1960 Comet The Beginning

The Ford Motor Company, introduced the new Comet to the public on March 17th, 1960. FoMoCo had originally intended to market the Comet as an Edsel, but the Edsel production was abruptly halted and the Comet was almost lost.

This was a time when the Ford Motor Company was beginning to have great luck with the Ford Falcon. The Mercury division did not wnat to be left out of this important part of the automotive industry, yet they did not have a car that could compete with the new compact cars that were rapidly coming on the automotive market. The executives at the FoMoCo Mercury division jumped at the chance to retrieve the Comet and convinced the FoMoCo executives to turn the Comet over and market it as a new line in the Mercury division.

1960 Comet 2-door sedan (Private Collection of D. Hendricks)

The Comet, that was originally tagged as an Edsel, was stripped of all Edsel nametags, plates, etc…, but the Mercury division did not have the time to redesign or retool new nameplates with the Mercury name, so the Comet was marketed as a separate marque for the years of 1960 and 1961. This is the reason the Mercury name is nowhere to be found on the 1960 or 61 Comet. Even the cars data plates are void of the Mercury name.

The Edsel styling traits were however, visible throughout the 1960-61 Comet. Items like the front parking and turn signals were the same parts as used on the 1959 Edsel. The 1960-61 Comet also used the interior dash knobs from the Edsel. The tail light lenses on the Comet bear a great resemblance to the Edsel lenses of the later years.

The Comet actually began as an elongated Ford Falcon with major sheet metal differences. Like the Falcon, the Comet was designed with a “unibody” construction and suspension that closely resembled the up and coming Ford Mustang.

The 1960 Comet had a sleek, stylish body, with a grille similar to the full sized Mercury, and distinctive slanted taillight lenses integrated into the rear fins on the sedans. Full length chrome trim was placed on the body sides, giving the 1960 Comet a clean, classic look. The front turn signals were embedded in the front bumper and would remain so for several years.