We got our first LTD in 1975. Previously we had Galaxies. When I asked my dad what LTD stood for he said "son, that stands for Long Term Debt"I thought he must be right.

Hey, I was also a dishwasher at Big Boy in the early 80s. My family's first experience with an LTD was around '83 when my brother and I bought a '74 for less than $200. It needed a water pump but the owner thought the block was cracked. It was exactly like the one on Streets of San Francisco. We grew up on Chevys but the way the doors closed on the LTD (among a few other things) was enough to convert the whole family to Ford. That gold LTD was a great car! Thanks for the memories

My dad's first new car was a '69 LTD. When he asked the salesman what LTD stood for, the answer was "Long Term Debt".

When I was a kid our family car was a ‘68 LTD Country Squire with a 390. Grandma also had a ‘68 LTD Country Squire but with a 302. In the 80’s I drove a ‘76 LTD sedan with a 400 and a beautiful brocade interior. We always thought LTD meant “Limited”.

Thanks for class on LTDs. Back when you didn't need airbags . Cars were so long. Lol!!!

My dad had a 67 Ltd with the 390 he loved that car

I always wanted to be in a Quinn Martin detective drama series driving a Lincoln or Mercury

I've had two LTD's, a 76 4 door with the windsor, and a 77 wagon with the 351MV400.

40 years ago, here in Finland, I had -67 with 428. I was 4 d hardtop. I just loved that car. I had put all my money to it, it was fast and comfortable, and a chick magnet. I met my now wife with it. Then I had to continue studies and had to sell it. I confess that I cried. A lot. It was repainted baby blue(originally green metallic), had original everything, but as it was originally bought by a big forest company CEO, he apparently knew exactly what to order: The 428, C6, 9" axle with LS, but only driver's side electric bench movement, manual windows, no AC, extra large fuel tank, "police" suspension, so it was meant to move, no extra weight. And it did. Even with the tall gearing, it was about 6 seconds to 60 mph (6,5 to 100 kmh), but it sure liked the fuel... As the chassis was modern, it handled well. But I never used it in the winter, I had a "winter car" for that. I thought that the LTD stands for "Limited" as it most propably does. The roof of the 4d hardtop looked like removable as it was bolted at the rear, like the car was sort of convertible, but the windshield area did not look like that, and I did not want to spoil the headliner to find out. I am actually afraid that it still exixts, because I would have to buy it back...

I had a pale green with the dark green vinyl top 73 two door as a high school senior in 1980. Mom and Dad had a 77 Country Squire in medium blue and later a white 79 Country Squire. Too many long road trips to remember.

My dad bought a 1973 Thunderbird and a 1974 LTD four-door at the same time for a total of $5,000. To this day I still have the Thunderbird. It's got a 460 and it gets a lot of compliments. Thank you for a great video!

My mom had a blue 71 LTD 4 door. I remember that car quite fondly. I was born in 69 and that was the car that brought me home from the hospital. Unfortunately, it was stolen and wrecked in 77.

We had four across a twenty-nine year span. Quiet, well built, reliable, and beautiful. From a Vintage Burgundy 2 door hardtop in 65 to a Diamond Blue 68 2 door with black vinyl top and Brougham interior then to a 77 2 door in black with Dove Gray interior and finally to an 86 LTD Crown Victoria in Dark Canyon Red. My family traveled thousands of miles and experienced the freedom, comfort and luxury these wonderful cars brought to us. The last one we kept for nearly 30 years. We got to experience America through the windows of those symbols of freedom. I'm not certain people today can comprehend how close they are to allowing this independence to slip away from us.

Back in the 1980's I had a two door 1966 Galaxie with a 390, dual exhaust and dealer installed air conditioning. I have not a single picture but still have all the documentation and title for it. I got it from a friend's father-in-law whose parents had bought it brand new.

I had a well worn 70 LTD in the 80's. 351 Nicely faded Ford blue exterior looked badass with the hideaway headlights. That car was fun.

I was born in 1962 so I was well aware of all of these beauties. Being a Car guy I am embarrassed to say I had NO idea Ford sold so many LTD’s during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Those numbers are amazing and yet they still had financial troubles.

