In honor of the Geminid meteor shower that happened this past weekend, I thought I could do something about a Mercury Comet. You’d think a Mercury Meteor would be a better choice, but that was when I still suspected the Geminids were the result of passing through a comet’s tail instead of what it really is, the Earth passing through the remnants of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, sometimes thought of as a “rock comet.” So, I’m wrong, but I already started, so we’ll just say a Comet is close enough. This brochure is from 1972, and part of it caused me to learn something about kites, something I swore to a childhood mentor I’d never do.
And yet now I broke my promise. And I regret nothing. Nothing!
The Mercury Comet was the badge-engineered sibling of the Ford Maverick, and as such was a decent-looking if pretty conventionally-engineered compact-ish car. These weren’t great cars, they weren’t terrible, they were very much of their era. As was the way Ford advertised them in this brochure.
Look at this happy couple, driving their Comet out to the middle of nowhere so they could do some archery. I assume they brought the target with them? Were they asked to go way the hell out there because their neighbors were tired of arrows thwunking into their siding and garage doors and tires? Probably.
Also, look at this, from a Mercury Comet brochure one year later:
Is this the same spot? It feels like it may be the same, just on a foggier day and with less arrows.
Okay, so here’s the part that forced my hand into learning a tiny bit about early 1970s kites. See those kids in that big field – or, is it a golf course? That guy on the left looks like he’s holding a golf bag, so, maybe? I’m sure those golfers appreciate the kids running around flying kites. But you know what? Screw the golfers, let the kids fly kites.
But let’s look at that kite in the foreground: does it actually say “Gay Space Craft?” I mean, that’s great if it does, I’m just a little, you know, surprised to see such a thing from the early ’70s. So I did a little research. And, it doesn’t actually say “Gay Space Craft.” It says this:
Gayla Space Craft! Ohhhh, that makes sense! I’m told these kites, unburdened by tails and built sturdily, had a high angle of flight and, if I may be so bold, performance that was spectacular.
I also think this kite was designed to resemble a Gemini spacecraft, based on the window size, number, and position:
Look at that! Now I know a bit more about ’70s kites! Feels good. Real good.
The Comet’s list of features was pretty humble:
“Ventless windows?” Oh boy; freed from the tyranny of vents! Flashing side marker lights – I always liked those, they’re basically indicator repeaters. “Keyless locking” means, I think, using your finger to push the locking button down. Exciting stuff.
Look at that hood scoop! And those stripes! That’s a lot of visual excitement, which is why I find this next detail so odd:
These specs list torque in foot-pounds for each engine option, but not the more expected horsepower: why? I mean, torque isn’t a bad metric, but I’m still surprised to see it used in lieu of horsepower.
But you know, the ’70s were a crazy time, what with all those people shooting arrows in fields and gay kites.
That Gayla Space Craft is not just a kite— it’s a version of an experimental capsule recovery system designed by NASA for the Gemini program.
It’s a delta kite, a design that has its origins in NASA engineer Francis Rogallo converting his living room into a wind tunnel with box fans and some cardboard.
He did so at the request of his wife Gertrude and their kids, who were (along with Francis) obsessed with kites. Together, the family iterated on the first delta kite, which had no sticks (spars) and was the first kite supported entirely by the pressure of air underneath it.
For a while, the family was running a side business selling these “flexi-kites,” and their performance was impressive enough that NASA asked Francis to explore a scaled up version for use as a steerable parachute for the Gemini program. NASA tried a lot of variations, and while none went to space, the designs were repurposed by amateurs into the first steerable parachutes, hang gliders, and the Gayla Space Craft seen here.
Note: most histories (like the one linked below) tend to minimize Gertrude’s role in the development.
https://www.rogallofoundation.org/francis-rogallo-hang-gliding-pioneer/
First-gen VW Rabbits / Golfs: Driver’s door could NOT be locked without a key. So, ya, keyless locking was a thing, for better or worse.
