Ford Skyliner

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Ford Skyliner

See also Ford Victoria Skyliner
Ford Victoria Skyliner

Ford's 1952 Ford Victoria Skyliner was a model with an integrated acrylic glass panel over the front seating area. Based on the 1954 Ford design, it boasted a "freshness of view" through the green-tinted panel....
for the 1954 Ford and Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner
Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner

Ford's 1952 Ford Ford Victoria Skyliner was replaced in 1955 by the Crown Victoria Skyliner, based on the new 1955 Ford design. It shared the flashy chrome "basket handle" which stretched the B-pillar across the roof of the 1955 Ford Crown Victoria model but added a smoked acrylic glass window over the front seat area....
for the 1955–1956 Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Crown Victoria

The Ford Crown Victoria is a rear-wheel drive Ford full-size first produced by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market in the mid-1950s....
, both with acrylic glass
Acrylic glass

Poly poly is a thermoplastic and transparency plastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. It is sold by the trade names Plexiglas, Vitroflex, Limacryl, 'R-Cast, 'Per-Clax, 'Perspex, 'Plazcryl, 'Acrylex, 'Acrylite, 'Acrylplast, 'Altuglas, 'Polycast...
roofs.

The Ford Skyliner was an innovative full-size automobile with a retractable hardtop produced by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is an United States multinational corporation and the world's List of automobile manufacturers#World Motor Vehicle Production by Manufacturer based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen Group....
in the late 1950s. Based on the North American Ford Fairlane
Ford Fairlane (North American)

The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan....
, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. This mechanism was prone to failure, and the large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales. Nonetheless, the retractable hardtop reappeared in the 1990s with the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder
Mitsubishi GTO

The Mitsubishi GTO is a sports grand tourer built by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors between 1990 and 2001, although in most export markets it was rebadged as a Mitsubishi 3000GT....
and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

The Skyliner, which was produced for model years 1957, 1958, and 1959, had a squared-off roofline style that was admired by the public and found its way onto most Ford two-door hardtops until 1965, including the Thunderbird
Ford Thunderbird

The Thunderbird, often abbreviated as T-Bird, was an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from 1955 through 2005 — through thirteen generations and various body types....
, Galaxie
Ford Galaxie

The Ford Galaxie was a Ford full-size built in the United States by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1959 through 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford?s full-size range from 1959 until 1966....
, and Fairlane
Ford Fairlane (North American)

The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan....
.

The Skyliner name was previously applied to another Fairlane derivative, the Crown Victoria Skyliner. This vehicle had a clear acrylic glass
Acrylic glass

Poly poly is a thermoplastic and transparency plastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. It is sold by the trade names Plexiglas, Vitroflex, Limacryl, 'R-Cast, 'Per-Clax, 'Perspex, 'Plazcryl, 'Acrylex, 'Acrylite, 'Acrylplast, 'Altuglas, 'Polycast...
roof panel over the front row of seats.

Today, the Skyliner has become a very valuable collectible car, with high-point restored specimens costing upwards of $50,000 (2006).