10 facts you may not have known about the XC
ZH Fairlane and XC Falcon trim codes
XC Falcon and ZH Fairlane option codes
July 1976 saw the introduction of the XC Falcon. It was a minor facelift of the XB and would be the final update of the 3rd generation of Australian Ford Falcons which consisted of the XA, XB and XC Falcons . It would remain in production until March 1979.
The XC would be the last of the Falcons to feature metal bumper bars. It would also be the last Falcon to feature a 2 door coupe.
The XC Falcons changes were mainly mechanical. This was due to the fact that the Australian government had introduced new regulations regarding exhaust emissions. In effect this lead to a decrease in power as well as a decrease in fuel efficiency. As you can probably guess this legislation was not very popular among Australian automobile manufactures or enthusiasts.
The fuel crisis of the mid 1970’s, coupled with changing government regulations had signalled the end of the performance era in Australian motoring. With petrol prices on the rise Australian car manufacturers (namely Holden, Ford and Chrysler) could no longer justify spending a majority of their research and development budget on increasing speed and performance. The emphasis was now on fuel efficiency.
In order to increase fuel efficiency, Ford would opt to build a lighter car, Chrysler adopted an effective Electronic Lean Burn and Holden would eventually exit the large car market and opt to build a smaller car to save weight.
Prices of the XC started from $5 456, just over 170 000 were produced in total.
10 facts you may not have known about the XC
ZH Fairlane and XC Falcon trim codes
ZH Fairlane and XC Falcon option codes