1975 Granada: Forgotten Car Ads

1975 Ford Granada comparison Ad — 1975 Granada

I’m not keen to belabor this point, but Ford advertising from the mid-Seventies was pretty heavily laden with baloney. And by baloney, I mean fraud-level lies. Check out this ad for the 1975 Mustang II. At least the Mustang looked kind of sporty.

Bold Comparisons

By now, you’re aware that for the 1976 model year, Ford marketing types began comparing the compact Granada with Mercedes-Benz products. But back in 1975, when the model debuted, Ford folks compared the very dull, predictable, and in every way mediocre Granada with the best Cadillac available at the time, and, what would turn out to be one of the most-important Volkswagens of all time.

Cadillac Seville and Volkswagen Rabbit

Yes, look at the ad: The Cadillac Seville, and the Volkswagen Rabbit.

And while, to Ford’s point (we guess), the Granada was about the same size as the Cadillac, and about the same price as the VW. But the comparison falls apart hilariously after that.

Downsized Ford

Ford did design the Granada to emulate the look of the maker’s larger cars, and to a great extent the styling worked. Consumers accepted the downsized car as a legit Ford product, even though the Granada was considerably smaller than the maker’s LTD large car, and the midsize Torino which it effectively replaced in the lineup. (The Torino did live on until the end of 1976, for Ford’s marketing energy was firmly committed to launching the Granada.)

Granada Sales

Here’s the deal, the Granada sold really well. The boxy, chrome-laden Granada found more than 400,000 buyers in 1975, this despite bringing no advancements or new technology to the market. Seems there are (were?) car shoppers who placed slow change above all else on their priorities list.

This is what makes the comparison to the Rabbit so absurd. While the picture of the VW is meant to make the car seem small and basic, the Rabbit was instead a groundbreaking car for Volkswagen, and the American automotive marketplace.

Modern Volkswagen

While the Granada was basically the same front-engine, rear-drive, pushrod-engine-powered car that Ford sold at every price level, the Rabbit was very much all new.

Interior Volume

Introduced in the U.S. for 1975, the Rabbit boasted light-weight unibody construction, front-wheel drive, modern overhead-cam engines, and surprising interior space. Indeed, while the bulky Granada clocked in at up to 3400 pounds, stretched 198 inches, and provided an estimated 95 cubic feet of interior volume, the trim little VW was just 155 inches long, weighed just under 2000 pounds, yet provided owners with nearly as much cabin space as the Ford (90 cubic feet).

Granada versus Rabbit

Also, the Granada’s lineup of sad, under-powered engines provided little in the way of perforce. The base 200-inch six coughed up a scant 70 horsepower, while the available 302-inch V8 was good for just 129.

Depending on the testing organization, the 302-powered Granada lumbered to 60 mph from a stop in a sedate 12-13 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Rabbit, powered by a 70-horsepower free-revving 1.5-liter overhead cam four, was capable of 0-60-mile times of 10-11 seconds. As for fuel economy…well, Road & Track observed 12.5 mpg in their testing of a 1975 302 Granada. Meanwhile, Car and Driver bettered 20 mpg in their testing of the new VW.

Granada versus Seville

The ad’s comparison of the Granada to the Seville is, on its face, less absurd, it’s still pretty dubious. Yes, the Seville is expensive, but it also boasted some legitimate technological features that were unavailable on the Ford.

The Cadillac came standard with an electronically fuel-injected V8 good for 180 horsepower. Despite weighing roughly half a ton more than the Granada, the Cadillac was at least a second quicker in the 0-60 sprint, it also returned considerably better fuel economy.

But, more importantly, the Seville boasted a sophisticated independent coil-spring rear suspension. The high-end chassis contributed to the Caddy’s famously smooth ride and nearly sporty handling. That Granada, however, made use of a dated leaf-spring rear-suspension setup, seriously limiting the car’s dynamic potential.

Yes, millions of American’s bought Granadas, and no doubt the cars served those consumers reasonably well. But the Granada was un-special in a spectacular way, and was simply not in the same league as the Rabbit technologically, nor the Seville in terms of power or refinement. Looking back at this ad, we’re still a little put off by all the, well, baloney. Click here for more classic-car advertising.