The Ford LTD 1960s were reliable, solid built, comfy, and powerful vehicles.

i had a 69 LTD back in 83 to 85. i paid $350 for it. that 4 BBL 429 was no joke. It would easily roast the tires and bury the speedo. i also had a 71 and 72 LTD, the 69 was my favorite though. My brother has 2 68 galaxy 500 sport tops (the correct term, not fastback). he also has a 68 Talladega he spent 15 years restoring. he's had these cars since the mid 90s. thanks for the video.

Our family had a 66 Galaxy 500 2dr coupe. I was only 4 years old at the time, but i loved that car. It was dark green. Then in 69 we got an LTD Brougham 4dr with a 390 in it! That car use to hall ass for a big car. I remember my father driving that car 90 mph constantly. (Cant do that any more)

This really brings back some memories for me. My parents had a series of LTDs, starting when they graduated from a '66 Galaxie 500 to a '69 LTD Brougham. After that came a '72 LTD, then a '76 LTD, followed by a '79 LTD, which they had until finally moving up to the Grand Marquis. All of them were great solid, quiet cars, so I guess that's why my Dad always gravitated to them. He was happy with them, so why change, right?

I've had four big Fords - two '67 LTD -door hardtops (one 289, one 390-4V) , a '67 Galaxie ragtop, and a '68 LTD with a transplanted '72 351C (the original 302 had been tragically overheated by the original owner). Wonderful cars, rode like Cadillacs, and that 390-equipped '67 could really pick up her skirts and run. The ragtop never failed to get all the 'right' kind of attention. Everything about those cars was just.... RIGHT.

My parents had a 1971 LTD with a 351 W and a 1974 with a 400. Both were great cars.

My first car was a 1966 Ford Galaxie, 2-door, 390, 4bbl, it was a great car!

This brings back so many good memories. My very first car was a 1969 Ford Galaxie XL 2DR. with the 390 and a staple shifter. Maroon with white interior. Sharp car. I loved those Fords.

My Dad was an executive with a major Ford supplier, Ford permitted him VIP ordering on new cars. The first car he used this on was a 1970 LTD. I remember picking the car up with, the dealer had all this special paper working indicating it was a VIP Build and had all these extra quality control inspections. As we drove off the lot and the rear tires cleared the curb, all the LTD emblems fell off the car. Inspire of this he continued to purchase LTDs, purchasing a '74 and "78.

I remember those days and I remember Ford LTDs. They really WERE quieter than other cars. It wasn't just marketing hype. Cadillac and Lincoln quiet, or close to it.

Great video. My best friend’s mom had a yellow LTD wagon we called it the tuna boat about eight of us would hide in there to go to the drive-in movies the smaller two of us would hide underneath the rear fold down seats. Pretty cool times!

I have a low miles '74 LTD Brougham coupe and love it

I was a teenager in the 80s and several of my friends in high school drove the big LTDs. My friends and I were townie kids who's dads worked for Ford. Those were big, solid built cars. Despite their age and mileage at the time they didn't leak oil all over the parking lot like the preppy kids late model BMWs and Saabs did.

I thought it meant Limited....L T D My parents bought a 1970 Galaxie 500 XL convertible. I learned how to drive on it. I loved that car. It was a dealer demo end of year car on their used car lot. It had 11k miles on it. My mother loved the color. It had almost every option available at the time. A/C, 429 4v, auto Bucket seats, ps, pb, pw, pd, cruise control, and ... am/fm radio!. I could smoke the rear tires on that car... But it was a gas HOG! 9 miles per gallon, driving nicely! Maybe it was me, lol

Certainly brings back memories, also impressed with how many pronunciations there are for brougham!

My first car was a 62 Dodge Dart 440. I fixed the transmission and drove it for quite some time but between the thing getting service and even during the trans work I drove my Dad's 71 Ford Galaxy. After the Dart I drove a 69 Mustang -- it also needed work. I used the 71 about as much if not more than my own cars and my brothers all drove the thing as well -- it was a tank. Thanks for the video and memories of cars I used to pine for -- if I could only have had a that LTD 68 fastback.

