earlier in summer (June& July) plenty mk1's and mk2's travelling to shows in the scorching sun. Just like 1976, but surrounded with more modern traffic and dearer petrol. I even saw an early 1971/2 Granada with rare early seats similar to Zodiac Executive
@@mikemartin2957 I wish I had visited then.
My late aunt had a metallic purple 3.0 v6 mk1 vinyl roof 1974 m registered beautiful car. Then a 79 mk2 2.8gl v registered later.
A great video about two great cars. Anyone notice that the backing music incorporates the theme from Thames TV's 1968 kids' series 'The Queen Street Gang'?
Another Thames TV production with BOTH the music and mk1 Granada GXL . and a Consul GT 'jam sandwich' police car. The production is 'Special Branch' in the 1974(filmed late '73) season episode called 'Downwind of Angels' Detective Cheif Inspector Craven ,played brilliantly by George Sewell.drives a GXL in the same grey colour as the Granada in this Ford film. YOO 300L _is chasing a terrorist in a stolen H reg Daimler Sovereign in west London.An L reg Consul jam sandwich tries to chase as well but spins on the wet road_.A great TV series for old car spotting! Its made by the same crew that produced The Sweeney the following year.
Hand brake turn on the gravel before breakfast? Gets my juices flowing..... now where is that chauffeur?
My dad had an identical Granada in 1972. I don’t remember my fastidious mother being obliged to reverse it out of the stables though. Although dad didn’t have a moustache, he had the ubiquitous side-burns which made him look like he was on the phone a la Regan.
Could he get any closer to that hedge on the left hander? 😆
My husband bought one in 71electric blue from gordens Bolton and he said to the ppl in the car show room that the smell of leather was knocking him sick Wen he was in it and they leave him a tin of something to spray in the car to get rid of the smell personally I loved the smell
I absolutely adore Ford Granadas especially the mark 1 and 2 they were awesome cars in billions of ways I was not keen on the mark 3 and 4 Granadas
All The Ford Promotions Videos Are Very interesting
Far better looking than the porch bumper garbage we had in the states.........too bad rust was the enemy
Consul GT (that they used on the Sweeney) Sexiest British Ford EVER!!
That Granada's starter motor bendix sounded shagged !
Hahahah I just thought that Nd not the only who thought that. 😀
MY DREAMCAR... I WISHD ID HAD GRANADA. CONSUL AND ESCORT MK1
THEJOSAPAPPA30000 mi too
Keep expecting the posh voice-over man to say "it has plenty of performance for even the most demanding members of the Flying Squad" and "cardboard box resistant front end"..
So much nicer than the American Granadas, stylewise.
"Safety is our top priority, not car is complete without any seat belts in the back for a quick exit in Emergency situations".
GBscottieUK Back then, no car had rear belts.
Love the music. 'Soul Thing' by the very talented ,Keith Mansfield.
do you know the background music from the beginning (first 90 sec) ?
Soul Thing? I'll have a re listen. 01.50 and 11.50 onwards was a subdued organ only Funky Fanfare. Much beloved in the cinemas as the future presentation music and made famous for modern audiences by Quentin Tarantino. ua-cam.com/video/tUFwQjOpqJM/v-deo.html
Ah how little I know So Funky Fanfare is a paired down Soul Thing or Soul Thing is an expanded ........ I'll have to look that up. For those wondering what I'm on about Soul Thing takes Funky Fanfare further (I expect upvotes for that alliteration) e.g. the drum part in Soul thing. ua-cam.com/video/Heua01_HLmw/v-deo.html
Have to agree about KM's talents. Typical summer week in the 70s Grandstand, Wimbledon (Light & Tuneful) International Athletics. All great KM themes. Not forgetting the classic Pop Package ua-cam.com/video/gLh8JC4Ym-U/v-deo.html
i own a k reg consul in blue, with those same hubcaps.
I like this model
why no outside mirrors ?
My father purchased a GXL model in Nov 1972 and it was crap !! Water poured through the sunroof and the wiper blades got tangled up and got torn off the splines, and the rear lights lost their colour as they were only sprayed with coloured lacquer and he was stopped by the Police for having white rear lights.
The sweeney mobiles 🇬🇧👍🚘.
They knew their place, "taking on the best in Europe" not claiming to be the best in Europe!
😉
I recall being called out for emergency broken seat frame welding for a mate's brother's Granada when it fractured just as a potential buyer was coming to view it. Maybe it was a Revenger?
Not one but TWO new cars! Except they're the same. Great car though, always liked The Cortina and Granada from this era.
Keith Mansfield on the soundtrack!
I love the Consul/Granada, pity most have been banger raced by the chav's.
Why built a test track in belgium, when every road in belgium was a bad as the test trak?
I want one!
the granada mk 1 and 2 were brilliant cars felching loads now i live my mk 2 gear brilliant
..a pity loads ended on the banger racing circuit
Felching? 😧
And mk2 gear? 😂
6:30 Love it 🤣
It’s got no side mirrors in this promo
this whole downsizing thing is rather ironic since in the US, Ford was the last of the Big 3 to downsize it's large cars in response to rising fuel prices, while it seems in Europe it was one of the first to downsize
It's my life's ambition to own either a consul or granada. If anyone has one that's in need of restoration but doesn't want to see it end up in the wrong hands, just send it to me.
