Today’s Granada CC reminds me that its concept, of a more formal and better-trimmed compact, wasn’t exactly new. The 1960 Comet essentially played that role fifteen years earlier, and was quite successful. In 1961, a higher-trim S22 model joined the line-up, with bucket seats, console, and distinguishing trim. But there were no hokey ad comparisons to a Mercedes, although it did rather look like a fin-tail Mercedes in profile. LeSabretoothTiger caught this fine ’63 S22 coupe on the go.
Like the Granada and Monarch, the standard engine was the little Falcon six, in 144, and 170 inch sizes, although in mid-year 1963, the 170 inch version became standard. Good call. The 260 cubic inch V8 with 164 hp also became optional in 1963.
The Comet showed that big-car styling on a trimmer size was a recipe for success, even if the formula was lost for some years.
Related reading:
Although I’m not a Ford car guy, I do like the 1963 and 64 Mercury Comet.
That is one SHARP Comet!! 🙂
These were nice looking cars compared to the falcon. Stretching the wheelbase helped achieve better styling and provided a little more room inside. My father’s first car was a 62 Comet 4 door sedan. Three on the tree and the 170 cid six. it was a good car. The two door models and wagons appeal to me.
Rear Fender Skirts did so much for so many cars up until the 80’s to make them look lower and sleeker. They made the large sedans look absolutely endless and smaller sedans such as this Comet more elegant.
I personally don’t see the “skirts” coming back for several reasons but there are some contemporary sedans that might look very interesting with them….Buick Lacrosse 225 anyone?
Those are ” Fox Craft ” aftermarket skirts .
I had a 1961 Comet two door in 197? , a Grandpa’s car until he died , it was O.K. if sorely under powered for the steep hill I lived at the top of back then .
This one in black/reed looks very sharp .
When this was a new car and I a young man , I wasn’t impressed although the sold the hell out of them and many are still going strong .
-Nate
Ford and Mercury had some smart looking cars in 63.Comets and Falcons had all the style and glamour of an American car and none of the bulk and thirst.My first American car was a 64 Comet 6 cylinder for the above reasons.
Originally conceived as an Edsel! What’s funny is that Pontiac did the front end a few years later and was considered a style leader. The Comet’s of ’61 thru ’65 were classy little rides. Check out the little old lady who put over half a million miles on her ’64 Comet. Forgive me if it was posted before. Google this: florida-woman-3-reaches-end-road-after-576000-miles-in-same-car/
>>What’s funny is that Pontiac did the front end a few years later and was considered a style leader.<<
Not really. Pontiac had that look in 1959
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1959-Pontiac-Ad-04.jpg
and it was a huge hit. Pontiac had the 1960 models already baked in but returned to the 1959 front in 1961.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/pon60bridge.jpg
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1961-Pontiac-Bonneville-Ad.jpg
It wouldn’t be hard at all to “build” an Edsel Comet. A little custom fabrication to make that schnoz, and some badges and trim from 1959-60 Edsel parts cars, and you’re good to go. It would be best done with the 1960-61 Comet having the Edsel style cat-eye taillights.
I have always liked these Comets. The big difference between the Comet and the Granada/Monarch, of course, is that the Granada was a number one hit, while the Comet was a steady seller at best. Smaller and better trimmed was not the sweet spot in 1963 that it would become by 1975 or so. If it had been, the Studebaker Cruiser might have been more successful.
It could be said, however, that the Comet helped save Mercury. The division’s full-size cars were duds in the early 1960s, and the sales figures show it.
The suicide-door Lincolns had received rave reviews, but 25-30,000 Lincolns a year weren’t going to keep the doors open for the Lincoln-Mercury dealer body. If it hadn’t been for the Comet, I wonder if Mercury would have survived in the early 1960s.
Yes, Comet was nearly 50% of Mercury sales in ’60.
Imagine if Ford managers had cut Mercury. No Cougars, ‘sign of the cat, or Grand Marquis.
The Comet was a seperate line in ’60-’61. It didn’t become a Mercury until 1962.
I always assumed the S 22 was Mercury’s “answer” to the Falcon Sprint. Both cars started out with “formal” rooflines until mid 63 when they switched to a “fast back”. In the Falcon’s case to “mimic” the sloped roof/faux convertible of the Galaxie.
Full-sized Mercurys had a similar S 55 package during these years, which the Galaxie did not get.
Actually, it was Mercury’s “answer” to the Falcon Futura, which also arrived in 1961, similarly trimmed. And both of them were “answers” to the 1960.5 Corvair Monza, which was the car that started the bucket-seat high-trim compact trend.
The Sprint didn’t arrive until 1963.5, with the fastback roof.
I love both the 2 door Comet and Granada/Monarch. I also love the 2 door Maverick/Comet. Nothing really special about them, just great cars that looked good and would last forever if you took care of them.
I said there was nothing special about them. I left out something. There was nothing special about them, back when they were new. Today there is something very special about them. I would 10 times rather drive one of these than anything made in the past few decades. I would prefer it without the fender skirts however.
Don’t know about that. I had a ’75 Granada in the very early ’80s, 250 six C4 trans,4 door, and it was probably the biggest POS I have ever owned. And this is coming from a pretty hard core Ford guy. Bought the car from an old German widow who bought it new, and it was toast by 55K. I’m thinking there might have been a little sabotage happening on the line at the time. Looking back, kind of funny this German woman bought a Granada….wonder if the Benz comparison ad’s had anything to do with her choice.
