Fabulous Fastbacks

Although only offered for two short model years, the Starliner name captivates car enthusiasts even today. When it was introduced for the 1960 model year, the radical fastback roof was unlike anything Ford had offered since 1948, and it was attached to one of the most flamboyant designs ever to come from Dearborn. When it returned for 1961, it was perhaps the only recognizable feature from the year before, and it has been perennially identified with the resurgence of Ford performance in the early ’60s — both in its absence for 1962, and in the way it led to the creation of the memorable 1963½ semi-fastback Sports Hardtop.

While the name Starliner sounds like a passenger ship for the cosmos, it was a natural extension of Ford styling and marketing themes of the era. Automobiles were the technological marvels of the early 20th century, but they had become thoroughly commonplace by the post-World-War-II era.