In 1959, Ford bought the rights to use the name “Comet” from ambulance and hearse builder Cotner-Bevington’s Comet Coach Company, with high hopes for a new compact car that was to be sold by Edsel dealers. But with the Edsel line euthanized barely into early 1960 production, the new upmarket complement to the Falcon that shared most of its components was sent to Mercury dealers. That Falcon-based Comet compact was built from 1960 through 1965. In 1966, the name moved to the Fairlane mid-sized platform, where it stayed until 1969. With the success of the Ford Maverick, which was introduced for […]
In 1959, Ford bought the rights to use the name “Comet” from ambulance and hearse builder Cotner-Bevington’s Comet Coach Company, with high hopes for a new compact car that was to be sold by Edsel dealers. But with the Edsel line euthanized barely into early 1960 production, the new upmarket complement to the Falcon that shared most of its components was sent to Mercury dealers.
That Falcon-based Comet compact was built from 1960 through 1965. In 1966, the name moved to the Fairlane mid-sized platform, where it stayed until 1969.
With the success of the Ford Maverick, which was introduced for the 1970 model year (exactly five years after the Falcon-based Mustang), Mercury wanted a piece of that action. So the Comet name made another pass for 1971. In essence, it was little more than a badge-engineered Maverick, with Comet-unique grille, hood and taillight panel.
Some go, some show
All Comets came standard with the 170-ci inline six, and were available with an optional 200-ci six or 302-ci V8, available as 2-door or 4-door sedans — both the 302 and 4-door being new to the 1971 Maverick. Similar to the Grabber from the Maverick side of the aisle, a 2-door-only Comet GT was offered as a quasi-performance car. With no changes to the engine availability, the GT was a lot more show than go — with dummy hood scoop, matte black accent paint, blackout grille and high-back bucket seats.
Year-to-year changes were minimal — essentially housekeeping to keep up with new safety and emissions standards, such as ever-increasing bumper sizes starting in 1973. The anemic 170 gave way to the adequate 200-ci straight six from the Mustang as the standard engine from 1973 onward, along with offering the truck-based 250-ci straight six as the first-tier optional engine, with the tried-and-true 302 still in the options list.
Initially, the Comet met with some modest success, not so much as an “import fighter,” but as a lower-price-point car to sell on the other side of Lincoln-Mercury dealers’ showrooms from Continental Mark IIIs and IVs. This became a godsend for the division during the OPEC oil embargo of 1973–74, as the Comet gave L-M dealers the traffic and sales they needed to keep the division alive.
Four is more
Initially, the coupes were the hot sellers — at almost two to one — but in 1975, 4-doors outsold 2-doors for the first time. That gap widened until the end of production.
The Comet was originally going to be retired in 1975, replaced by the Mercury Monarch (yet another FoMoCo with Falcon bones). However, the OPEC oil embargo was considered a sign by the Lincoln-Mercury division that they needed to maintain a diverse lineup of smaller cars, so the Comet got a stay of execution.
With lagging sales (a meager 21,545 in its final year — including just 9,109 2-doors), 1977 was the last call for the Comet.
Tailing the Comets
Despite the GT package, no Comet ever left one of the factories in the U.S. or Canada with a 4-speed manual transmission or anything more potent than a 2-barrel 302 V8 with single exhaust. If you find one with either of those, it’s been swapped out.
The aftermarket is rife with performance components that’ll fit a Comet. However, bear in mind that unlike the Mustang, which ranged from mild to wild when new, the Comet was originally lame to tame. As such, underpinnings such as springs, axles and brakes were from the bottom of the pricing bin. If you have any desires to build one up — even if it’s a factory 302 car — beef up the undercarriage first.
Prices are all but equal to Mavericks — if not slightly cheaper. A low-mile GT with a 302 might get close to $10k, but to go higher than that, it would have to be a minty unrestored virgin with more documented history than miles.
While 1970s geek cars have seen an uptick in interest and values in recent years, Mavericks and Comets still lag behind even Mustang IIs. Since they’ve been dirt-cheap since the first one financed was paid off, and with all that Falcon/Mustang DNA, these cars have been prime candidates for low-budget engine swaps and performance mods. Since “done on the cheap” is a common theme here, “buy on the cheap” should be your mantra.
Still, for those of us who were of that age in the 1970s and early ‘80s when these were at giveaway prices, there is a sense of cheap nostalgia here. Yet with nearly half a million Comets built all told — let alone millions of Mavericks — don’t get sucked into the “they all got scrapped and this is the only survivor” mindset.
Plenty of grandmas and grandpas bought these as their last cars. Those are Comets to look for. Just remember, if you catch one, you’d better be prepared for folks continually asking you, “What kind of Maverick is that?”