The 1960 Ford looked all-new with twin headlights riding in a scalloped-square front clip. The Fairlane was now the base model in the full-sized lineup, along with the Fairlane 500, Galaxie and range-topping Starliner.
The Station Wagon Series continued with Ranch Wagon, Country Sedan and Country Squire models.The elegant Starliner 2-door hardtop was Ford's choice for NASCAR racing. The 1960 fullsize Fords abandoned the ostentatious ornamentation of the 1950s for a futuristic, sleek look.
Round taillights were replaced by half-moon shaped taillights for 1960 only. There were tailfins still, but smaller ones - the focus of Ford's stylists abandoning, as did the rest of the industry, the aviation influences of the previous decade and instead capturing the new obsession - the Space Race.
The Galaxie name was particularly appealing to this trend, it seems. Windshield wipers were extended to cover more of the windshield. Ford also introduced the center rear fuel door lid. Engines offered for 1960 were the 223 cubic inch six and 292 & 352 V8s.
With the change in dimensions from 1959, the New York Times described the 1960 full-size Ford as the "longest, lowest, and widest in the fifty-six year history of the Ford Motor Company." The car ran afoul of regulations in many states, where vehicles wider than eighty inches were typically trucks, which had lighting requirements not mandated for passenger cars.
Another famous car from 1960 is the Ford Thunderbird. Previous models of the Thunderbird failed in the late 1950s due to the price and being marketed as a sports car. This car did not live up to the hype of being marketed on performance which turned off many potential buyers.
However, the 1960 Thunderbird incorporated different features that previous versions did not have. This version had four seats instead of two, making it marketable to families who needed to get around. Ford’s chief body engineer Henry Grebe created a new layout for the car, making it low profile and light, making it attractive to both performance enthusiasts and people with families.
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