Editing Meteor (automobile) (section)

== History ==
The initial 1949 Meteor was introduced on June 25, 1948, at the same time the Ford Deluxe and Custom series were introduced across North America, and shared the new postwar full-sized Ford bodies, chassis, and powertrains but with unique trim. It used a Mercury grille and was powered by a {{Convert|100|bhp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, 239 CID flathead V8 similar to that used in 1946–1953 U.S. Ford passenger cars. Meteor, as well as the Canadian Ford, kept the flathead V8 engine through 1954. The new OHV V8 which US Fords offered beginning in 1954 was not introduced in Canada until the 1955 model year. The following year, Ford of Canada introduced a six-cylinder engine for Canadian Ford cars. Meteor models continued to use the Ford body with unique items such as grilles, taillights, and moldings. From 1952 Meteor models used Ford's new Mainline, Customline, and Crestline model names.<ref name=Meteor_Phase_1>[http://web.archive.org/web/20240117092436/https://www.ford.ca/about-ford/heritage/post-war-fords/meteor-phase-1/ Meteor (Phase 1), www.ford.ca, as archived at web.archive.org]</ref> The 1952–1954 Meteors used Mercury instrument panels and dashboards. In mid-1954, some Niagara and Rideau models began using Ford instrument panels and dashes. These cars were named Niagara Special and Rideau Special and were priced around C$67 less than regular Niagaras or Rideaus.

For 1954, Meteors no longer shared their model names with Ford models.<ref name=Meteor_Phase_1/> The entry-level Meteor Mainline was discontinued and the new base model did not have a specific model name.<ref name=Meteor_Phase_1/> The mid-level Meteor Customline was replaced with the Meteor Niagara and the top trim level Meteor Crestline was replaced with the [[Meteor Rideau]].<ref name=Meteor_Phase_1/> 

A rebadged, Canadian-built version of the [[Ford Ranchero]] was added in 1957, and continued to be produced until 1959 as the "Meteor Ranchero."<ref>{{cite web|last=Mays|first=James C.|title=1957–1958 Meteor Ranchero|url=http://www.oldcarscanada.com/2010/04/1957-8-meteor-ranchero.html|work=oldcarscanada.com|accessdate=18 April 2014}}</ref> The Montcalm series was added in mid-1959 as a counterpart to Ford's new Galaxie models.

Meteor was discontinued as a brand name after 1961 for a number of reasons. The Meteor name was selected for a new vehicle introduced in the Mercury line, the intermediate sized [[Mercury Meteor]], beginning in 1962, and the entire Mercury line had already been dropped down in price (moving closer to the niche previously served by the Meteor brand in Canada) due to slow Mercury sales and the discontinuation of the [[Edsel]] brand.

===Model names===
378,463 were built in model years 1949 through 1961, using the following model names:

* De Luxe / Deluxe (1949–1950)
* Custom (1949)
*Custom Deluxe (1950–1951)
*Custom Deluxe Victoria (pillarless hardtop coupe; 1951)
* Mainline (1952–1953)
* Customline (1952–1953)
* Customline Victoria (pillarless hardtop coupe; 1952)
* Sedan Delivery (1953–1961) <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20210613/https://www.ford.ca/about-ford/heritage/ford-trucks/meteor-trucks/ Ford Trucks - Meteor Trucks, www.ford.ca, as archived at web.archive.org]</ref> (Mainline Sedan Delivery for 1952 <ref>[https://xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/1952-Meteor-Prestige-Rev-AUS.pdf '52 Meteor Brochure, xr793.com] Retrieved 4 February 2024</ref>)
*Crestline Victoria (pillarless hardtop coupe; 1953)
* Meteor (1954–1961)
* Niagara/Niagara 300 (1954–1959)
* Rideau/Rideau 500 (1954–1961)
*Rideau Skyliner (pillarless hardtop with plexiglass roof; 1954)
*Rideau Victoria (pillarless hardtop coupe; 1954)
*Rideau Crown Victoria (1955)
* Ranchero (1957–1959)
* Montcalm (1958–1961)
* Country Sedan <ref>[http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/Meteor/1959%20Meteor%20Brochure/image7.html 1959 Meteor Brochure, www.oldcarbrochures.com] Retrieved 5 October 2021</ref>
* Ranch Wagon <ref>[http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/Meteor/1959%20Meteor%20Brochure/image8.html 1959 Meteor Brochure, www.oldcarbrochures.com] Retrieved 23 January 2022</ref>

The Meteor name was not its own brand in model years 1962 and 1963, replaced by the '''[[Mercury Meteor#Intermediate (1962-1963)|Mercury Meteor]]''', based on the [[Ford Fairlane (Americas)|Ford Fairlane]]. When the brand returned for 1964 they were based on the full-size Mercury rather than Fords as earlier. About 255,000 Meteors were built between 1964 and 1976, in six different series:

* Meteor (1964)
* Custom (1964)
* Rideau/Rideau 500 (1965–1976)
* Montcalm (1965–1976)
* Montego (1967)
* LeMoyne (1968–1970)