Meteor Montcalm
This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.
The 1961 Meteor Montcalm. Source: Ingenium 2008.0001
The Meteor Montcalm was a stylish car with distinctively Canadian branding. Sold under the Ford Motor Company’s Mercury line, the Meteor debuted in 1949 and was available only in Canada. By 1954, the Meteor came in several models with names that reflected Canadian geography and history. Consumers could choose among the basic Meteor or the more upscale Meteor Niagara and Meteor Rideau. In 1959, Mercury added the Montcalm, a car with a unique grill, luxurious interior finishes, and two engine options. Ford promoted the Montcalm as the car for the modern Canadian family and built nearly 600,000 at its Oakville, Ontario plant. The last Montcalm rolled off the line in 1976.
This example of the Meteor Montcalm is a rare two-door hardtop version. Only 724 were built. It was purchased new in Winnipeg in 1961 and driven by its original owner until 2006.
Transcript
This 1960 commercial promotes the Meteor Montcalm as being “distinctively Canadian.”
Introduced in 1959, the Ford Meteor Montcalm was made and sold exclusively in Canada until 1976. Source: Ingenium 2008.0001, with Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited permission
The Meteor Montcalm was a stylish car with distinctively Canadian branding. Source: Ingenium 2008.0001, with Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited permission
Examination and polishing of cars on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company of Canada in Oakville, Ontario, February 1961. Source: Chris Lund; Library and Archives Canada, 1971-271
The Meteor Montcalm has a V8 engine. Source: Ingenium 2008.0001
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