If you watched Barnaby Jones....a Quinn Martin production....you got to see Barnaby get a new LTD coupe pretty much every season...including the Panther platform when the show ended production in 1980. I was born in the in mid 60s and what you say is true...either we saw the LTD used in tv and movie productions or we knew people who had them...neighbors, friends, parents' coworkers etc. My family was partial to GM cars so we had a round robin of Chevrolets, Oldsmobile and Pontiacs over the years. One family on our block upgraded to the Mercury Colony Park wagon and did a summer trip to Disney World a few years after it opened! Apparently the LTD Country Squire wasn't posh enough.

One of the first cars I drove was my family's 72 Country Squire, dark green on green with the 429-4V. I really enjoyed driving that car and always thought the colors were beautiful. My mom was a very talented artist and did photo-retouching for a couple of local photographers (long before Photoshop); and did beautiful original oil paintings as well. For the car she settled on shoe polish, and she kept that wood grain on that car looking factory fresh at all times. Our's was also fairly loaded with cruise, power windows & locks and power front bench seat. I sure do miss that car and the wonderful ride it had. Although I really loved that car; I'd love to get my hands on a 74 Country Squire (with the hood ornament) in the dark blue paint scheme or even the dark green. I guess I can dream.

1969 Ford LTD was a beautiful car.

This is the first time that I have heard "Lincoln Trim Design" as an explanation. Being a teenager in the 60's, I was into cars and the "Limited" explanation seemed to be the most widely accepted. At some point, probably early 70's, I either heard on the radio or read in one of the many car magazines I subscribed to, that it stood for "Luxury Through Design". The author made a point of saying how "Limited" was such a misnomer and how few people really knew what LTD did stand for. Sorry I can't remember the source. There were a couple of other cars during that period that also had 3 letter designations....the Pontiac Grand Turismo Omolgato and Plymouth GTX. Everyone seems to agree about the GTO but Google says GTX was just so the car had 3 letters like the GTO. When the GTX was introduced, I remember the explanation being "Grand Track Experimental". Thanks for the video and the story!

The 65 LTD was my first car. Exactly like the first one shown, Green with white vinyl top. 390, AT, AC, PW, PB, PS, and AM/FM stereo. I got in 1968 to get back and forth from music school in downtown Chicago to a close suburb. Very luxurious and powerful. I do believe the dealer had turned back the mileage a bit. It had some very odd quirks.

My first car was a 1968 Galaxie 500 2 dr. hardtop. No vinyl roof, dark red. 302, automatic, p/s and p/b. I felt like the king of the world driving that car, I look in Hemmings and other classic car websites, but have not yet seen a car like mine. I'm going to keep looking. I love your videos, so keep them coming. Best, JK

Woah, flashbacks, love the commercials We had 66 and 67 Country Squires which were basically LTD's. Drove them before I even had my license. My parents bought my sister a 73? That 400 with a 2 barrel was a slow pig.

I knew a 1971 LTD I loved it

We had a 1972 LTD Country Squire with an 8-track and the 429. It was first brand new car.

The LTD Brougham was first available in 68, and from then on Ford had an interesting strategy. The base LTD looked like it was comparable to the Caprice outside but had an Impala level interior. Whereas the Broughan had a much nicer interior than you could get in a Caprice. An in the latter years, if you popped for the Landau Luxury Group, you got an interiror that would rival the C body GM stuff.

My brother in-law owned a galaxie 4 door 1965 great car I'm sure he still has the car today .

1966 7 Litre remains the cats meow, especially if lucky enough to be 1 of 44 equiped with the 427 (R) code.

Daddy brought home a brand new 1965 Ford Galaxy, 500. Fresh looking car of the future. My mother bought a 77 Chevy Impala about the same time our next-door neighbor bought a 77 LTD. That car was dated and hated by then. That impala model lasted up until almost 1990.

All of them up until '75 are really good looking cars, but there's always been something about the '71/'72 design that just looks great to me.

My dad had a 69 LTD Brougham that I learned how to drive in. Then he got a 72 LTD Brougham & finally a 79 Continental, the last of the big boats!!! I loved those cars!! 👍👍🙂

Gator Mclusky running blocker in White Lightning was cool. RIP Burt Reynolds.

