Listing for $2,810, only 151 Meteor Rideau Crown Victorias were built in 1955. |
It was
announced to the press that the new Meteor line would be shown to the public on
November 10, 1954. The 1954 model run wound down on October 7. It was time to
change over and get the newest crop of Meteors rolling out the factory doors.
Dealers were itching for them. Rumours ran rampant throughout the industry that
1955 was going to be the best year yet.
Unfortunately, labour negotiations
between the union and Ford were not going well. Demands for a 30-cent-an-hour
wage hike and other accrued benefits fell on deaf ears. Workers in Windsor laid
down their tools on October 10 in a strike action. Five days later, 1,150
workers in Oakville followed suit and joined their 5,200 union brothers in
Windsor. Office workers in Windsor were laid off on November 5 and the strike
spread to the parts depot in Etobicoke, Ontario when 125 employees walked on
November 15.
The Lincoln Contiental Mark II was built in Wixham, Michigan. |
Dealers
would have little to sell; all 968 Ford-Monarch and Mercury-Lincoln-Meteor
showrooms were going to be pretty empty until vehicles started rolling through
the pipeline once again.
Imported models like Anglias, Prefects, Consuls,
Zephyrs, Zodiacs, Lincolns, Thunderbirds, Ford’s Crown Victoria hardtops and
Country Squire station wagons would trickle in from abroad but they weren’t the
bread-and-butter cars that generated sales.
It was a grim Christmas for all the dealers in Ford of Canada’s kingdom.
Ironically, in December, the company stock hit its high for the year, reaching
$104 a share.
When the 110-day strike was
finally over in January of 1955, domestic production got under way. The first
Meteors rolled out the doors of the Oakville plant on February 10, 1955.
Dealers could heave a sigh of relief. It was a short-lived sigh because Ford
officials announced substantial price changes on February 15. The price of base
Meteor models rose from $68 to $79-more than a week’s wages for the average
man. Niagara models jumped from $36 up to as high as $103. The Rideau line now
cost $54 to $71 more than it did yesterday. Oddly enough, the price on the
Ranch wagon was cut by $2 and the ragtop’s price was lowered by $52.
Selling for $2,935, The Meteor Niagara Country Sedan found favour with 349 buyers in 1955. |
When the Meteors finally did
burst into showrooms, all thirteen models glittered and shone like the
sensational stars they were. There were: “Five in the superlative Rideau
Series; four in the distinctive Niagara Series: four in the dashing Meteor
Series.”
All Meteors carried a narrow, concave, vertically ribbed grille was
sliced neatly in half at the centre by a giant chrome “V” in which a gold
Meteor star was ensconced. Large bullet-shaped turn signals housed in massive
chrome bezels flanked the grille.
Headlights sat deep within stylish visors with simulated air intakes
stamped and painted into the bezels. A highly stylized flight form ornament
graced the hood. From the sides, wheel wells were accented with heavy body
creases and another crease ran across much of the rear quarter panel to the
Jet-Tube rear lights that could hold optional back-up lights in their
inquisitive fins. The greenhouse was improved. The Full-Scope Windshield was a
full 33.2 centimetres (13 inches) wider than before and wrapped into the doors for “panoramic
visibility.” The rear bumper had
“METEOR” stamped into it and the deck lid repeated the star-within-the-“V”
theme seen on the grille.
The Meteor shared its instrument panel with Ford and featured the see-though Astra-Dial instrument cluster in 1955. |
Meteor’s famed Wonder Ride
was hyped as now being better than ever and the Rideau Crown Victoria promised
to roll “majestically over the royal road with style, performance and
quality.” It came in two-tone and tri-tone
colour schemes, a special block pattern pleat in the seats. The steering wheel
and column were offered in a range of colours to harmonize with the interior
trim and the all-new Astra-dial instrument panel. The Crown Victoria shared top
billing with the Rideau Victoria hardtop coupe, the Sunliner convertible, the
Two-door Club Sedan and the posh four-door Town Sedan.
A total of 661 units of the 1955 Meteor Rideau Two-Door
Sedan was built. It sold for $2,461.
|
Downstream from the Rideau
clan was the Niagara family. It featured two and four-door sedans and a pair of
station wagons. The more expensive Country Sedan carried eight passengers while
the Niagara Ranch Wagon could haul six.
