Is that new Escort or Fairmont great, but not quite perfect? Well, leaf through Ford’s Accessories Brochure to make that new car feel more like your own! If big-ticket items like new wheels are out of your price range, then more modest accessories such as a digital clock or tape stripes might do the trick. This 1981 brochure shows just what those offerings were for Ford cars.
Manufacturer-supplied accessories were hardly new in the 1980s. In fact, accessory brochures date back to the early decades of automobiles. Early accessory brochures often promoted improvements such as heaters, custom-fit luggage and chrome brightwork. Accessories changed over time, though the pattern remained consistent: manufacturers selling creative new products, luxury merchandise and extra ornamentation for their cars.
This 1981 brochure published by Ford’s Parts and Service Division provides a good overview of common embellishments from 45 years ago. Some of these products – like cruise control and clocks – are universal now, while others seem downright amusing with the passage of time. As a good salesman would say, there’s something for everyone, and for every budget.
Our brochure leads off with floor mats – undoubtedly a popular choice since few cars were equipped with mats from the factory. “Official” mats likes these fit the car exactly and also matched its color. But that coordination didn’t come cheap – carpeted mats ran about $50 for full front and rear sets (about $185 in 2025 dollars).
Thriftier customers could instead opt for universal-fit mats from catalogs or auto parts stores. The above image shows a Montgomery Ward catalog. While Yosemite Sam mats were alluring, a manufacturer’s genuine accessories carried a distinct advantage when it came to fit and appearance. These days, I prefer custom-fit flexible plastic floor mats; they protect car floors from spills and dirt, and last forever. It’s nice to point to a product that’s improved over the years.
Next up we have a few exterior trim pieces to protect cars from dings and scrapes. Seeing the gentleman self-installing those body side moldings makes me wonder how many of those ended up crooked. Mine probably would have.
At the bottom-right we have a steering wheel cover, which happens to be the only kind of dealer accessory I’ve ever purchased.
When my wife and I bought our Honda Odyssey in 2010, we splurged for a steering wheel cover. Of course I was too cheap to have the dealer install it… and being busy with a young family, I kept putting off that minor chore. It never got done. Today, our Odyssey has 170,000 miles on it, and the leather steering wheel cover is still in its box.
Remember life before consoles? I’d be frustrated with an empty space between my bucket seats too, but I doubt I’d have paid between $125 and $200 in 1981 to have a coin-and-cassette holder.
Aftermarket cruise control was popular product in the early ’80s – I remember around that time my father installed a Pep Boys cruise control kit on his 1976 Buick – and I remember my folks remarking how novel it felt to drive without your foot on the gas.
How about a digital clock with “solid state electronics?” As someone obsessed with timeliness, I might have splurged for one of these back in the day.
Next we have a page full of mirrors. The products I find most interesting here are the replacement exterior mirrors – the “elegant European-style mirror” for Fairmonts and Mustangs, and the Escort’s “Racing Mirror.” In the 1970s and ’80s, cars often had exterior mirror options, though I’ve never known anyone to actually yearn for a different exterior mirror design on their car. Regardless, it’s been a long time since car buyers had a choice of mirror designs.
Relatedly, I am somewhat amused that after decades upon decades, carmakers still haven’t developed mirrors that sufficiently cover blind spots.
Here we have air springs and wheels. The air springs photos are interesting because it shows a scene virtually unheard of today – a regular car towing a horse trailer. For people who towed, though, air springs were probably a decent investment. My 2006 Crown Victoria had the optional air suspension, and while I never towed with it, I did enjoy being able to load up the trunk without having the car’s rear end sag.
Now, these wheels and wheel covers are just pure goodness. As for the model, she’s probably about 70 years old now, and I hope she’s kept of copy of this brochure to show her grandkids!
Louvers! Nothing says “1980s” like these accessories. I don’t recall ever being in a car equipped with rear louvers, but I do remember baking in the sun while sitting in the rear seat of a hatchback… wishing the car had louvers.
Tape stripes had their moments of popularity, and it’s now been long enough that we can look back fondly on them. I like the selling point that “you can get special stripes that emphasize the car name” – as if Escort owners really wanted to scream out ESCORT.
Tape stripes owed their popularity to the growth of customized personal-use vans and also tractor trailers during the 1970s, many of which featured bright graphics. I wish I had a color version of the above photo, but we’ll just have to use our imaginations.
