Let’s revisit the father of the brougham epoch, as it’s known at CC; the Ford LTD. As it often happens with successful ideas, it’s educational to look at its foundations; since they tend to become distorted beyond recognition in later iterations. Was there real goodness to the ‘brougham’ well before being known as such? By measurable numbers, the answer was yes.
For starters, the LTD was a trim package for the Galaxie 500 when launched in 1965. And not surprisingly, Car And Driver just expected to discover a tarted up Ford during testing. It turned out there was more to the vehicle, with Dearborn having done its work to make the LTD feel like no other Ford before. Buyers at the time did feel the difference from previous years, and while the as-quiet-as-a-Rolls Royce ads may have struck some as questionable, there was truth to the idea of ‘accessible luxury’ the LTD offered.
Talking about the LTD’s quietness, there was more than sound deadening material to the equation. Ford had studied new methods to mount body and frame; locating contact points where road noises might pick up and resonate, and studiously engineering mount location to counter such effects. Funnily enough, apparently Ford’s Rolls-Royce campaign almost never happened, as there was ‘displeasure with the results’ on the independently run tests. Fear of the public finding the claims risible made Ford’s marketers hesitant of the idea, at first.
Suspension had been updated as well. The long running leaf springs used since 1949 were replaced at the rear, with coil springs and parallel trailing arms. Up front, the suspension was now nearly identical to Lincoln’s, although it found less favor than the rear’s set up. In general, testers found a car that ‘handles very well for a 4,000-lb, 119-inch wheelbase automobile, and gobbles up distance at a deceivingly rapid rate.’ The old Ford habits of ‘poor adhesion under braking and acceleration’ were found to be missing.
Base price for the LTD was $3,313, but Car And Driver’s sample came at a lofty $4,560, which was ‘a great deal of money for a Ford.’ That total included 16 optional items, with the $363.80 air conditioner being the costliest. The test’s LTD was powered by the 390-in, 300HP mill found on the Thunderbird, with plenty of torque to handle the LTD’s heft. As a sign of the times, consumption was found ‘reasonable’ at 13-16 mpg. However, Ford’s Cruise-O-Matic fared poorly against the competition’s.
Car And Driver doesn’t spend much time detailing the upscale options in their LTD; but the car’s ergonomics get a decent pass, and general assembly and material quality is commended.
Back to Rolls Royce comparisons; the LTD and those Ford ads certainly left their mark. At home, Mother talked about the LTD as an expensive and exclusive car; which impressed me as a child and struck me as funny as a teen. Of course, I was missing the point of the LTD at both ages; I grew up admiring Mustangs and GTOs, cars for the young. My parents admired LTDs, cars for grown ups. The LTD was part of a rising trend, where luxury was now ‘accessible.’ An enticing proposal to those who grew during the depths of Depression and WWII.
Mother knew she would never have a Rolls Royce or Mercedes, but the idea of getting a bit of a ‘taste,’ at reasonable cost, was powerfully alluring. And the LTD’s sales numbers showed it, as the model became a marketing coup for Ford. As Car And Driver states, the LTD was ‘not only a vast improvement over earlier Fords… it is good enough to hold its head up in any medium-priced car comparison.’ One ominous warning though: ‘…the LTD has been a hot item this year. We only wonder what it may do to Mercury sales.’
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1965 Ford LTD – It Launched The Great Brougham Epoch
Another ‘stunning’ mid 1960s 4 door pillarless hardtop. Simply love these ‘65 Galaxie 4 door hardtops, in either LTD or 500 trim. Lovely car and that 4 door hardtop body is unique when compared with todays conventional ‘B’ pillared shoe box SUVs.
Absolutely agree! See my post. Can’t stand Cadillac, Lincoln, and any other SUVS and crossovers being considered a luxury vehicle! 🤮. I will drive my Town Car to the grave!
