Meteor was a brand of automobiles offered for sale by Ford in Canada from the 1949 to the 1976 model years. It was a variant of US-market Fords, but not the Mercury Meteor made there. The Canadian Meteor was a mid-sized car, while the US Mercury Meteor was a full-size one.
The word 'Meteor' usually appeared on the bonnet and was considered a marque, rather than a model, in Canada. It complemented Ford, Mercury and Monarch marques, and, for a brief time, Edsel.
The Meteor was announced on June 25, 1948 as Ford's low-priced entrant. It used a Ford body with a Mercury grille. It was powered by a 100 bhp, 239 in³ V8. There were numerous model changes before the 'Phase I' Meteors ceased production in 1963.
Ford of Canada relaunched the Meteor in 1964 as a low-end product sold by Mercury, rather than Ford, dealers. However, Meteor was still a marque, rather than a model. The 1964 Meteor looked identical to a 1964 US Mercury.
The Mercury connection continued until 1976, the last model year for Meteor as a separate marque. Afterward, the Meteor name was used on a variant of the Mercury Marquis , called the Mercury Marquis Meteor, and built until 1981. Ironically, the final Marquis Meteors were built in the US and shipped north.
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