At $9,000, Would This 1976 Ford Granada Ghia Put You Back In Black?

Ford’s Granada was the brand’s entry into the emerging “luxury compact” class of cars, although as evidenced by today’s Nice Price or No Dice Ghia coupe, it’s nowhere near what we might consider compact at present. Let’s see if its price offers similar distortions.

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Some people claim that too much is never enough, and for the builder of yesterday’s 1,500-horsepower twin-turbo 2004 Dodge Viper SRT10, that certainly seems a fitting motto. Declining health was the reason given for the sale, but many of you found the $79,995 asking price to be none-to-healthy and as over the top as the car. As such, it fell in an 81 percent No Dice loss.

Today is Black Friday, the first official day of the holiday shopping season, and, more importantly, the day many of us look forward to for Turkey Day leftovers. Mmmm, pie.

As an annual super sale day, Black Friday has seemingly lost its luster as there’s been a lot of pre-gaming going on for weeks now. It’s all part of the great holiday shift that sees Halloween decorations in stores just after Independence Day, quickly swapped out for Christmas Crap before even Labor Day has passed. It’s like Daylight Saving Time but on a grander and ever-sliding scale.

Well, I, for one, am a traditionalist and refuse to celebrate Black Friday before the actual day. And, to be honest, probably not until later in the day because I’m sleeping in after having eaten too much yesterday.

To celebrate this holiest of “holy cow, the Walmart parking lot is crowded” days, we’re going old school with a 1976 Ford Granada Ghia Coupe that just so happens to be black. Amazing how these things work out.

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Ford launched the Granada for the 1975 model year as the company’s entry into the burgeoning luxury compact segment and yet another car named for a city on the Iberian Peninsula.

While similar in size to the contemporary Maverick and sharing much of its Falcon-based platform, the Granada was designed with a much more upright and classical body style, eschewing the Maverick’s Coke Bottle hips and sloping roofline. Offered in both a sedan and an opera light coupe, the Granada also shared everything with the Mercury Monarch save for its badging and grille texture.

This one comes with a clean title and just 30,000 miles on the clock. It’s pretty much kitted out up the wazoo with the top-of-the-line Ghia package, a vinyl roof, full wheel covers, power windows, and most importantly, the biggest engine the lineup offered.

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That’s the 351 Windsor, which is a punched-out version of Ford’s evergreen small block line as opposed to the 351 Cleveland, which was a totally different design.

This one, being from the mid-’70s, is a low compression (8:1), two-barrel carb edition making a mere 140 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. As paltry as those numbers may be, that’s the highest output of any engine the Granada offered at the time. Backing that up is a three-speed C4 automatic driving the solid rear axle. Power steering and brakes offer some added ease to the driving experience.

As far as looks go, this Granada has it going on. The ad touts it as “Not a perfect car but one that is extremely close to it.” There doesn’t seem to be anything amiss in the bodywork, and the back end still has the center flap over the gas filler. Those typically broke off within the first few years of the car’s life. Underneath, both the gas tank and the exhaust look brand new, as does the small section of the interior we’re allowed to see. New floor mats would be nice, though, since the present ones appear faded and tacky. And yes, that faux woodgrain and vinyl upholstery were what passed for luxury trim back in the ’70s. It was a terrible time.