Here we have roof racks, available with a ski adapter and bike adapter on the left. On the right is a scene that’s rare these days: People using small cars to haul big things – lumber in this case.
This is my favorite page in the brochure, with several things that would be viewed as downright odd in the 21st century. Trunk racks disappeared about 30 years ago, but even in the 1980s one rarely saw them actually carrying luggage. I often thought it odd that people would pay to have these installed when virtually no one used them. Maybe they agreed with this brochure’s claim that the racks added a “touch of style?”
The picture on the right of the man tying down luggage atop his Country Squire is amusing as well. One almost never sees loose luggage on a roof rack now – in fact, was that ever common? I suppose folks were awfully confident that they wouldn’t encounter rain. But I also like this man’s choice of luggage that went on top. A bag with a tennis racket sticking out… and what looks like his wife’s toiletry kit. That one’s somewhat doubtful in real life. I recall my mother had a similar toiletry kit, and on the rare times when we traveled, dad had to be extremely careful to place it where nothing would bang it, and also where it would stay out of the sunshine so that mom’s makeup wouldn’t melt.
I was surprised to see a suction cup cargo carrier that the lady on the bottom-right is using to happily load a suitcase on her Mustang… and even more surprised to learn that suction cup carriers are still used for things like bike and ski racks. It’s something I’ve never noticed before. I do wonder if those suction cups leave marks on the paint if left on for a long time, though.
Cargo security covers like the one on the left are commonplace now, but in the early 1980s this was a sensational advancement.
As far as I can tell, the first mass-marketed cargo cover debuted on AMC’s Pacer. Offered as a relatively affordable option ($33 in 1977), Pacer’s cargo cover consisted of a form-fitted hard plastic shelf hinged in the middle. While this didn’t appear to be a popular option on Pacers, the idea certainly took off – usually made of lighter-weight materials.
On the right of the brochure page is another product that was just becoming popular at the time – hard shell cargo carriers. The example above looks rather large on the diminutive red Escort.
Clamshell carriers were popularized in the 1970s by Sears. This 1973 Sears Catalog excerpt is from one of the product’s earlier years – within a few years Sears began marketing these under the X-Cargo brand, a name that endures today.
Here’s another fun page. We’ll start on the top-right where we see an anti-theft door lock button… intended to thwart criminals who used coat hangers to lift door locks. I’m not quite sure how this worked – my guess is that an outer cylinder fit over the factory door lock, and was spring-loaded, thereby increasing the force and dexterity required to manually pull the lock up.
On the top-left is another interesting anti-theft gadget. I’ve never seen a keypad-activated anti-theft system in person, but I imagine this had some appeal in the early 1980s, when car thefts were high in many places. At that time, it was common for car dealers and service stations to sell and install anti-theft devices of some kind or another. Often these involved having an extra lock somewhere in order to operate the car – though many drivers wouldn’t bother with such systems after they were installed. A keypad would be seen as more high tech than an extra key, and therefore more appealing to many.
Keypad anti-theft systems were rare, but they did exist. Here’s an ad – with a bit more description – of one such system marketed at the same time. Many anti-theft systems ended up being mostly visual deterrents, and accordingly, a fancy-looking keypad would likely deter a fair proportion of would-be thieves.
The three accessories on the bottom row of the brochure page (spare tire lock, block heater and transmission oil cooler) are items still commonly found today.
Now we have the Family Protection section of the brochure, consisting of a portable spotlight (good idea to have) and a few prehistoric-looking child-safety devices. The infant carrier is a similar (though easier to clean) version of what’s used today, though few babies get to ride in the front seat any longer.
That Tot-Guard seat on the bottom-right though looks ridiculous. The girl in the photo appears way too old to be pinned beneath such a contraption, and the “safety seat” looks as dangerous is it would be uncomfortable. Parents who bought one of these for their tots probably received quite a few complaints from the little ones.
The Child Safety Lock in the top-right is another curiosity. This contraption apparently locked in place, and once installed prevented the door from being opened from the inside or outside. Chances are, this safety lock was inconvenient to use, so I imagine it appealed to only the safety-obsessed, or parents whose kids were compulsive door-unlockers.
We’ll polish off our tour of Ford accessories by looking at car care products. I’ve often wondered who would buy products like glass cleaner or wax from a car dealership’s parts counter, when the same product undoubtedly cost much less at a general retailer. But I suppose there were enough people who bought these products to make them worthwhile for dealers to stock.
