Ford 1957 road test

Basically, it has more of almost everything than its '56 counterpart. It's lower by four inches, longer, more powerful, still competent on the highway. There is no revolutionary change in the car's behavior.

Our test car was a Fairlane 500 four-door that looked like a true centerpost-less hardtop, but wasn't, The combination of narrow posts and chrome window trim would fool almost any bystander except when both side windows are down. The combination of looks and sturdiness is top-notch and should be copied, but probably won't, by other manufacturers.

The car had the 245-horsepower Thunderbird Special engine, Fordomatic, power steering, no power brakes. To compare it to Ford V8s with less power, dock our performance figures a little and increase our fuel mileage figures. Cars with stick shift should show no significant performance difference but will give better economy, especially if they have overdrive.

Is It Still Up Top in Handling?

It's not the stand-out car that it was by comparison with other makes when Ford was first with ball-joint front suspension. Broken-field running in traffic demands lots of winding from the power steering, which takes 4.75 turns from lock to lock just like its manual counterpart. Opinions on Ford's power steering are very different among various testers: "Best power steering I ever tried-gives you a real feel of the road"; "Feels like a fairly easy-steering older car without power", "Gives no' advantage to the driver except in parking." Take your pick!

An exceptionally broad, though not very high, windshield gives the driver a good vantage point. He sits rather close to the roof, particularly in Fairlane models, behind a massive cowl. This year's steering wheel is a half-inch smaller in diameter than the 56's (but seems enormous beside that in the Plymouth) yet the lower portion of its rim hung down too far for some drivers. Big rear fins and modern all-around vision make parking easy. The Fairlane's nine-inch length increase does not. Customs and Custom 300s, the sober buyer will note, can fit into slots half a foot shorter.

On the highway we liked the car better thac- in town. Once you give it its head, it responds like a high-spirited but essentially amiable steed, requiring no constant correction on straight roads. A crowned road does cause a sharp pull to the right, and recovery when the wheel is whipped from side to side we do this to simulate an accidental tug-is not as good as it should be. Wind has less effect than on previous models, as it should considering the new weight of 3800 pounds. Steering wheel vibration is very slight. It's an unusually pleasant car for the drivers on a long trip-untiring mentally or physically.

Has Its Roadability Rating Changed?

To some extent, and not for the better. The new weight distribution, though far from ideal as on nearly every V8, is much improved over last year and should theoretically give better roadability. last year it was 59.5 per cent at the front, and this year that proportion is down to 55.4; yet on sharp curves, or even normal ones taken too fast, the rear can break away with disconcerting suddenness.

For those madmen who yearn to "let 'er out," the Ford feels good right up to its top speed and excellent at the speed limit on any U.S. highway you can name.

There is a certain un-Ford-like wallowing when coming out of severe highway dips, the penalty of 57's new softer ride. If you leave the pavement there's no cause for panic, but take it easy on your braking or sudden turns on rough or washboard surfaces.

How Does It Go This Year?

Just a little better from a standing start than in '56 despite the big rated horsepower difference. Half a second separated the new quarter-mile and 0-60 times from those with last year's Fairlane. There's a European-style torque increase at higher rpms in this Thunderbird Special engine that reminded us of an entirely different kind of car, the Mercedes 190-SL. At 2000 to 2500 rpms, it's almost as though you had cut in a blower or shifted instantaneously to a slightly lower gear. And that's not just a seat-of -the- pants increase either: Ford's newly available power to pull out of tight spots is proved by the stopwatches. At both lower and higher speeds, passing times show about a second's improvement this year, and 45-60 is a hasty 4.3. (We have substituted this more realistic figure for our former 40-60 acceleration test, used up through last year.)

Has Economy Suffered?

Surprisingly, only at lower steady speeds. At a steady 75 this large engine can loaf along and deliver marginally better mileage than the 292-cubic-incher did last year, and our tank mileage went up two miles per gallon when we weren't doing actual fuel braking or acceleration tests.

Are Ford Brakes Still Good?

