Форд Зефир: Британдық автокөліктің тарихы мен эволюциясы

The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their replacement by the Consul and Granada models in 1972. Initially, the four cylinder version was named Ford Consul, but from 1962, both four and six cylinder versions were named Zephyr.

The Mark I Ford Consul and Zephyr models were first displayed at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1950. They were the first mass produced British cars to use the MacPherson strut independent front suspension, which is widely used today. Production began with the Consul on 1 January 1951. The Mark I model ran until 1956. From April 1956, the Mark II Consul, Zephyr, and Zodiac went on sale and were known as the Three Graces. The Mark II range was popular, and finished its run in 1962, when from April that year the Mark III Zephyr 4, Zephyr 6, and Zodiac went on sale. The Consul name was dropped, with the car's place in the Ford UK line up being filled by the first four cylinder Ford Zephyr. While the Mark II Zephyr and Zodiacs had shared the same body (the Consul had shorter front guards and bulkhead), the new Zodiac and Zephyrs launched in 1962 shared few body panels. With the Mark III, Ford finally sorted out problems that had beset previous models (Mark I axles and Mark II gearboxes were particular weaknesses) and the Mark III proved to be popular and the most durable of the range. The model sold at a rate equal to or better than the Mark II, both in the UK and overseas, but was in production for a shorter time. During the last months of production, an upmarket Executive version was added to the Mark III range. The Mk III range was discontinued in January 1966, and the completely new Zephyr/Zodiac Mark IV range was released in April 1966. This car's design anticipated the later Consul/Granada range with V type engines and independent rear suspension, but the development of the model was rushed, which was reflected in its durability. It was one of the first medium priced cars to feature rear disc brakes. The Zephyr was the last car to be independently designed by Ford of Britain; closer integration with Ford Werke of Cologne had already started with both the Transit and Escort, and the replacement Consul/Granada would be a genuine pan European effort. Although the Ford Zephyr never saw American production, a very limited number were imported into the U. S., and the name itself has appeared on other American Ford related cars. The first use of the Zephyr name was in 1936 with the Lincoln Zephyr a smaller companion to the full sized Lincoln sedan sold at the time, followed in the late 1970s with the Mercury Zephyr, an upscale version of the Ford Fairmont. The Lincoln Zephyr name was resurrected for a new model in 2006, but was changed to Lincoln MKZ the following year.

In Australia, the Mark II Consul, Zephyr, and Zodiac were built at Ford Australia's factory in Geelong. Sedan, coupe utility [more commonly abbreviated to "Ute"], and both four cylinder Consul and six cylinder Zephyr station wagon versions were produced. No Zodiac version station wagons were offered. The Australian developed Mark II Station Wagon differed from its British Estate Car counterpart in having a wind up rear window, and a straight C pillar, rather than a curved one. A handful of Station Wagons were registered in 1958, but sales did not really commence until about halfway through 1959. Also, the Australian designed and developed ute version differed significantly in its cab design and rear panels to that of its British counterpart. Mark II manufacture continued until 1962, when production switched to the assembly of Mark IIIs from imported complete knock down (CKD) kits.

In November 1966, the manufacturers announced a plan to introduce an "export special" version of the Zephyr Mk IV combining the 3.0 L engine of the Zodiac with other specifications largely following those of the existing Zephyr. This 3.0 litre model was quickly adopted by Ford New Zealand, which had originally launched the Mk IV Zephyr assembled locally from CKD kits with the 2.5 litre V6 (no Zephyr 4 this time) and received complaints it was underpowered for a country where towing boats and caravans was common. Ford New Zealand also introduced optional floor gear shift and bucket seats as an alternative to the standard column shift and bench front seat, and a large number of Zephyrs were built in this form, with other modifications, for New Zealand's traffic police. The Zodiac was also again assembled in New Zealand with both bench and bucket front seats and Zodiacs from about 1967 also had the walnut dashboard from the U. K. market Executive. An automatic transmission was optional with both the Zephyr and Zodiac. The local Mark IV line did not include the Zephyr Deluxe version available in the UK, was not as popular as the Mark III, and was outsold by the now much wider, locally built Australian Falcon range. Production ended in 1972, and the Consul and Granada replacements introduced in the UK were never officially imported into New Zealand. South African Zephyrs and Zodiacs all received the 3.0 litre "Export" engine beginning with the 1968 model year. This also included replacing the earlier Zephyr Super with the new Zephyr de luxe, which received the dummy grille as on European cars.