Much has changed in the last four decades, but car manufacturers are still happy to supply customers with accessories. While the products themselves have evolved just like the cars they’re designed for, many of the categories have remained the same. Car buyers can equip their vehicles with roof racks, floor mats and special wheels just like they did in 1981. No touchpad alarm systems or crazy child seats, though. It’s fun to look through these modern offerings and imagine what folks 45 years from now will chuckle at from today’s accessories catalogs.
Day/night rearview mirror didn’t come standard on Fords?
Probably not standard on base Escorts and/or Couriers.
Says all Ford cars!?!
Eric, you always go the extra nine yards, with your articles, and research. Thanks for all this trouble, including scanning the brochure. This is really neat, and a great time capsule, as to what accessories were popular at the time.
A fair amount of cheap junky third party stuff, you’d also see at places like Canadian Tire, here in Canada. Or J.C.Whitney. Mixed in with quality parts, or parts specific to Fords. Or licensed by Ford. I’m thinking on some of these products, the warranty would be through the third party companies, not Ford. I’m not sure, speculating.
I don’t recall Ford using the ‘Optima’ typeface anywhere, during that era, as part of their brand. Lends a third-party feel. Being 1980, I find the brochure has a late ’70’s vibe. You can tell this brochure was prepared, well before the desktop-publishing era. Text is typeset.
The self-adhesive body graphics here, I never saw anywhere on the street. Very ’70’s. lol
Actor George Maharis (or his stunt double), changing the flat on the Granada. lol
The man on page 5, adhering the bodyside molding, I am sure I saw at the time on packaging for this manufacturer. As sold in retail stores. A stock image.
I hadn’t noticed that the font was different from other Ford brochures, but what struck me was the significant amount of blank (white) space on many of the pages. It would seem to be an easy fix to make the images larger, or even have one image serve as a background image. It does seem like Ford didn’t exactly go all-out on this brochure’s design.
A consistent design grid, was used to design and layout, this brochure. The white negative space is intentional, and was commonly employed in brochure/magazine design. The grid ensures the brochure had a consistent look and feel.
The design is very typical for the era. Very predictable, and cost-effective to produce. The fact it was printed in full-colour, would have added to the printing cost.
Perhaps one of the best known uses of the Optima typeface, was in the logo for the 1967 World’s Fair.
I’m not a graphic designer by any means, but to my untrained eye the excessive white space is unappealing. I suppose it didn’t matter too much with an accessories brochure, but I find the approach below (from as 1981 Escort brochure) to be a more pleasing use of negative space – enlarging the photo, and using a text box.
When I first studied graphic design in the late ’80’s, it was referred to as the ‘Swiss Design Grid’. Very common and popular in magazine page and advertising layout, since the ’50’s and ’60’s. And continuing today. Using negative space, and asymmetrical layouts, to increase interest for viewers/readers.
The intent was not to fill the entire page with photos, illustrations, and typography. As it would become static and predictable. Rather to balance those elements creatively, with white space. Using modular grids, which later worked well with popular desktop publishing page layout programs, like Quark Xpress. Designed to work with the grid-based page layout approach.
Thanks for all the information – never knew this was an intentional style.
I am still getting mailers from Dodge inviting me to order fabulous accessories for the Charger. I am kind of tempted to pop for some door sill guards, to cover the vulnerable plastic which is all Stellantis provides in the way of door sills.
When we bought our Honda Fit, the car only came in 4 varieties – standard or Sport, manual or automatic. We had the dealer install several accessories, like a vinyl cargo cover, a protective decal for the top of the back bumper, and all-weather floor mats that actually required mounting hardware. In the modern world there are custom-fit aftermarket mats, like from Weather Tech. I bought a set for the Charger.
I wonder when the last compass or tissue dispenser was offered.
I’m a big fan of WeatherTech mats. Just yesterday I hosed ours off (try that with carpet!), and they’ve saved countless frustrations with spills, dirty boots, etc.
This was so great. The red floor mats (front *and* rear) made our ’84 Tempo (still three years away from this brochure’s model year) seem a little fancy!
A popular aftermarket accessories at the time, I’m surprised isn’t here, were driving lights. The cheap sets cost under $30.00 Cdn. Quality Hella or Cibie sets, starting around $90.00 Cdn.
The full width gold floor mats (D), are the exact same as the ones my dad bought at Canadian Tire circa 1976, for his ’69 Ranch Wagon. These old style mats, with no raised outer lip, were useless for trapping slush and salt.