My grandparents proudly owned a Galaxie sedan, very nicely trimmed, in medium blue. It was always a delight for me as a child to wash the gravel road dirt away for them, although I remember accidentally blasting paint off a rear quarter panel with the garden hose from rust that began when it was only about 3 years old. Their elderly farm neighbor a couple of miles away had an even nicer Galaxie XL two door hardtop with all options, in a gold color. I was the happiest kid in the world to have the privilege to sit in it a few times…. even happier to realize the old guy refrained from smoking his cigars in it so it would keep that new car smell as long as possible. Among my fondest childhood memories and the start of my long fascination with vintage mid-sixties cruisers. The 65’s will always have a place in my virtual garage.
Memories mean more with each passing year! So happy you shared yours. For my trip down memory lane, check my post! 😎
My grandfather had a 65 Galaxie XL, gold, auto transmission, 352 engine, 2 door, “because they were quieter”. It was a sweet ride imo, he let me drive it before going into the service. The vehicle went somewhere when I was in the service unfortunately. A nice ride.
As one who grew up when these were thick on the ground, it is difficult to overstate how different the 1965+ big Ford felt from the 1964 and earlier versions. While things like engines and transmissions may have carried over, virtually everything else was new. These cars felt differently, sounded differently and drove differently. Everything you touched or felt on the older cars was thick and heavy, while everything on the new one was crisp and light.
With 60 years of hindsight, I have very little other than a nostalgic fondness for these (based on my father’s 66 Country Squire and my 67 convertible), but they were very satisfying daily drivers in their time.
In early 80s, I purchased a 72 LTD convert in great shape except for drivers seat and convertible top. A local glass and trim shop (try to find one today) did a great job on restoration. The only car I ever owned when with seat back ,I could not reach the pedals and still have leg room in rear seat 👍. And that beautiful behemoth could burn rubber ! Never should have let it go!
Wasnt the ’64 basically a ’57 underneath? Chevy also carried its ’58 chassis thru ’64.
The 65 LTD was the first and best of the big three offerings of affordable luxury. As a teenager, I always gravitated to Luxury vehicles rather than sports and muscle cars. The limo like roof and formal styling screamed LUXURY. The list of standard features and quiet ride plus luxurious interior was right on target. Among my numerous vehicles, my 1989 Crown Victoria LX (a direct descendant of the LTD) held it’s own with Cadillac RWD FLEETWOODS, Fifth Avenues, and TOWN CARS. When rear-ended at a stop light, only one small dent was put into rear CHROME bumper while impact virtually destroyed driver’s seat. White with plush red velvet interior and LX formal roof, it was pure class. Currently have beautiful low mileage 2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited. Best available at time of purchase. Do not recall where, but a recent article referred to these last generation Town Cars as the American ROLLS-ROYCE! Totally agree 👍! Now even those are no longer being produced. Perhaps LTD could also stand for Live The Dream 🤔! FMCS biggest mistake was NOT the EDSEL, but discontinuing traditional American luxury sedans. 😎
A friend’s parents had a 1965 Ltd and I was stunned how luxurious it was. Sumptuous seats, smooth ride and little niceties like rear seat speakers in the sail panels. Maybe not Cadillac luxury, but equal to Olds 98, Buick Electra or Chrysler New Yorker. The 390 was at its strongest, with a whopping 427 ft.lbs. of torque, before becoming emasculated in subsequent years. Quite the package.
Ford pulled off its restyle well, the blocky styling coming off as crisp and elegant. But over at Chevrolet, its coke bottle restyle was a sensation. An astounding million plus Impalas alone were sold, a staggering number that has never been surpassed for any vehicle model.
Yeah, I also love the ’65 – ’70 Impala/Caprice models. Absolutely stunning cars in my book. And I was born in ’65 so didn’t even have a chance to see them on the road as new cars. That’s a testament to how well styled and built these model Chevrolets and Fords were.
And Brazilians liked the 1965-66 Galaxie/LTD although they only got the 4-door sedan and keep it to the early 1980s.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-picks-of-the-day-1972-ford-ltd-landau-and-1973-ltd-brazilian-style/
Hi,
Yes, the 1965 Ford is iconic. All models are beautiful with the Country Squire wagon being my favorite! A true American classic.
