The
Ford Mainline is an
automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
which was produced by the
Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the models years 1952 to 1956. It was introduced as the base trim level of the
1952 FordThe Ford line of cars was again refreshed for 1952, although remaining similar to the all-new 1949 Fords. This time, curved one-piece windshield glass joined a new "Mileage Maker" straight-6 engine with 101hp...
range below the
CustomlineFord's mid-range trim from 1952 through 1956 was called Customline. The Customline was more expensive than the Mainline but less expensive than the Crestline or, later, the Fairlane.See also:* 1952–1954 Ford Customline* 1955–1956 Ford Customline...
and Crestline models. The Mainline retained its position in the redesigned
1955 FordThe Ford line of cars gained a new body for 1955 to keep up with surging Chevrolet, although it remained similar to the 1952 Ford underneath...
range but was dropped for the
1957 model yearThe mainstream Ford line of cars grew substantially larger for 1957, a model which lasted through 1959. The Crown Victoria with its flashy chrome "basket handle" was no more, and the acrylic glass-roofed Crown Victoria Skyliner was replaced by a new model, the retracting-roof hardtop Skyliner.The...
when the
Ford CustomThe Ford Custom is a car model name that has been used by the Ford Motor Company both in the United States and Canada from the 1930s to 1972....
became the new base model.
The Mainline was offered in 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan, 2 door
coupeA coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
and 2 door
station wagonA station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
body styles. The station wagon was marketed as the Mainline Ranch Wagon until it lost its Mainline tag for the 1955 model year when all Ford wagons were moved to their own series. Mainlines were available with both inline six cylinder and V8 engines.
Australian Ford Mainline Utility
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
the Mainline name was applied to a locally developed 2 door
coupé utilityThe coupé utility automobile body style, also known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform....
version of the Ford Customline sedan from 1952. The Mainline utilized an imported Ford V8
convertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
chassis with an added cross member for additional load carrying strength. It sold alongside the Australian built Customline sedan, with both given yearly updates until production ceased in 1959. The Mainline Utility were powered by an Australian produced version of the
Ford side valve V8The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...
engine until the introduction of the
OHV V8The Y-block engine is a family of overhead valve V8 automobile piston engines from Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1952 on Ford trucks and in 1954 on Ford cars to replace the side-valved Ford Flathead engine and was replaced by the Ford FE engine and the Ford Windsor engine in 1962, and...
in the redesigned 1955 series.