Two great features on the Mk1s, you had to lock the driver’s door from the outside.
Headlights shut off with the ignition. (running lights stayed on and YYMV, didn’t kill the battery)
Twinkle, twinkle little kite
How I wonder what you like
I bet they used torque because the numbers were bigger!
I’m surprised power brakes weren’t even available in the beginning.
“Keyless locking” means, I think, using your finger to push the locking button down. “
Keyless Locking meant when you exited the car, you pushed the button down when the door was open – then when you closed the door from outside you held the handle up/pushed the door latch button in. When you released the handle from the closed door – the door was locked. Because if you didn’t hold the handle up/push the door latch button in, the door would unlock itself when you closed it.
Was the brochure for a Canadian version? Otherwise, I’m curious as to why fuel capacity was listed in imperial gallons instead of freedom gallons.
Odd. Those Comets look like someone asked an AI tool to make a mid 70s UK spec Cortina and a mid 70s UK spec Capri looks a bit, you know, American.
Holy shit. Is this… Mercury Monday???
My dad had a ’70 Maverick 2-door in that medium metallic green that Ford applied to so many of their cars back then. It was pretty low-spec. Manual transmission, dog dish hubcaps, no A/C. He had that car for 6 years, 5 of which were spent commuting 120 miles round-trip. I was too young to know all the details, but he generally did his own routine maintenance on it. As far as I know, or can remember, t was pretty trouble free until the last couple years when age and mileage caught up with it. He traded it for a blue ’76 Pinto, also in a low-spec configuration, and managed to get 7 years out of that.
Thanks for the memories here?
We had some family friends who owned a bakery in our very small town then, 1972.
They had the Maverick 2 door red.
They also were chain smokers. Who never bothered to empty the ashtray.
The couple times I had to ride in that piece of crap there were literally 2 inches of old cigarette butts on the floor, front and back. God as my witness.
We had to borrow that car once for a couple days. My old man made me spend an hour vacuaming out that rolling ashtray.
Then my Mom had a shit fit because her vacuum reeked of stale cig butts for the next 2 years…
After seeing and smelling that mess, my family quit buying stuff from their bakery.
It made for some awkward conversations soon after.
BTW, you should have seen the backroom of their bakery.
The early 1970’s was a really strange time in a lot of ways for sure.
Well; what was in the back room ???
Where the ovens and supplies were for the bakery.
And rats living in the 50lb bags of flour.
And uncleaned baking pans that never seemed to be clean.
Beyond gross.
I just shared my memories of my dad’s ’70 Maverick. One thing I didn’t note in my post, Dad was a 2-pack a day smoker back then. I never knew a car that didn’t reek of cigarettes until I was a teenager and both my parents had quit.
Growing up in the ’70s was both the best of times and the worst of times.
Absolutely true!
Well, only the front ashtray was lighted.
It was really nice when the manual transmission was the cheaper default and you paid extra for the luxury of automatic.
Wondering if the Comet could have been bought with a four speed manual.
I had a Mustang with the three speed manual. Awful gearbox by comparison living in a hilly place.
No mention ever of a factory 4-speed on the Maverick web forum. I think Granada offered the 3spd+OD manual.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Cold Start, it’s that new car owners back in the day were royal jerks.
Kids: “Dad, can we go fly gay kites?”
Dad, puffing on pipe: “Sure, kids! We’ll drive out to the middle of the golf course and fly them there. They can’t stop us; we have a brand new Mercury Comet!”
Kids, in unison: “Yay!”
BTW, my first car was a 1974 Mercury Comet GT, orange, with a 302 V8.
If there was a horsepower entry in the brochure, it would just say “yes.”
On the subject of kites: we used to tape razor blades to the delta wing leading edge and sharpened coat hanger hooks in the nose to create fighting kites. Nothing in kiting beat the thrill of putting one of these in a power dive into a formation of kites and slicing through their tethers, then pulling a reversal and streaking back on high.