When we went to buy a new car in 71, the LTD was our choice. Having had earlier purchased Galaxies and other full sized Fords we asked the dealer what LTD meant. He said "Limited" and shrugged it off like everyone knew that. Since then after two more 71 LTD's and numerous other Fords I always thought that made sense.

We had a 78 LTD. Huge step up from the 71 Chevelle I grew up with.

LTD is the abbreviation for Limited, as in a business name. So I've always thought it meant "Limited".

Always my kind of Ford even when things had suddenly gotten weird!

I had a 74 LTD in high school. It was white with blue interior, opera windows, and a 400 v8. My car was a tank.

My dad must have owned all these models. He always drove an LTD.

Great video bit 1973:still had pillarless gardtop avsilable. Shows in brochure. Grandpa he ad a 1970 and a 1978 LTD Landau 460 all options beautiful car.

Love Tool Daddy is what we always called it

I remember my uncle trading in his much hated 1970 Galaxie 500 in on a 73 LTD It was mint green with an army green vinyl roof. He traded that in on a 76 LTD Landual (special order English racing green with matching vinyl roof) He sold the 76 to a co-worker in 85. He then bought a Grand Marquise.

Always had a soft spot for LTD's. had 3 73/74s since a teen. Now have a 74 2 door since '02.

I did my first "Rockford" in a 1969 LTD Country Squire. My first girlfriend's first car. Those were fun times!

Excellent video, rod serling commercials great as well. Always liked the 67, loved the style and engine choices. 73-78s nice as well. All great well made cars.

Mom had one, 1974, it was coined as the “Long Tail Dog”.

Thank you for posting this great video! Really enjoyed the the original commercials and pics from the brochures inserted.

Nice job giving these somewhat forgotten big Fords some recognition. My favorite is the 1966 four door, they had an absolutely stunning high class interior and the silent flow ventilation system. I'm kind of looking for one - just don't tell my wife. 😉

My parents bought a new 66 LTD. It had every option except an FM radio. The 428 engine ran like a scalded dog but absolutely required high-octane gasoline or it would sound like it was coming apart. I didn't appreciate at the time what a nice car it was.

My mom had a '71 2-door that she got new. I don't think the small back windows went down, because I have an early memory of begging mom to roll down her window. Her cigarette smoke filled the inside of the car, and I was starting to feel woozy and trapped in the back. I'll never forget throwing up all over the driveway when I got out. Her next car was a '76 Olds Cutlass wagon. I liked it because it had decent ventilation.

I grew up in LTD’s…..We had a 1970, a 1969, a 1969 Country Squire, a 1965 Galaxie 500, a 1968 Country Squire, a 1971 Mercury Meteor (Canada model), a 1968 Mercury Montcalm (Canada model), a 1972 Brougham, and 2 1975 Custom 500 (Canada as well)…this was from 1971-1984….in my young adult life I had a 1978 Landau and then a 1987 Country Squire…..now I have 1/18 die cast LTD wagons and 2 1988 Crown Victoria wagon Police….and a 1985 Mercury Colony Park 1/18 diecast…..now if I can find a 1/18 LTD sedan from the 70s or 80s because the real ones are hard to come by and very expensive

I accidentally hit send Ford is the only one who thought Ford Fairmont compared to a Mercedes, so when the LTD was downsized to basically what was a Fairmont ruined a good car. I believe it was only small like that for a year or two. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for your hard work!

I had a 68 LTD and loved it, i have a 68 Galaxie 500 now.

Wow, I'd forgotten about that Rod Serling ad.

My history began with a 65 Galaxie 500 when my parents bought one new in late 64. By 68, my Dad had fallen in love with the LTD. I can still recall standing beside him in the dealer showroom when he announced, "If I buy a new car this year, it's gonna be one like this." He pointed to an LTD Brougham. When we ordered it, the dealer convinced him to get a 390 cu. in. V-8. He told my dad that engine would outlast the car. By 1977 I was married, and we ordered an LTD. We drove it for nine years, then bought an 86 Crown Vic. I had told my wife that I someday wanted an antique car. She told me an antique car would be like dating the prom queen 25 years after the dance. So I decided to keep the Crown Vic. We had it for 28 years. Lots of good memories.

The very first car I drove was 1972 Ford LTD Station Wagon. Beast.

