In the 1950s, many people got better finances. Therefore, there was more focus on larger and better equipped family cars. Ford 17m was a strong card in this match.
Henry Ford started car production in 1903 when model "A" came on the market. The big breakthrough came with model "T" in 1908. It was in production until 1927. The model made Ford a world brand and it was produced in several countries. The next model was "A", which was also a success. In Europe, assembly of model "T" started in England in 1911. The first European model of its own came in 1932 with the designation "Y". The US market got completely new models in 1948. With a completely new and low design, the cars became big sellers. In the 50s, classic models such as Thunderbird and Skyliner came with a retractable hard top. Ford Consul and Anglia from English Ford were big sellers in the same way as Taunus from Germany. The story of the Ford Taunus started in 1939 with a model that was a slightly larger version of the Eifel model. This model was produced until 1942. After the war, production of passenger cars did not start until 1948.
Newly developed engine and more safety details
The German-made Ford Taunus models most people remember from the 50s are probably 12m and the big brother 15m. With these models, Ford took a large part of the market for smaller family cars. But the market also wanted larger car models. Therefore, Ford started the development of a larger Taunus model in 1955. The original idea was to use the same engine that was used in the 15M, but it turned out to be too weak. A completely new and larger engine was developed for the new model, which was named 17M. The model was launched in Norway in the autumn of 1957 and was well received. The model was tested and described in Motortidende with very good reviews. In particular, the safety details were emphasized. Elastic steering wheel with recessed hub was a completely new detail. Also new were doors with safety locks to prevent the doors from opening in the event of a collision. Safety padding on the sun visors and dashboard was positive. And the car model sold well in the vast majority of markets. In total, around 240 000Ms were produced between 17 and 1957.
Facts Ford Taunus 1958
Length: 437 cm
Width: 167 cm
Height: 150 cm
Top speed: 125 km/h
Engine: 1698 ccm, 60 hp
See
Anders de Lange
Anders de Lange writes about car history. He has written about cars and car history for over 30 years, published his own books and written for the Norwegian car press.
