Mercury Comet

Mercury Comet
1973 Mercury Comet 4-door sedan
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercury (Ford)
Production	1960–1977
Assembly	Oakville, Ontario, Canada Claycomo, Missouri, United States Lorain, Ohio, United States Milpitas, California, United States Wayne, Michigan, United States
Body and chassis
Class	muscle (1960–1965, 1971–1977) Mid-size (1966–1969)
Layout	FR layout
Related	Ford Falcon, Ford Maverick
Chronology
Successor	Mercury Zephyr Mercury Monarch

First generation
1962 Mercury Comet 2-door sedan
Overview
Production	1960–1963
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon 2-door station wagon
Related	Ford Falcon Mercury Meteor
Powertrain
Engine	144 cu in (2.4 L) I6 170 cu in (2.8 L) I6 260 cu in (4.3 L) V8
Transmission	3-speed manual 2-speed automatic 4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	114 in (2,896 mm) (coupe, sedan) 109.5 in (2,781 mm) (wagon)
Length	194.5 in (4,940 mm)

Second generation
1964 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible
Overview
Production	1964–1965
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe 2-door convertible 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Related	Ford Falcon
Powertrain
Engine	170 cu in (2.8 L) I6 200 cu in (3.3 L) I6 260 cu in (4.3 L) V8 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8 427 cu in (7.0 L)V8
Transmission	3-speed automatic 4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	114 in (2,896 mm) (coupe, sedan) 109.5 in (2,781 mm) (wagon)

Third generation
1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT hardtop
Overview
Production	1966–1967
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe 2-door convertible 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Powertrain
Engine	390 cu in (6.4 L) V8

Fourth generation
1968 Mercury Comet sports coupe
Overview
Production	1968–1969
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupe
Powertrain
Engine	250 cu in (4.1 L) I6 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8 302 cu in (4.9 L) V8 351 cu in (5.8 L) V8 428 cu in (7.0 L) V8

Fifth generation
1971 Mercury Comet GT
Overview
Production	1971–1977
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door sedan 4-door sedan
Powertrain
Engine	170 cu in (2.8 L) I6 200 cu in (3.3 L) I6 302 cu in (4.9 L) V8
Transmission	3-speed automatic 3-speed manual

The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1960–1969 and 1971-1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car.

The Comet was initially based on the compact Ford Falcon, then on the intermediate Ford Fairlane and finally on the compact Ford Maverick. As a Mercury, early Comets received better grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons, and a slightly longer wheelbase.

The Comet was originally planned as an Edsel model. It was reassigned to Mercury dealerships after the demise of the Edsel marque, where it was marketed as a standalone product for 1960 and 1961 as the Comet.

Developed concurrently with the Ford Falcon, early pre-production photographs of the sedan show a car remarkably close to the Comet that emerged, but with a split grille following the pattern established by Edsel models. Early Ford styling mules for the station wagon model carried the Edsel name as well.

At their debut, the split grille was replaced by one more in keeping with Mercury's design themes. However, the canted elliptical taillights, first seen on the Edsel prototype, were used and carried the "E" (Edsel) part number on them. While the short lived 1960 Edsels used elliptical shaped taillights, the lenses used on both cars differed in length and width. Certain other parts from the 1959 Edsel parts bin, including the parking lights and dashboard knobs, were used on the first-year Comet. Keys for the 1960 and 1961 Comets were shaped like Edsel keys, with the center bar of the "E" removed to form a "C".

The "comet" name was trademarked to Cotner-Bevington as the Comet Coach Company, building ambulance and hearse commercial vehicles. Ford bought the name in 1959.

From 1960-1965, the Comet was based on the Ford Falcon platform (stretched 5 in (130 mm) for sedans, but not for wagons). The 1960-1963 Comets share a similar basic shape. These are sometimes referred to as the "round body" Comets. For 1962 and 1963, the Comet shared a considerable number of body and mechanical parts with the short-lived Fairlane-based Mercury Meteor intermediate.