Unfortunately you are a bit late my friend. We had one fun 1979 1,7 v4 but we gave it to the scrap... :(
Does anyone know the soundtrack that is used at 1:30 -Lauge :)
where is the driver side mirror?
Most people never thought about them in those days- they just got in and drove them.
Ford pulled off a huge coup by getting Harry Enfield to do the voice-over!
Charmondley, Charmondley,...😵
The utter clueless mentality of seatbelts back then. Not so safe when grandma smashes through dad's head during a head on crash.
Beautiful looking car marred by appalling 70s build quality. Incredible that, even on the promo film, the shut lines on the doors and boot are atrocious!
Yes, panel gaps not quite visible from the moon !!!!
so true....almost a cut and shut..!
@@fransam1961 Not to mention the smoke pouring forth from the tailpipe. This was going to take on Europe though. A Cortinia with new body work. Then people wonder what happened to the British auto industry.
@@sarjim4381 The Granada replaced the Zephyr/Zodiac range and was the pinnacle of the Ford range, a complete league above the Cortina, which was the mid range offering. Base model Consuls may have used the 2 litre engines from the Cortina, but otherwise shared very little else.
@@kevinmanns7170 From outset , the Consul used the pushrod V4, until '75 (?) (and V6) Cortinas only ever had the Pinto ohc, and later the Cologne 2.3 V6.
Is that Michael Redfern (The Dad in the OXO adverts) driving the Consul?
Affirmative
What a claim to fame…
If this is a "shortened version of the launch film for both cars," is the full version about anywhere ?
I WISHD ID HAD OLD GRANADA CONSUL RED AND GRANADA TURNIER GREEN
No seatbelts back in those days
a beautifull inglish lady in a beautifull ford consul . i like that.
Yes she is a natural beauty. You just don't see too many like this today.
Valiant Hemi
3:05 Man, those are some narrow roads !!
rather they've been raced than sat rotting away in some shed as a 'future restoration project'.
lush cars, on the road or raced.
Saubere Friese hat der Erwin😂
12:05 - 'tache, sideburns and shirt opened to the navel - definitely the "Sophisticated Seventies" 😀
Flares flapping in the breeze.
Always go the full Barry Gibb on the shirt front!
What they don't tell you is that all that luggage sunk the small dinghy they actually had berthed there.
"Lovely" plastic wood inside, as usual! Well done, Ford! Spoiling an excellent ship, for a ha'porth of tar!
Question...was the wood trim in the Cortina/Taunus real wood? I think it was. Odd being a lower market car!
I wish I was in all of these Ford Promotions Videos driving all the Cars : Vans / Trucks with all the Beautiful Women all over me etc
No rear view mirrors?
Optional extras back then.
I WISHD ID HAD RED GRANADA SOME DAY
5:08 and women were more beautiful back then.
It seems so. Much better than today’s fat plastic and entitled heifers.
The woman in this video is a natural beauty.
Was the Granada/Consul based on the Mark 3 Cortina?
..No!
@@stevedickson5853 Ah, good.
Where was the horn button on the Mark1s?
Center of steering wheel. Lucas swapped to this position with bigger switching(now the wiper switch) on the Granada as smaller Ford s of the era such as Escorts,Capri and Cortina had the button on end of indicator stalk (as did a lot of British cars 60s to early 80s
@@mikemartin2957 Ah, I see. Ford of America did the same thing - horn on indicator stalk - from the late 70s to early 80s. It certainly was not popular!
@@johndrake2729 It was a stupid idea. I think this was something that started in Italy or France originally.
@@horseathalt7308 Yep.
All made famous by the Sweeny, RIP John Thaw and Dennis Waterman.
07:45 Sounded like the car wasn't going to start there...
Maybe it was just a bad start. Carburetor engines have their peculiarities: On a cold start you have to (depending on the carburetor) first slowly depress the pedal completely so that the starter flap closes, otherwise the engine starts poorly or not at all, especially when it is cold outside. A half-warm engine needs only about 1/4 gas. Hot engines need full throttle until they start (due to the formation of vapor bubbles in the fuel line). Yes, you had to think something at the time, even before actually driving ;-)
Stefan Kässbohrer My first two cars had carburetors...the Civic has a manual choke. We take modern engines for granted!!
@@RoadCone411 my 1.1 205 has funny peculiar starting in various condition but always starts. Sometimes a longer churn in the morning but fine the rest of the day.
No outside rear view mirrors?
Only legally required September 1978 ,mk2 T reg onwards. But I am sure back into day your 'friendly Ford dealership' would sell you a gleaming pair of Wingard it TeX mirrors for a nice price☺
@ 6.35 listen to what the narrater says, he suggests that your wife would bring the car out to you in the morning because she knows it will be one of the rare chances she has to drive it.
How times have changed and sexist comments like that.
What we're impressed with , today , in any future the world has shall be smiled at , tomorrow. We need , for a proper retrospective assessment of these vehicles , or anything , also to know what the contemporary opinion was, or is ; and the then contemporary opinion was very high. Our superior knowledge , gained mostly through others' owning of them , rather than the smirking snearers , couldn't have been known by their first reviewers , who were without a Consul or Granada's ten-or-fifteen year-old bumper to inspect for it's durability ; it's deterioration collaterally due , too , to neglect , as well as to it's material nature. When next an electric car's owner enters their 250-300 mile-range electric car today , they should imagine it's yellowing Owner's Manual being held together by its rusting staples , in the intrigued , ( hopefully less satirical ) , hands of tomorrow.