‘Stop Rust before it Starts.’
These plastic/vinyl mud flaps often started rust, because of the machine screws used to drill into fenders to hold them in place. Countless cars would show rust streaks down the back of the mud flaps. Where the screw holes were drilled. Especially noticeable on white mud flaps. Besides white mud flaps appearing the automotive equivalent of wearing a white leather belt.
Pic.
Daniel ;
What white mud flaps and belt are okay as long as you get white shoes too…….
I like the two tone Escort too, I didn’t find the base model a bad car in spite of it’s obvious cheap short cuts .
-Nate
I remember it was a struggle for my Dad to find a Honda dealership that offered the 5 speed 82 Accord sedan that became my first car ten years later, without the accesory trunk luggage rack or the top tier dealer installed tape deck not “pre installed because it makes you happier with the car plus we know better.”
And it took him a lot of arguing to get them to install the analog clock he liked versus digital one for some unknown reason. And despite the Honda having all types of standard equipment, he likely paid way too much for the right door rear view mirror that was only available s as a dealer installed accessory. Otherwise it would not have matched.
I’ve never seen a trunk luggage rack being used, and I loved that analog clock because it had a seconds hand unlike the throw back analog clocks that were popular in some luxury cars recently.
I can’t remember actually seeing a trunk luggage rack being used, but I did find a family photo of such a thing. I came across this picture recently of my wife’s parents’ Mustang loaded down for a family trip in the early 1970s. My wife and her brother were little kids at the time.
A clamshell carrier on the roof, and the spare tire on the trunk luggage rack (presumably so that more trunk space could be used for luggage). Traveling like this is a good indication that you may need a bigger car!
I had experience with the Ford TotGuard child seat, with both my niece (in the early Seventies) and a girlfriend’s child a few years later. I don’t know how safe they were by modern standards … not much to keep the kid from being ejected in a rollover … but they were easy to use. And very easy to clean, as any parent would appreciate. They had completely disappeared by the time our kids came along 10-15 years later.
That’s interesting that you have experience with these. It looks like a punishment for a kid to sit in there, but it really doesn’t look too safe to me. Since the seat belt fastens around the outer seat structure, I’d assume that in the event of an accident, the kid could fly around quite a bit since there’s nothing actually restraining her directly. I’m no expert on such things, but to me the safety aspect looks a bit skeptical.
But easy to clean… yes. I remember car seats and all their upholstered padding and many crevices were awful to clean if they got messy. Which of course they often did.
One selling point for Genuine Accessories is that if they’re purchased at the time of sale, they can be folded into the financing. Especially useful for more expensive accessories.
Nowadays, you can find knockoffs so cheap that I can’t find a reason to buy (most of) the genuine parts. I wanted a retractable cargo cover for a new-to-me Mazda. The Genuine Mazda part has an MSRP of $249, and you can find it online for $185. The knockoffs can be found for under $50.
Good point. I recall when we purchased our Kia Sedona in 2018 it seemed that most Kias had a few “accessories” like pin striping or mud guards applied at the Port, and they were on the window sticker. Our car has mud guards, a bug shield and a tow hitch (the mud guards are nice, the tow hitch is nice to have but I wouldn’t have intentionally sought it out, and I didn’t really care for the bug shield)… I suppose it’s a way to get people to spend a little bit more.
Car companies rightly determined that selling accessories is a big money maker, and owners often want to make their cars unique.
My father had an alarm installed on our 86 Mazda 626 GT with that style of keypad. We had classic cars in the garage so our new cars had to sit outside. He was worried about car theft but we never had any issue. It was a 5-speed which may have detered some thieves even then.
Passenger side mirrors were still optional at least into the 80s. Many cars now have integrated mud flaps or body extensions but I still see them as options when I build cars online. Years ago cars often had a lot of tumblehome so a large portion of the lower body was prey to rock damage. About this time OEMs started putting the rock protection there and painting over it.
I bemoan the loss of body side moldings as standard equipment. In the 80s and beyond moldings were standard and part of the design. I believe the studios hate them so make cars without them now – you have to pay extra to avoid door dings.
Still have an empty clamshell left over from the 90s hanging from the garage ceiling joists for over 20 years. Since nothing has gutters nowadays the clamshell is a great place to throw stuff I might need to forget about but can’t yet throw out.
