Mosky’s Musings: Half Year Models (Part 1)
Not long ago, a new Nissan arrived at my door. A few safety features once optional were now standard and the small SUV was reintroduced as the 2018.5 Rogue Sport. Hardly a monumental event but there it was on the Monroney and on the website “2018.5”– an official half year introduction.
Mid-year model introductions once seemed to carry incredible clout. I decided to explore a little history.
Ford, a company which decried annual change in its early years, is responsible for some of the most memorable half year cars. None are more famous than the “1964 ½ Mustang”. Introduced on April 17, at the 1964 World’s Fair, the Mustang was a sales sensation. During that first 12 months, Ford sold more than 417,000 pony cars and by the end of the 1965 model year, sales totals eclipsed 680,000 units. And there were differences: The early cars had generators rather than alternators, horns behind the radiator support crosspiece, vents for generator and battery cooling, black hood hinges, Eaton rather than Ford power steering pumps with unique external or integral reservoirs, a vinyl strip between the carpet and door sills, externally spliced taillight housing wiring and, of course, a 260 (c.i.) engine badge and option to name a few.
A year before the Mustang introduction, Ford touted an entirely new mid-year lineup. Sales brochures and magazine ads labeled all of its car models with a 1963 ½ prefix. The Fairlane could now be had with a vinyl top and a four speed. The big news was under the hood. Ford chose Fairlane to introduce its now legendary K-code motor, the 289 c.i. 271 hp V8.
1963 ½ brought performance to the Falcon line with the launch of the Sprint, its chassis engineered to house the 260 V8. The underpinnings would be nearly identical to the soon to be released Mustang.
Racing must have been the focus when the mid-year 1963 Galaxie was planned. Ford’s showing in the Daytona 500, the initial superspeedway race of the 1962 season was dismal. Fred Lorenzen drove his notchback Galaxie to fifth place; his was the only Ford to finish in the top ten. Holman and Moody, the covert factory racing arm, fitted a convertible 1962 Galaxie with a new fiberglass top, a nearly exact replica of the more aerodynamic 1961 Starliner roof. Lorenzen and Nelson Stacy entered the rain delayed Atlanta 500 with a new Ford option, the Starlift top. NASCAR inspector Norris Friel banned the top but gave it a one race exemption. Lorenzen won. The next month Henry Ford II announced that his company would no longer be bound by the five-year old American Manufacturers Association ban on factory participation in racing. The 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie would be a dominant force in 1963 winning the majority of the important superspeedway races and the season championship. Its distinguishing features were a slippery and attractive fastback roof, a dramatic interior dominated by buckets seats and a sporty console, and the newly introduced 427 cubic inch motor.
Though only an RPO (regular production option) and not a model, one more mid-sixties intro worthy of mention was April 1968 availability of the now famed 428 Cobra Jet engine, which could power a Fairlane or Mustang.
Back to that original Mustang, in no ad nor brochure could I find “1964 ½” Mustang.!
We’ll follow this installment with some GM, Packard and Chrysler mid years. In the interim feel free to add to the list of important mid-year models. Can you name any formally titled half year cars?
About Mark Moskowitz MD
Mark Moskowitz MD is a retired surgeon, racer, and car collector. He is director and curator of The Museum of Automobile History (pvt), manages the estate of renowned automotive artist, Carlo Demand, serves on the Board of Directors of Carolina Motorsports Park and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He is a frequent contributor to multiple motoring publications. Dr. Moskowitz is a member of International Chief Judge Advisory Group and has been privileged to judge concours events at Boca Raton, Greenwich, Hershey (the Elegance), Radnor Hunt, Cobble Beach, Hilton Head, Dusseldorf, Monticello Raceway and Delhi, India.
