UPDATE – This 1980 Ford Granada is still for sale, but the seller has dropped their asking price to $5,595. The seller has it listed for sale again here on craigslist in Chesapeake, Virginia. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Jack M. for the tip! Will it sell this time?
FROM 9/27/2025 – A Ford Granada brochure touts the Granada as “European-flavored”, and as most of us who were alive back then know, that was a big thing. It still is. This big-bumpered, Polar White, rust-free 1980 Ford Granada 2-door sedan can be found posted here on craigslist in Chesapeake, Virginia, and the seller is asking $6,950. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
It’s hard to run a company of any size, but imagine being in the car business on the scale of Ford Motor Company. No way. It seems glamorous, all you do is walk around and look at new designs, have meetings with catered meals, jet off to exotic locations to meet with movers and shakers, and other captains of industry. Fun! I thought the same thing about architects when I considered going to college; walking around with a cape, looking at your grand designs. Then you graduate and get low-paying jobs working on bathroom details for strip malls and assisted-living facilities. Not everyone can be Henry Ford or Frank Lloyd Wright. I assumed these wheel covers would have had a white center portion to match the body color?
Looking to Europe for inspiration was a real thing in both car design and building design throughout the last century. Even a giant in the industry like Ford had to realize that European imports were taking customers away, so it started marketing toward grabbing those customers back with cars like the Granada. Most of you remember the comparison to Mercedes-Benz, which seems funny now, but I think I’d take a Granada over a Mercedes of the same era, as weird as that sounds. Ford made the Granada from 1975 through 1982, with the ’75 through ’80 models looking like this car, and the following two years of production being based on the Fox platform and cars that were unrecognizable as “Granadas” for most of us. The Ford badge is missing from the trunk lid; was the trunk lid repainted?
I prefer the earlier round headlight Granadas, but this 2-door example looks like a peach. The seller says it has 96,000 miles and has no rust. It looks good inside, other than the steering wheel, the missing radio, some possible fading on the faux wood dash, and some issues with the dash padding. The Medium Wedgewood Blue velour seats look like new, both front and rear, and the trunk looks pretty clean. I love that the light blue exterior pinstripe matches the interior color.
The engine is, I believe, Ford’s 250-cu.in. OHV inline-six with 90 horsepower and 194 lb-ft of torque rolling through a three-speed automatic sending power to the rear wheels. The seller says it runs and drives great, and has new belts, hoses, oil change, tune up, etc. Other than cleaning up the steering wheel and dash a bit, this looks like a really nice Granada that’s ready for crowd-gathering at your local Cars & Coffee events. Any thoughts on this one?
We now chuckle at the comparisons to Mercedes, but I think it may have actually worked. Being positioned as a somewhat upscale compact, they appealed to those who wanted more than a Maverick but perhaps not as much as a Torino or LTD.
They were conservatively and cleanly styled, and well-trimmed. I too prefer the round-headlight models. And what was ironic was that, underneath, they had 1960 Falcon roots.
Good write-up Scotty.
Don’t understand all the criticism of these cars…worst car lists and so on. I bought ’75 4 door Granada Ghia, nice green with darker green vinyl top, 302 with 3 speed on the floor. One of the nicer cars we had during that period. I suppose the silly Mercedes comparison might have been the issue.
They had a few fundamental issues. They were based on the 1960 Ford Falcon chassis. So they were extremely dated by the time they came out in 1975.
They were saddled with some pretty sorry engine choices. When equipped with the 250 six and the cruise-o-matic, it was probably one of the slowest cars of all time.
The Fairmont was light years ahead when it appeared for 1978. For some reason though, these gasped on through the 1980 model year. Why, I don’t know, because they were in the same size class. But they did.
They weren’t bad cars per se, they just weren’t particularly exciting. They were basically appliances, which is why it’s so rare to see one today.
Basically an upgraded Falcon. These are really not bad cars aside from how badly strangled Ford’s engines were in the early emissions era. Even AMC did a lot better in that area though that may be because they were permitted by Congress to buy emissions tech from GM.
There wouldn’t have been a Ford blue logo on this car. Just the letters F O R D in silver metal. Trunk lid must’ve been repainted at some point.