In 1968, Ford made the cushy interion of the '65-'67 optional by making the customer pay extra for the Brougham interior. The standard '68 LTD interior was about the same as the Galaxie 500 except for some marginally better cloth and door panel badges.

Growing up In the Mid 80's we had a Dark Yellow 1976 LTD Brougham station wagon w/a 460 and 4 wheel disc brakes. we called it the "Banana Boat". That car was a workhorse we LOADED that thing up weekly to haul pop and other items from the Warehouse Club to the family restaurant. My first car in about 1990 was a Very light yellow almost biege colored w/a black vinyl top 1975 LTD Brougham 4 door w/a 400M "Boat Anchor". As a dumb kid I thought it was a Hot Rod, put dual exhaust and a 4Bbl intake w/a Holly or Edelbrock Carb on it. But it could still barely even break the rear wheels loose from a stop and never ran right after that.

These cars were great in the snow, fun too.

The LTD I remember most was a bright green 76 driven by Captain Dolby on Starsky and Hutch.

We always said that LTD stood for “Lincoln Trimmed Down”. 🤣😂🤣

‘69 and ‘70 were my faves because I liked the grill design on both of those years. Between those 2 model years I’d take the ‘69 because I liked the tail lights better and also the reflective bar. Oh, and the cornering lights with the CID callout - I’m pretty sure the ‘70 had neither of those. Thanks for a great video 👏🏻😂

Hello Tony. Here in Brazil I had a 1976 Ford LTD, it was a spectacular car! In fact, our Brazilian LTD was just a trim version of the Ford Galaxie, launched here in Brazil in 1967, being the same as the American Galaxie 500 three finishing versions, Galaxie 500 (basic), LTD (intermediate) and Landau, the most luxurious. A curiosity that you may not know, here the Ford Galaxie/LTD/Landau had alcohol-powered engine versions! Hugs

always figured LTD was "Limited". great vid, thanks.

My uncle and cousins were Ford dealer and my mother had a new Raven Black 1966 LTD 4 door hardtop and we all always believed it stands for "Limited" ... as good an answer as the others! 🤔

Adding top trim Brougham in 1970 made plain LTD start to sell more and push Galaxie name out. The Custom 500 in the US was dropped for '76-78, btw.

Better than any modern SUV!

Fun fact : Ford was one of the sponsors for the very first "Monday Night Football" game!

My parents had a factory ordered 71 Brougham. Very nice ride, though it developed a sticky auto transmission. They traded it in for a new '74 Chevy Monte Carlo which was a gas guzzler.

I was 10 when they came out with the LTD, I always thought it stood for Limited

Funny, my first car was a 72 galaxie 500 i inherited from my folks. Very durable car

I actually appreciated the LTD II, brought out after Ford had discontinued the Torino, because it took on that body style (albeit, IIRC, a touch larger and less powered).

Good day From Australia, Check out the Aussie build LTD Ford Australia made them for nearly 2 decades. Cheers Louis Kats 👍

Another term I herd many years ago was Lincoln Type Design.

woe awesome video . my family had every model of every year and multiples of them . family reunions looked like a ford dealership. from 1964 mom and dad had 1 each untill 1977 model year. then we were inundated with mercury grand marquis.

119" wheelbase was just the size.

The first terminator movie had a chase scene with an LTD.

1 small inaccurate note I noticed and I didn't feel like looking through other comments to see if it was noticed: 1973-74 fullsize Fords/Mercurys did indeed still have 4 dr hardtops

Brougham is correctly pronounced “brome” (rhymes with “home”).

Well considering many car top trims are referred to as "limited" I think it would be a good guess to think that's what LTD stands for.

Love To Drive

Two of my uncles had LTD. Always nice to travel in those cars: soft driving, soft ride, great luxury. I'm bored of current cars, because they have no personality, and although now we have technology to make them interesting, there are no artistry in their design. Artistry was the key for LTD.

Great video! What was the biggest/longest LTD model ever?

Supposedly means 'Limited", but Ford didn't etch that in stone. The badge did get overused with LTD II, Fox body, and Panther. In my opinion, I think Ford was going after Buick, Olds and Pontiac, and since Edsel failed, they did a fancy Galaxie.

LTD = LARGE TRUNK DARLING