Sharp looking car. Normally I don’t like skirts, but on this car, with this color combination, they pull the look together nicely.
The Falcon went upscale here with reclining seats and a vinyl roof they called it the Fairmont if your luck was really bad it came in automatic with only 170 wheezing cubes for motivation, A Mercury Comet woulda been great but no we didnt get em.
We got Falcons including some RHD but no Comets either in the UK.I grew up near a USAF base and while I can remember plenty Falcons(Dad had 2) the Comet was much more scarce among the USAF Airmen and their families
Australia got part of the Comet: Some of the XP Falcon’s exterior panels were adapted from these cars. The original XP Fairmont had only the 200 Super Pursuit and a three-speed automatic (a BorgWarner 35), which wasn’t a bad combination.
Mine was 170 and 3 speed manual no guarentee it was original but it wasnt much of a car.
This is a great looking example of a Comet. Given that MB brought out the heckflosse to appeal to the market here, the MB looks rather like a Mercury Comet!
It’s making me feel like a grinch, since no one else has mentioned it, but I can’t help wondering how well-secured those Coca-Cola bottles are on the rear parcel shelf. In case of a sudden stop, they could wreck even more havoc than a Takata airbag …
Apparently you’ve never driven a Falcon or Comet with stock brakes. It’s all about patience…and prayer. Ain’t nothing going to fly anywhere!!!
Never saw many of the S-22s, even when they were new; the Falcon Futura was a more common sight. Ford got a little carried away in Futura advertising by referencing a car more than twice its price.
Very Little Lincolnesque…in fact, it used the same taillight lenses as the ’60 Continental!
Had to amortize that tooling somehow!
I had never noticed that. Now there’s a CC quiz for you- what trim parts were repurposed on less expensive cars? The ’66 Plymouth VIP used the interior door pulls from the ’64-66 Imperials.
It’s interesting that 15 years separate this from the Granada – you can really see the differences in design. If you compare a 1999 car with a 2014 car, it seems like there’s much less difference. Or is that just me? Love that Comet by the way, it’s a stunning looker!
I guess thats why I’m not getting too worked up over new cars, they are all looking alike now, all kind of interchangeable over-styled blobs. sort of like the ’40s ‘bathtub’ cars to me.
My 95 Explorer doesn’t look a whole lot different than a 2009 Explorer.
Good to see a sedan, very sleek. Have not seen an S-22 sedan before but have seen 2 convertibles. In our car club, Saskatoon Antique Auto Club ( website http://www.saaclub.com. ). 2 members have them, one red 260 V8 and one blue six cylinder. See member profiles- Christensen and Grabatin.
I know of one that gave its all years ago, a ’63 S22 convertible, 260 V-8, 4-speed. My brother bought it after it had been sideswiped, swapped the engine and transmission into a ’61 Falcon Futura coupe for his first car. That little son-of-a-gun would run!
BTW, Anyone know what S22 stood for?
No but it was smaller than a Meteor S33, which in turn was less car than a Mercury S55.
Very pretty car, I always preferred the 64 or 65 Comets to the original 60-63s but this one converted me. I always forget about the 62 & 63 taillight treatment on the Comets, the 60 & 61s with those slanted slit taillights have that awkward late 50s Ford look to them, and always turned me off the original Comet, which, ironically, the flip side(literally) is what turns me off the Granada due to the prolifically bad 78-80 front end styling unfairly ruining the whole pot. Good example of a midcycle refresh that can actually improve the looks.
XR7Matt,
Look at a 1960 Edsel, the 60-61 Comet has “similar” taillights because it was originally meant as a “junior” model for Edsel. The “thumbnail” photo posted in one of the responses here shows the proposed Junior Edsel front view with it’s twin front grilles.
Mercury got the Comet when Edsel was cancelled.
It was sold for a short time as a Comet before it became a Mercury.
Love everything about the car: black exterior / red interior, the chrome, the style. Love seeing it in motion like this. Awesome catch and pair of photos.
The first occurrence of the American premium compact? Started off on a good note if so. Or would that be the higher-trim Ramblers?
In any case it’s a genre that’s had both extremely low points (Cimarron, or at least the 4-cyl model) and high points (current Buick Verano seems to be quite well regarded).
I own a 61 comet and have for the past 15 years, what a great little car and I might add a head turner at that !
What a pretty little Comet!
1962 Mercury Comet S-22. It looks white but is actually “Jamaica Yellow.” My mother purchased it in 1964 (on the recommendation of her boss). She continued to drive it until 1985 when it became my first car. In 1989 it was in a bad accident, and that was the beginning of the end, although it was still drivable. I last saw it in 1991 in someone’s driveway, not running, and I don’t think it lasted much longer than that.
The S-22 had a beautiful and well crafted interior, with vinyl bucket seats and a sleek console between them. A real “Space Age” design with lots of chromium everywhere. Do you like that Turnpike Cruiser style steering wheel? It was standard on the S-22s.
! YES ! I like it very much .
Would be *much* prettier with a red interior as my white ’61 Comet two door was .
-Nate