page_title: Mercury Comet
section_title: First generation (1960–1963)
hierarchical_section_title: Mercury Comet / First generation (1960–1963)
caption_attribution_description: English: A 1962 Mercury Comet four-door sedan with the single-barrel, 144ci inline-six (2.4 L, 90hp). Assembled in Metuchen, NJ.
context_page_description: The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1962–1969 and 1971–1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car.
  The Comet was initially based on the compact Ford Falcon, then on the intermediate Ford Fairlane and finally on the compact Ford Maverick. As a Mercury, early Comets received better grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons, and a slightly longer wheelbase.
context_section_description: The Comet was initially released without any divisional badging, only "Comet" badges, similar to Valiant which didn't have Plymouth badging at first. It was sold through Mercury-Comet dealers, but would not be branded as a Mercury Comet for two more years. This was similar to Ford's treatment of the Meteor and Frontenac of Canada, sold thru Meteor - Mercury - Frontenac dealers.
  Introduced in March 1960, initial body styles were 2-door and 4-door sedans and 2- and 4-door station wagons. Two trim levels were available, standard and "Custom", with the custom package including badging, additional chrome trim and all-vinyl interiors. In 1960, the only engine available was the 144 cid Thriftpower straight-six with a single-barrel Holley carburetor which produced 90 hp (67 kW) at 4200 rpm. (Some sources list it as producing 85 hp (63 kW) at 4200 rpm). Transmission options were a column-shifted 3-speed manual and a 2-speed Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission (unique to the Comet, despite sharing a name with the Merc-O-Matic installed in other Mercurys).
  Ford had purchased the name "Comet" from Comet Coach Company, a professional car manufacturer in which the term belonged to a line of funeral coaches, mainly Oldsmobiles. The coach company then was renamed Cotner-Bevington.
  In Canada, for the 1960 model year, Meteor-Mercury dealers sold a compact car called the "Frontenac". Frontenac was considered a marque in its own right and was a badge-engineered version of the Ford Falcon with only minor trim differences to distinguish it from the Falcon. The Frontenac was produced for only one year. The Comet was introduced to the Canadian market for the 1961 model year and replaced the Frontenac as the compact offering by Meteor-Mercury dealers.
  In response to complaints about the low performance of the 144 cid engine, a 170 cid Thriftpower with a single-barrel Holley carburetor producing 101 hp (75 kW) at 4400 rpm was released for the 1961 model year. A new 4-speed manual transmission was also an option (a Dagenham without 1st gear synchromesh). The changes to the 1961 Comet were minimal such as moving the Comet Script from the front fender to the rear quarter as well as a new grille design. 
  The optional S-22 package was released. Available only on the 2-door sedan, it was billed as a "sport" package, although it shared the same mechanicals as regular Comets, with the only changes being S-22 badging, bucket seats and a center console.
  Comet was officially made a Mercury model for the 1962 model year, and it received some minor restyling, mainly a redesign of the trunk and taillight area to bring the car more in line with the Mercury look. This is the first year the car carried Mercury badging.
  The S-22 had six bullet shaped tail lights, while regular Comets had four oval with 2 optional flat reverse lights. A Comet Villager station wagon, basically a Comet Custom 4-door station wagon with simulated woodgrain side panels, was added to the lineup. (The Villager name had previously been used to denote the 4-door steel-sided station wagon in the Edsel Ranger series.)
  While the 1963 model looked almost identical to the earlier models, the chassis and suspension were redesigned to accommodate an optional 260 cid V8 engine (Borrowed from the Fairlane) using a 2-barrel carburetor and producing 164 hp (122 kW). Convertible and hardtop (pillar-less) coupe models were added to the Comet Custom and Comet S-22 lines this year.
  The front ends of these Comets differed from their Falcon counterparts in that they had four headlights instead of two; similar situations would resurface in the late 1970s, with the Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar and the Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr.
caption: 1962 Mercury Comet 4-door sedan
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