The Meteor was a marque of vehicles sold in Canada by Ford between 1948 and 1976. It was initially introduced in North America with a flathead 75 kW V8 engine under its hood. It would take 34 years before Ford released it in Australia as a 4-door sedan and later on as a 4-door wagon. However, its stay was short-lived. It was not popular with the Australian buyers, and for this reason, Ford discontinued it in 1987.
1982-1985
In 1982, Ford offered the Meteor in Australia in two trim models: Ghia and GL. The Ghia and GL models were fitted with a 1,490cc 1.5L 4-cylinder petrol engine that could reach a peak power of 59 kW and a maximum torque of 117N.m. The GL came with 5-speed manual, 3-speed automatic, or 4-speed manual transmission. The Ghia, on the other hand, came with either a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission. With a 3-speed automatic transmission, however, the engine produced less torque (110N.m) but the same peak power output (59kW).
1896
1986 was the year the Meteor 4-door wagon (with GL and L trim models) hit the Australian market. In the same year, the engine capacity increased from 1.5L to 1.6L with a 1,597cc petrol engine (for the sedans and wagons) that had a power output of 53 kW and a torque of 121 N.m. They used either a 5-speed manual, 3-speed automatic, or 4-speed manual transmission. Some of the base features of the 1986 Meteor trim models (specifically the Ghia) included a central locking system, power mirrors, and a radio cassette.
1987
The 1987 models were the last ones sold in Australia. Ford did not make any changes to the powertrains and instead stuck with the 1.6L 1597cc engines used for the cars in the 1986 model year.
- Eric Anyega