From 1959 to 1964 the Fairlane was an Australian assembled version of the American Ford Fairlane. It was Ford Australia's top-of-the-range model until replaced by an Australian assembled version of the American Ford Galaxie. In 1967 Ford Australia reintroduced the Fairlane, this time as an Australian-developed, luxury, long-wheelbase version of its mainstream Falcon.
The ZA Fairlane series, introduced in March 1967. Available as the Fairlane and the Fairlane 500 it was based on the Australian XR Falcon. The wheelbase of the Falcon was stretched by ten inches, the front and centre body sections were retained and a new twin headlight grille was added. The rear quarter panels and boot from the US Fairlane were used and square taillights replaced the round units used on the Falcon.
A model change to the ZB series in March 1968, the only notable external change being the tail-light design, again following the general look of the XT Falcon. The base model was now known as Fairlane Custom.
The facelifted ZC Fairlane series introduced in July 1969 featured vertically stacked rather than horizontal headlights. Tail-lights were similar to those on the ZB, but with wrap-around styling. The ZC was available in Fairlane Custom and Fairlane 500 models and air conditioning was offered as an option for the first time.
The ZD of 1971 had few changes. Externally, there were re-styled tail lights (similar to XY Falcon), a new plastic grille with metal surround and new boot garnish.
1972's ZF Fairlane was all new. An Australian design with swoopier bodywork, but there were criticisms that it looked too much like a four-headlamp version of the basic Falcon. The ZF Fairlanes were joined by an even more upscale LTD in August 1973, with hidden headlamps and vinyl roof. Model names remained the same (Custom and 500). The 1973 ZF also saw the last manual transmission; afterwards, all Fairlanes would be automatics.
1974 saw the introduction of the ZG series Fairlane. The changes were mainly cosmetic, with a four horizontal bar grille and revised tail-light lenses and garnish panel. An anniversary model with a standard 302 was released in 1975, but otherwise the range stayed the same as the 1974 versions. The LTD was only available as a four-door sedan, and the wheelbase was even longer than that of the Fairlane, itself a stretched Falcon. A luxury two-door coupé called the Ford Landau was released at the same time. Both models were notable for their concealed headlamps, which would be revealed when their vacuum-operated grille sections were retracted.
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