As a teenager, I loved these new LTDs. They were a huge marketing success for Ford as adults around me were pretty respectful when someone bought one: “Wow, an LTD, they’re moving up in the world.” Wages were going up and people had the money for something extra. The model name was brilliant with a luster that lasted quite a few years until it was diluted and applied to a variety of Fords of zero distinction. A Chrysler-loving uncle was converted when my aunt bought a new 66 LTD coupe like the one on the brochure cover except two-toned, Raven Black over Vintage Burgundy (painted top – no vinyl, which I thought looked great). Even with the base 289 and few options, it was a quiet, elegant car that turned heads at the time. We had a 1965 Thunderbird during these years and the LTD compared very well for the money. The aunt’s 66 also was a very good car that she kept for ten years. I think the styling for 66 was a great improvement over the 65, much more refined and detailed, especially the coupe with the reverse slant rear window lifted from the Grand Prix. And look at those great wheel covers!
Having written that, a woman I worked with at my high school job was married to a dealer who got one of the very first 1965 Chevrolet Caprices, a four-door hardtop in dark blue with a black vinyl top. She threw me the keys and said “Take it for a drive – you’ll be impressed, it’s more like a Cadillac than a Chevrolet.” First, it was an extraordinary car for the time, with what appeared to be every option in the book, from power windows and seats and A/C to the wonderful am/fm radio with power rear antenna and the “reverb” sound system. And that interior was really elegant, with fake wood that looked more real than that on the LTD and a really beautifully patterned cloth upholstery trimmed in vinyl. Was it as quiet as the LTD? I have no idea as I was blasting 60’s rock on that radio the whole time! Best of all, the Caprice had the 396 and could really move. And I loved the styling of the 1965 Chevrolet then and still do today. Good times for the US auto industry, the mid-60s! It seemed like everyone we knew was getting a new car and I couldn’t get enough of the excitement.
I meant concave rear window – not the Breezeway on the Continentals and Mercurys!
The closest I could get when ordering our annual promo from Ford was this 66 7 Litre that illustrates that great rear roofline.
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Is this a promo or did you build this from a model kit? Either way, a very good looking sample.
Built from a kit. Thanks.
Interesting the comment on the handling and how the car would cycle on bumps and similar to the 65 Thunderbird. I recently bought a 65 ‘bird and notice the exact same thing. But now, instead of wondering WTH, I can accept it as at least somewhat normal behavior.
Thanks for sharing the old reviews
Yes, the ’65 Ford LTD is a great looking and quality car. It’s also a milestone vehicle in that as you suggest, it started the Brougham revolution and the bringing forth of luxury to the masses on a large scale! And Chevy wasn’t far behind in recognizing a good thing in this when they introduced the Caprice option package for the ’65 Impala. The ’65 LTD looked good in all forms to me: four door, two door and convertible. Just a very classy car.
While the ’65 LTD was a rousing success, it might have been a failure in one significant way: it began the trend of manufacturers offering brougham cars in the cheaper, less profitable bottom end of the auto market.
In fact, the whole idea of a lower-tier, luxury model having a big impact on a company’s bottom line might have come to a head with the 1971 Chevy Caprice (a GM Deadly Sin, no less) which, to many, was way too close to a way cheaper Cadillac.
And that whole trend began with the 1965 Ford LTD, with the big difference being that the LTD at least did not ‘look’ like a middle or upper tier Mercury or Lincoln.
It happened on both ends of the spectrum, as Cadillac cheapened their cars starting in 1967, narrowing the gap between a low end Cadillac and a Caprice or LTD.
“Luxury” was in the process of being commodified, with an accompanying loss of prestige. That now required a Mercedes or such.
Yes, there was a car mag article, I cant remember which magazine, that did a test of a fully optioned out ’67 Chevy that stickered for more than the most basic Cadillac. Sloan ladder totally collapsed.
1969, took my driving test in the families ’68 LTD. Had a 352 in it and later found that it topped out at 114 mph.
My ! With all of these recent articles about the new 1965 Ford , they could probably sell these all over again ! Looks like a lot of research went into the design and development of the first LTD s. They were , also the costliest Ford ( not including the Lincolns ) , ever produced at that time ! Apparently , it paid off as sales increased to near record figures . Fords Motto for ’65 was ” Your ahead in a Ford all the way!” Happy Motoring !