I’m glad Torch is on the right side of the Golfer/Kite Enthusiast debate.
“Were they asked to go way the hell out there because their neighbors were tired of arrows thwunking into their siding and garage doors and tires?”
That could be the case. Someone I worked with competed in archery, and her nephew onetime shot an arrow over their fence and into the neighbors yard.
“These specs list torque in foot-pounds for each engine option, but not the more expected horsepower: Why?”
Frequently there were no performance statistics at all in car brochures of the time.
But there’s an old saying: “We advertise horsepower, but we drive torque”
The push in your back when you accelerate – That’s torque.
Top end speed and the ability to maintain speed – That’s horsepower.
This was the era when listing switched from gross HP to net HP. Manufacturers didn’t list HP because then they’d have to explain why the 289 that put out 180 HP last year only put out 145 HP this year.
Horsepower is how fast you’re going when you hit the brick wall.
Torque is how far you drag the brick wall with you after you hit it.
It’s the film nobody asked for….but everybody wanted…
funk music plays
Featuring stars Frank Bore-man
Gus Kissem
and Tom Stifford
with Jim Lovewell
in….
Gay Spacecraft
Splashing down June 23 in theatres nationwide.
Because a little curiosity is the key to exploration.
Ok the last line sold it for me
Its gonna be a tight fit in there.
That’s what she said.
She?
Dunno if there’s a lot of “she” going on in that capsule but hey, whatever floats the boat.
So the Comet required 91-octane gasoline back in 1972? Were these still specified to run leaded gas?
My family had a 1972 Mercury Monterey Custom – And yes, leaded gas was still a thing for us.
Unleaded gas didn’t become common until 1975 – when catalytic converters became mandatory.
That would be the old RON, Research Octane Number, not the currently used AKI which is an average of RON and MON, Motor Octane Number. In the early days the sticker on the pump actually said RON + MON/2.
RON numbers were about 8 higher than MON so yeah 87 AKI is today’s equivalent, in other words “regular” which used to mean w/lead.
Aw, man. That Gayla kite brings back memories. In the early 1980s, those delta-shaped kites and their vinyl-triangle, perfectly pre-adjustwd bridles were a revelation. The were so much easier to fly than the classic, diamond-shaped kites of yore. A manor part of this Gen-Xer’s childhood.
Ahh, memories. My older brother was a kite fanatic. And a bully to me and the other kids around. So when he acquired a six foot wingspan dragon kite (don’t know if the dragon was gay, you didn’t ask these things in the early 80’s) I arranged a hunting party.
When the bully got his dragon out on about 300 feet of line we opened fire with our Crossmans and Benjamins, sending up loads of 5-6 bbs at a time with 12 or 14 pumps. We heard the bully loudly whimpering, frantically pulling his line in. We got a good dozen hits on the dragon kite before he got it down and we ran for our lives. Mom took my air gun away for a month – well worth it.
A thousand times yes on the delta kites. We’d tie as many balls of string and climb on top of the sledding hill at Beverly Park, and see how high we could get it. And then go back to my cousin’s house and play Intellivision (WAY better graphics than the Atari that I begged for…)
Same – I had a bunch of Gayla kites as a teen.
I bought a bunch of delta kites, late 70s. A bunch since they always broke or ripped eventually.
I also bought a project book, “25 Kites That Fly” and made one of my own. The book title was kind of dumb since flying is the main functional requirement of kites. I doubt “25 Kites, Some Of Which Can Fly” would sell many copies.
Anyone who’s old enough knows the Gayla bat kites were the best and most 70s.
Yes, and well into the early 1980s. A stop at one of the great hobby shops in Gettysburg, PA back then was always a part of the summer ritual when we visited family. And while I do not hate the more common, modern, miniatures and cards hobby shops today, I dearly miss the ones that what were full of kites, model railroads, model kits and Estes model rockets.