The 1955 Meteor four-door sedan. |
Anchored just a tad further
down the river was the base Meteor series. Meteor’s bargain basement lineup
embraced a no-nonsense Four-door Sedan, a Two-door Sedan, a Business Coupe and
a rugged Ranch Wagon.
The 1955 Meteor Ranch Wagon was an honest day labourer. |
Meteor now shared its
overhead valve V-8 engine with Ford, not Mercury. The 4.5-litre (272-cubic inch) mill was
new to Canadians this year. Meteor owners could choose either the 175 or the
162-horsepowered versions, the more powerful engine was standard on the Rideau
and Niagara series. Even the base motor promised to deliver 11 percent greater
acceleration in every driving situation.
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The high compression engine
was just part of the 1955 Meteor’s Trigger-Torque power train. Merc-O-Matic, Touch-O-Matic Overdrive or
Silent-Ease Standard Transmissions sent all that power torquing to the rear
wheels in 7/100ths of a second.
Cabins were spacious. Not a
word was said in the sales brochure about the interior appointments of the base
Meteor other than its black rubber floor matting and a sun visor on the
driver’s side. A full page, however, was given over to describing the eleven
different colours and patterns of seat covers that promised to “enhance the
rich beauty of your car while protecting the original upholstery.”
The second most popular Meteor was the Niagara
Two-Door Sedan. It found 3,942 buyers who shelled out $2,306 in order to drive
one home.
|
Niagara’s interior was
touted as being “invitingly restful and unusually beautiful.” Flooring was
still back rubber but it was given two sun visors, arm rests front and rear, assist
straps. Seats carried foam rubber cushions, upholstered in artistically
tailored vinyl, woven plastic or broadcloth in contrasting colours. Inside a
Rideau, prospective buyers were treated to luxurious High-Fashion broadcloth
and vinyl upholsteries in exciting new colour combinations. To add to the
pleasure, headlinings, door panels and other trim appointments were
fashion-keyed. Sunliners and Crown Victorias were clad in all-vinyl. The latter
had a folding centre armrest in the back seat.
Only 114 Meteor Business Coupes were built in 1955. The least expensive in the lineup, the three-passenger coupe listed for $2,064. |
Meteor got ball-joint front
suspension, larger brake drums, rode on the new tubeless tires. The frame was
billed as being a new, Heavy Duty K-Bar Frame, engineered to accommodate each
different Meteor body type.
Custom-Styled Meteor
Accessories “contribute an extra measure of pleasure for you and your family.
They add to the safety and comfort of driving under all conditions.”
The most expensive model in Meteor’s 1955 stable was the Sunliner (rear) ringing up the cash register at $3,047. Exactly 201 of the posh ragtops were built. |
One could order a Six or
eight-tube push-button radio and, a rear speaker promised to deliver
“Three-dimensional Reception.” Also on
the options list was turn signals (not required by law until January 1, 1956),
a windshield washer for “Safety Clear” windshields, rear fender shields (Ford
speak for fender skirts), Swift Sure Power Brakes, Master Guide Power Steering,
Power-Lift Windows, Four-Way Power Seats and Sea-Tint Safety Glass.
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Then there was a stem-wind
clock, full wheel covers, a heater, Door Top or Belt Line mounted rear view
mirrors, undercoating, standard or deluxe antennae, Anti-Glare Shade, Back-up
Lights, Bumper Guards, Bumper Guard Wing Kits, a Brake Light Signals,
Compartment Lights, Curb Signals, Door Handle Shields, Door Edge Guards, Dual
Exhaust System, Electric Clock, Engine Heater, Exhaust Deflectors, Floor Saver
Mats, Frost Shields, DeLuxe Licence Plate Frames, Locking Gas Cap, Rear Window
Defroster, Road Lamps, Portable or fixed Spotlight, Sprazon Beauty Treatment,
DeLuxe Steering Wheel, Sun Visor, Tire Chains, Tissue Dispenser, Vanity Mirror,
Wheel Trim Rings, Window Vent Shades and Wire Wheels as just a few of the
items a well-dressed Meteor might wear.
Despite the long strike,
production added up 23,590 Meteors, giving Ford’s star seventh place in the
domestic industry behind Chevrolet (79,308), Ford (56,326), Pontiac (40,516),
Dodge (39,525), Plymouth (33,325) and Buick (23,762).
Copyright James C. Mays 2005 All rights reserved.