They're a lot better. It's not a cinch to increase a car's weight by 100 pounds and bring it- to a panic stop in 14 less feet from 60 mph, but that's what Ford has done. There is obvious fade but a minimum of dangerous darting from one side to the other, even when it smells as though the brakes were aflame. Pedal pressure on our non-power-equipped car seemed high to those used to a booster, but not to others.

Can You Reach Anything Under the Hood?

If you like to tinker with your own engine, you'll run into a little trouble. Plugs are concealed under the exhaust manifold, the oil filter is well hidden by power equipment. The battery, oil dipstick and filler are handy and the transmission dipstic'k is not too hard to reach.

Is the Ride Smoother?

Yes. Awareness of road surface is no longer disturbing, though it's there. As yet Ford shows no signs of abandoning its mechanical, keep-the-driver-in -touch feel which can be refreshing after the plush-swathed way that some cars drive. If you enjoy the act of driving, you'll like a Ford; your passengers might prefer to be better insulated, though they'll note an improvement over last year.

It's now easier to bottom a Ford when storm drains cross the road, and passengers won't stay so securely in their seats on highway dips. When rounding a curve the body leans somewhat, but your passengers will stay put easier than in many larger cars.

What's Different About a Ford?

Mostly you'll get some careful attention to small details. The Fordomatic transmission, a Class A box in every regard, continues basically unchanged and the buyer is not expected to pay an extra fee for it, as he is for Plymouth's and Chevy's new automatics. Upshifts are accomplished with little fuss, and creep is noticeably slight. It still offers something that may loom larger to us as test drivers than to you, and that is its quadrant. The shift pattern is toward you and down for Low, as on other automatics, but toward you and up for REVERSE, as on a car. with a stick shift. This is a safety feature, if you drive automatics and stick shifts interchangeably. It's truly valuable only in a tight spot, but we like it. Snowbound drivers will note a disadvantage to the Ford quadrant: you can't rock directly from LOW to REVERSE and back.

Ford's windows roll faster (2 5/8 turns up or down) than they used to, and a fine British feature has at long last been adopted: the driver's window requires a whole turn less than the others for a total of 1 5/8 a real safety device. Ford's tail lights, while they irritate some people, can certainly be seen better than almost any others you can name, and after all, that's what tail lights are for. Two-position door checks, a blessing in a tight spot, are still a Ford Motor Co. exclusive.

And now for a couple of '57 innovations that didn't come off so well. The odd flip-open ashtray is a menace: its door didn't fit on the test car, and stabbing at a dark hole seems an unnecessarily complex way to remove the ash from your cigarette. We nominate this feature for revision in '58, as we do the position of the front inside door locks. These are now pushbuttons, presumably to get on the bandwagon, but they interfere with the operation of the new narrow windwings. (These are hard enough to manage anyway.) When one realizes that the new buttons don't affect the interior door handles at all but only block the exterior opening mechanism, the mixup seems utterly pointless.

The new Thunderbird-type, hood is something we could also do without. We cheer the return to the safer interior latch, and we'll go for the greater protection if the hood should blow open. Still, hoods have to be latched, and if you can handle this one with ease you're better than we are.

Will It Wear Well?

Ford's reputation for durability in rough service is an enviable one, and seems to bear little connection with the obviously hasty assembly of many Fords. The rest car was startlingly bad in this respect. Nothing seemed to fit. Great gobs of lead were hanging on the rakish left rear fin. The driver's window tended to jam. Three fuses (high beam indicator, cigarette lighter, radio) blew during our test. The left rear door wouldn't shut unless the window was rolled down. The trunk, like the hood, was nearly impossible to latch.

'We're deliberately making all these detrimental observations for a reason. They are points for the prospective buyer to watch out for, not in evaluating all Fords, but in microscopically examining the one Ford that is to be his. We've seen Fords badly assembled that seemed to wear forever, and other Fords put together beautifully. Naturally, if you buy a '57 car, you'll want it to be as perfect as possible, so take your time when you take delivery.