I’m thankful to have a real, old-school 95% trains hobby shop 40 minutes away to support my other hobby.
It’s just little (zero room in my little house), but it’s a lot of fun!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RBMKn5Ta2yhuP5CD6
And IIRC the 80s is when the purple, monster version of the bat kite came out.
Me too re those shops. I remember going to get a particular little glass bottle of Testor’s paint that wasn’t contained in the multi pack you had but was critical to doing it right.
The bat kites were pretty great, but the “Sky Spy” kites were my personal favorite:
https://www.1999.co.jp/itbig41/10414945.jpg
Yes! I couldn’t recall the name of those, but the bloodshot eyes are etched in my brain!
The graphics on the kite ad have a real Church of the SubGenius / Devo vibe.
That guy in the lower corner is trying awfully hard to look like “Bob”!
Why even use “Required Option” on that spec sheet? The base lists a manual as standard with NA for auto. Why not do the same with the auto on the 250? Who came up with that anyway?
Because like some other options at that time – if you wanted one thing (the optional 250) you had to get another optional thing (the extra-cost automatic)
Other options were the same way:
If you wanted the optional sunroof, you had to also choose an optional vinyl top.
If you wanted optional leather, you had to choose the optional XR7 Package for your Cougar, or optional Comfort Lounge seats for your Continental.
If you wanted optional Air Conditioning or Rear Defroster, you had to also select optional tinted glass.
Etc.
Then why not make it standard on the 250? Seems like it’s overly complex.
Because it’s not standard. It’s a required option with that optional engine.
Mavericks and Comets were everywhere when I was a kid, I remember riding to school in several neighbors’. We had no bus.
Also, when those bird-shaped kites came out, my buddy and I pooled our money to buy a huge one and like 6 big spools of string. We made them into one big spool and flew that sucker over the cornfield that was across from his house in those days. We had that kite almost half a mile up (sort of), and it took both of us holding on to the spool to keep it from flying away.
So happy to learn this about kites!
The bike picture: Is that an avocado vinyl top over brown? They must have destroyed the car soon after because it threatened to actually stop time in the ’70s and keep Richard Nixon as president for eternity.
Also, if you have a gaggle of kids, why would you go for the two-door? That family must have loved the blue.
Kids are generally more limber than adults. Plus it’s cool to climb in the back. Dad also wanted to forget he had kids so he bought the two door.
Some people also just didn’t trust kids with doors because they might jump or fall out or whatever, and this is before the days of child locks.
So it’s a bit of a safety thing.
Low-speed ejection from the back seat of a 70s car here. Even as a 3 year old, I would do anything to escape my parents’ bickering
I freaking LOVED climbing into the back of 2-door vehicles as a kid. My kids, who are now in boosters, probably would love it too.
That was my Dad. Coupes are cooler than four doors no matter the hassle for the backseat occupants. We didn’t have a four door more or less until I bought my own. We did have a Citation four door but that was Mom’s commuter car (good car) and we rarely ever used it as a family car.
My parents bought a 2-door Fiat Palio hatch when I was born. Budget was definitely a factor, but they determined (by their own logic) that the longer door and tilt-forward front seats gave them better access to fiddle with the baby seat. Brody J makes a good point about child safety locks, as well.
It’s brown over brown.
If a dealer chose Green over Brown on the order sheet, the options checkers at the factory would have kicked it back for review and confirmation w/ the dealer.
Such a weird color combo would certainly not be in the brochure (I have a hard copy of that brochure in my files)
Back then, 2 doors were common for families on a budget – because four doors cost more.
Trick of the light or aging ink, I guess. I’m just relieved to know that didn’t actually exist.
Because “hose water and neglect”.
No one used rear seat belts back then. Just pile all us kids in the back.
Mom had 73 Comet, gold with brown interior, 250 six, no functioning a/c. Later, our HS autobody class painted it yellow.