“Trim, Taut, Terrific” was the slogan for the facelifted Falcon, the XL. Visually, the roof line was given a squarer look, known as the “Thunderbird” look, and the grille became convex. A first for Falcon, the XL came with seat belt attachment points, although the belts had to be bought separately.
The luxury Futura model was added and featured a padded dash, full carpeting and bucket seats. Also added was the very American Squire wagon. It had fake wood side panels made of fibreglass, but didn’t appeal to conservative Australian buyers and only 728 were sold. It’s now considered a collector’s item.A better clutch was fitted to manual models, and second gear ratios went from 1.75 to 1.83 for improved acceleration at lower speeds. There were suspension changes, a new starter motor and the carburettor had been reworked. Ford boasted the XL had 734 new parts, the idea being that all-new parts would mean the end of the problems that plagued the XK. This attracted buyers and the XL Falcon outsold the XK by 7000 cars.Unfortunately, the problems were still there. The Falcon was a good car in shape and concept. Buyers liked the style and roominess. Ford needed to get the mechanicals right. (The XL Falcon was also manufactured and sold in South American countries where it remained, with a few very minor facelifts, until 1991!)
The luxury Futura model was added and featured a padded dash, full carpeting and bucket seats. Also added was the very American Squire wagon. It had fake wood side panels made of fibreglass, but didn’t appeal to conservative Australian buyers and only 728 were sold. It’s now considered a collector’s item.A better clutch was fitted to manual models, and second gear ratios went from 1.75 to 1.83 for improved acceleration at lower speeds. There were suspension changes, a new starter motor and the carburettor had been reworked. Ford boasted the XL had 734 new parts, the idea being that all-new parts would mean the end of the problems that plagued the XK. This attracted buyers and the XL Falcon outsold the XK by 7000 cars.Unfortunately, the problems were still there. The Falcon was a good car in shape and concept. Buyers liked the style and roominess. Ford needed to get the mechanicals right. (The XL Falcon was also manufactured and sold in South American countries where it remained, with a few very minor facelifts, until 1991!)
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