They looked like American 70s cars, preferably painted in cool colours. For several years, the model was among the best sellers. Then they disappeared from the road.
The cool 70s
Taunus brings back memories from the 70s. Last weekend, the Ford Taunus Klubben had a meeting with an exhibition of cars at Hunderfossen - one more beautiful than the other. The yellow 1600 L in the picture below evokes memories. My father drove the one with the company logo on the side. Not Coupe - as in the picture - but Tournament. That's what Ford in Cologne calls its station wagons. A yellow Taunus 1600 L is taken from 1973 with flashbacks to Derrick, Les Humpheries Singers, slacks, platform shoes, Puch Maxi and lard-fried broiler chicken with Chinese cabbage.
many varieties
The Taunus family consisted of the following body styles: 2- and 4-door saloon, 5-door station wagon and 2-door Coupé. In Norway, you could also get it as a 2-seater van with windows. The best-selling engine options were the 1300 and 1600, while the most popular were the V6s from the M series: 2000 and 2300. From model year 1977, you could also choose the 2-litre inline-four engine from Granada. On the equipment side, you could choose L, XL, GT and GXL. A GXL with leather seats, vinyl roof, alloy wheels and V6 was a proper executive car. But the 1600 OHC engine, which most people bought, was not a bad choice. According to data from automobile-catalog.com you had 72 HP, enough to go from 0-100 in 14,8 seconds and reach a top speed of 150 km/h.
Model follow-up
From the autumn of 1967, Ford dropped the designation "Taunus" from the M series. The Ford Taunus 12M became just the Ford 12M. The model name "Taunus" would appear a few years later - as 1971 models. The first series received a mid-life facelift for model year 1974. Then all models received a plastic grill and the distinctive sunken dashboard was replaced by something more conventional. For the 1977 model year, the Taunus came out as a new model – the mk2. It got sharper lines and a new front without the special elevation - the "nose" above the bonnet. From 1980, the model received a final change before it was phased out as a 1982 model. Who knows? Perhaps one day Ford will name a new model after its beautiful, German mountain areas.
Finally worthy of preservation
Ford Taunus Club is a forum for owners and enthusiasts. It is easy to overlook the value of previously widespread, mainstream car models such as the Taunus. By the time one realizes the value of caring for them, it may be too late. Truth be told, the Taunus, like other cars in the 70s, was very prone to rust. Many were driven long distances and ended up as wrecked youth cars, or in the bilcross environments. That's why it was nice to see these great specimens on the roads around Hunderfossen at the weekend.
See
TC1 :1970 -1975 ! : 1300 ohc 58hp -1600 ohc 72hp -1600 ohc.gt 88hp – 2000V6 90hp – 2300V6 108hp + from 1974 2000ohc 99hp ! : base- L- XL – GXL – GT..! : .2 and 4.door sedan. Stv and Coupe (Series 2 from 74. including new dashboard, plastic grill + square headlights also on base and L (GT discontinued!)
Cortina - the "twin" of Taunus - These came to Norway from the Netherlands, and were phased out on the Norwegian market in 1975!
Cortina TC1 : 70 – 76 ! :had in output. kent engines 1300 57hp -1600 69hp + 1600ohcgt 88hp and 2000ohc 99hp reserved for GXL and GT (came like the Taunus, with series 2 upgrades in 1974 ) : – in the editions.: base, L, XL, GXL and GT + 2000E instead for GXL from 74.. ! : – 2 and 4.door sedan, and SUV – (Not made in a coupe version like its two-egg twin Taunus)
Taunus/Cortina-2. 1976 -1979..: 1300 ohc 59hp – 1600 ohc 72hp . 2000 ohc 99hp – and 2300V6 108hp (other countries still got 2000V6 90hp).- base. L. GL. S and Ghia.- 2 and 4.door sedan and SUV (Cortina became, so to speak, the same as Taunus from 1977)
TC3 1979 -1982: same engine selection as TC2 (slightly adjusted hp numbers 60-73-100-114 according to the brochures) - Base.- L. GL and Ghia + option "S" on L and GL (+Ghia) - 81/ In 82 came the best seller Bravo1 and II (which is an offer - jub. edition of the last two vintages) TC3 had the same body selection as TC2 - the sedan versions had a slightly higher roof height than TC2 - TC3 was produced for a number of years longer on another continent - Taunus on in Argentina and Turkey, Cortina in South Africa and Australia...
Thanks for the additional information 🙂