That big black remote control sail mirror is exactly what I want stuck to the side of my Mustang. Would make the car look very aerodynamic.
The last time I can recall seeing a roof rack used was Clark Griswold’s 79 Country Squire. It has been that long. Now my wagon also has a roof rack but I can assure you nothing will ever be carried on top.
I remember those 3 spoke aluminum rims that used those oddball Michelin TRX tires. What a great idea that was…
I had the automatic dimming mirror installed on my 2016 Civic. The dealer had it their accessories list. The car at the EX-T Coupe trim level did not come standard with it and only had the day/night flip switch thingy. The EX-L had the auto-dimming mirror standard, and even though my Civic was the next trim level down, the wiring was already there for it.
The reason I wanted it? – Every car since my ’88 T-Bird had this feature, and I did not like going back to the flip-switch.
First world problems.
I had to smile looking at the wheel options in the Ford brochure.
My 79 Mustang had the TRX suspension option with the TRX wheels and Michelin tires. I doubt anyone bought the TRX wheels to spice up their Ford. The tires were very expensive back then and my observation from 1979 on was anyone who wore out the TRX rubber ended up buying less-expensive tires. A situation I never encountered as my Mustang was traded after our first daughter was born.
Says all Ford cars!
Great article, Eric!
The guy loading lumber on top of the Escort appears to be the same fellow laying suitcases on top of the LTD Wagon. He looks like Robert Goulet’s younger brother. And all I can say is that Sir Lancelot there probably should secure those things on the wagon with more than that one string or bungee that he seems to be using. Even my dad figured that out (after nearly losing one at 70 mph on the Interstate. Suitcase held up – it was a Samsonite, after all – but it put a hell of a dent in the side of the car as it fell off and repeatedly bashed the side of the car until he could pull over).
Anti-theft door lock buttons? I mean, basically those were just smooth side buttons versus the ones that had the flared tops. I remember when the “anti-theft” ones became standard equipment. I thought it was a bummer since I was really very very good at opening locked cars with a coat hanger. After everything went to anti-theft (which was around about the time I was in college), I became that much less useful to friends and acquaintances.
Thanks for pointing out that it’s the same guy in those shots – I’m far better at identifying cars than people, so that never occurred to me. I’m going to give young Mr. Goulet the benefit of the doubt and say that he just hadn’t gotten around to the other bungee cords yet…
I guess I’m overthinking the anti-theft door lock buttons. The picture makes it seem like something more interesting than it is!
Curious that all the accessories depicted in the brochure are those that can be added by the dealer. No factory only options like A/C, heavy duty suspension, big engines, power windows, seats are listed. The cruise control shown is some cheesy affair snapped onto the turn signal stalk with a wire running somewhere. Definitely not a factory deal.
Our 1994 Subaru Legacy L (the right hand drive one intended for rural mail carriers) had dealer-fit cruise control with an identical stalk. Fitted to the steering column with some kind of ball joint that meant it could stand at some crazy angles and with a rubber gaiter to hide any holes. Surprisingly for an electrical accessory it worked perfectly for around 10 years before giving up the ghost.
Good article. Other than eBay, is there any other sites where one can find pre-owned or NOS accessories? I have a few for my Cadillac but I know of a member whose Caddy came with a Flashlight with Cadillac ‘medallion’ on the end of it and a dashboard ‘compass’. If I lived in the US, I would simply visit one of your massive shows, but living at the bottom of the world, we are restricted on huge car part events.
> Relatedly, I am somewhat amused that after decades upon decades, carmakers still haven’t developed mirrors that sufficiently cover blind spots.
They have, but they’re not legal in the US. Here, the driver side mirror must be flat, and the passenger side is allowed some convex curvature as long as the famous “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear”. But elsewhere in the world you can get aspherical mirrors, which are slightly convex except for the most outward inch and a half, which is very convex. I’m not sure if these are allowed on the driver’s side in most markets, but by combining EU and UK (RHD) market parts you can get aspherical mirrors on both sides. I have them on my VW Golf and love them. Just be sure to get the OEM parts and not cheap knockoffs which usually distort the view around the “bent” portion, and also avoid the aftermarket blue-tinted mirrors. You do need to adjust to everything in both mirrors being closer than they appear (the blind-spot warning light on the mirrors, and a vibrating steering wheel if you ignore the light) helps, but the “bent” portion does a great job of letting you see if there is or isn’t a car in the next lane while barely turning my head.