Ford did a great job of building a 7/8 scale GM G-body with these coupes. Long door with a single glass followed by a vertical opera window, much envogue at the time. The result was a compact personal luxury coupe but was by no means an economy car. Nice example with air to keep you comfy on your way to the show.
I had a ’78 Monarch, Mercury’s version. Great mileage and with an LP gas conversion was inexpensive to run.
I had two of these back in the day. Both were reasonably priced, comfortable, easy to maintain and repair. Parts were readily available and low priced. It obviously was not a Mercedes. But, most of us didn’t have a gazillion dollars to spend on a Mercedes.
With this car, I see a nice economical ride. Simple to fix and will provide you with a comfortable ride and parts are dirt cheap. I say it is a nice deal.
Nothing to do with the European Granada/Consul; they had 3.0 / 2.3 V6s (possibly also 2.0 Pinto motors). Later ones (mk. 2) had the 2.8. There might’ve been a South African connection with the US ones?
Are you referring to the paragraph under the rear 3/4 photo, Derek? If so, I was referring to the famous comparison to Mercedes-Benz, not the European Granada.
These had an era- and Iacocca- typical long and comprehensive options list, with two telling exceptions; the base model wasn’t all that basic, and there was no gauge package. You could’ve loaded up your Granada with handling package, rally wheels, sport steering wheel, bucket seats, V8 manual and any one of a number of graphics packages, but it was still leaving Dearborn with only that square speedo and gas gauge.
I never got the reference to European cars, but they certainly did appropriate the interior door pulls/armrest of the BMW 2002!
Speaking of Tachometers, I wonder why most cars now have a tach. You and I probably know how to use them, but I wonder how many people today know why any car would need a tach. Most SUVs and pickups don’t need them (OK, maybe the 700+ HP Dodges do), but they are nice in a Mustang, Corvette, or some Exotic. The earliest tachs I remember were in 61-62 Chevy 409s and Pontiac 389 and 421s. They were needed then for Drag & Street Racing.
That certainly does not look like any Granada interior I have ever seen.
What is this?
My buddy in high school had a 1976 Monarch with the 250 six. I believe it is the slowest car I have ever driven to date. These were not light cars and the engine only made about 90 horses. It didn’t accelerate so much as it just gained momentum.
Automobile_catalog has it at 16.6 seconds 0-60, and I think that might be charitable.
In ’80, these were also available with the 255 V-8 that made 117 horsepower and the mighty 302 2v, which made 134, though at least you could modify that one. Sad times, those were.
It’s pretty cool, but I would hold off for one with the 302.
As far as looks, I think it had a nice body style, especially from the rear quarters back. I knew someone who put a 351 C. that was worked, hood scoop, mags in back, jacked up, and a rear spoiler. Looked pretty sick.
Pop bought mom a new ’75 Granada and it was a looker. Black on black with the 302 / C4 gutless wonder, which wasn’t a deal killer since it kept mom from getting tickets. Her previous car was the ’66 Fairlane 390 4speed which kept her acquainted with the local law enforcement.
The Granada was a HUGE upgrade for mom since it had power steering, power brakes, power windows and most importantly, Air Conditioning which, here in Florida, was a grand luxury. The Fairlane lacked all of these options. It was the first car our family had with AC and man, we thought we had arrived!
The only problem with the car was the ignition system. 1975 was the first year for the Duraspark I ignition system which had a nasty habit of suddenly dying and leaving mom stranded on the side of the road several times which went over like a fart in church. This meant her having to walk to a pay phone to call for help, rain or shine, night or day.
Dad took it to the dealer for warranty work but since it was an intermittent issue, they proclaimed, “No problem found” and kicked it back to Pop. This happened 3 or 4 times until dad said, “Screw it” and dropped in an old points ignition and never looked back.
He was so upset with Ford for the way they handled a known problem it ruined him from ever buying another Ford. It was strictly Chevrolet’s, Pontiacs and GMC’s after that.
Perhaps the seller was channeling an old advertisement for the ESS model?
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1978-ford-granada-ess-advertisement-esquire-december-1977–479422322841561033/