Junkyard Gem 1960 Mercury Comet Sedan
Each member of Detroit’s Big Three created its own compact car for the 1960 model, in response to the competition from American Motors and Volkswagen, as well as Renault. General Motors’ radical rear-engined Corvair was created, while Chrysler produced the rugged Valiant. Ford’s small car, the Falcon and Comet (a Mercury-badged version), was the most successful in the new decade. Today’s Junkyard Gem is one of those first-year cars, found in a self-service yard next door to Denver, Colorado.
The platform designed for the 1960 Falcon went on to become the basis for the original Mustang, the first-generation Econoline, the Fairlane/Torino/Ranchero, the Maverick, the Granada and all their Mercury- and Lincoln-badged brethren. The production of the 1960 Falcon in Argentina continued until 1991, after the last Ford Granadas and Mercury Monarchs were built in the United States. These spring towers created a narrow engine compartment, making it difficult to fit extra-wide V8 engines in the future. The front suspension geometry was also a problem. But what’s the big deal? The 1960 Comet, like nearly all Mercurys since Edsel Ford launched his brand in 1938 was a more luxurious and well-equipped version of the Ford twin. (There was also a Canadian market version called “The Eventful Frontenac”)
As with almost every Mercury introduced by Edsel Ford, the 1960 Comet is a slightly more expensive and better-equipped variant of the Ford twin. The 1960 Falcon four door sedan was priced at $1,912, whereas the Comet’s MSRP was $2,053. These prices would be equivalent to $20,502 in 2024 dollars and $22,014, in 2024 dollars. The original plan among the Dearborn suits had been to make the Comet an Edsel model, but Robert McNamara had other ideas.
The only engine available in the 1960 Falcon/Comet/Frontenac was the 144-cubic-inch (2.4-liter) pushrod straight six, rated at 85 horsepower and called the Mileage Maker Six (Falcon), Thrift-Power 6 (Comet) or Frontenac Short-Stroke Six (Frontenac). The first year that Falcon/Comet V8 engines were available was 1963. This was when the 260-cubic-inch small-block was introduced. This was a good-looking, simple car that had a lot of efficiency. It cost $172 or $1,844 today. Mercury dealers sold nearly 120,000 Comets for the 1960 model, which included four-door sedans, two-door and four-door wagons, and four-door sedans. Ford dealers sold over 400,000 Falcons during the same period.
