Ford Falcon XC

The XC was a further re-style of the third generation Falcon. The refined look was achieved by reducing the slope of the grille and introducing large rectangular headlamps on some models.

The bonnet line was softened and more substantial bumpers fitted. The coke bottle effect was reduced by altering the style line running through the rear doors.

The base model Falcon's retained the round headlights of their forebears, however the Fairmont was blessed with wonderfully elegant rectangular headlights.

The rectangular headlights made the XC look cleaner and certainly more refined. With later models, Ford would black out much of the chrome work, giving the car a more menacing appearance.

The upmarket models also gained far better seating, now affording better under-knee and lumbar support. For the well heeled, there were also electric windows and remote rear-view mirror.

One of the more popular models from the XC lineup was the Fairmont wagon, affording a huge luggage capacity and plenty of power on tap courtesy of the 4.1 litre six cylinder engine.

The GS and Fairmont hardtop models remained, although they were rather more subdued than previous iterations. A new grille was used, and the Fairmont version also gained the handsome rectangular headlights.

However the interior was rather more refined, and in being so lost a little of the sportiness one had come to expect from a hardtop.

Both models of the hardtop struggled to sell, and Ford introduced the limited edition Cobra as the last of the two door version, and to help them move the remaining 2 door coupe body shells.

The Cobra would be the last of the performance Ford's for a time, and used the worldwide publicity gained by the success of Caroll Shelby for its inspiration. In all, 400 were built and individually numbered (that number coinciding with the number of two door body shells remaining). All Cobra's were painted with the same colour scheme, white with mid blue stripes and a cobra snake decal on the front fender. In addition, each Cobra had a numbered plaque to help with identification, something very important to collectors today.

In a move away from imperial measurement, the Ford range was now badged as 3.3, 4.1, 4.9 and 5.8 litre instead of the previously used cubic inch capacity. Strangely, Ford's second longest running model, the Futura, was dropped from the XC lineup. So, much more regrettably, was the GT (the GXL was "supposed" to be the replacement, but it would fail to capture the hearts and minds of the Ford enthusiasts). Mid way through the life of the XC, Ford made some radical improvements to the car's suspension to allow for radial tyres, and these models tend to be known as the 'XC and a half'.

The later XCs are easily identified by the introduction of the the classic Ford oval badge on the centre of the grille, its first use on an Australian Ford.