Everyone’s heard of the Model A and the Model T.
I understand Ford had a few Model B and C cars out there, but just how many other letters of the alphabet got used?
Anybody manage to collect the whole available alphabet of these cars?
Well, there’s the British MG. And MGA. More than one letter though…
The Ford Ka?
Mercedes has letter-named classes:
A class [tiny passenger cars]
C class [intermediate passenger cars]
E class [mid-sized sedans]
G class [true SUVs]
S class [mid-to-large-sized sedans]
Typical naming would be C240, S600, etc
Wiki lists Model A, AC, B, C, F, K, N, R, S, T, V-18 and Y, as well as several numbered “model {something}s”:
I’m assuming QtM is asking specifically about Fords. There will be a vast profusion of “model {letter}” cars across makes.
Jaguar E-type? Mercedes C Class?
Ah the Wiki article on Ford vehicles was just what I was looking for, tho I wish it had more photos!
Thanks, all!
Unless you consider MG as the make and A, B, C, and F being the model. (And for more than one letter, TA, TB, TC, TD, TF, plus the ‘F-series’ TF.)
Trivia: Who was Morris, and how did he make all those cars in his garage?
Seriously, thanks for the info.
If we’re branching out to platforms, there’s links by manufacturer at the bottom of this page
Holden, the Australian arm of GM, designated most of its early cars simply using two letters (FX, FJ, EH, HR, etc.). In fact, they still do use the two-letter designation, but the cars are now better known to the general public by particular names.
So, the Holden Commodore began production in the late 1970s as the VB, went all the way through to VZ (missing a few letters on the way), and is now in the VE stage (VE was missed the first time around). The current model is so different from the 1978 model that they can barely be compared, but the ongoing name (Commodore) and letter designation (V) marks them as being part of an ongoing development of a particular type of four-door sedan.
MGA was the model name they came up with after they’d already gone through the alphabet once and had to start over at the beginning.
They didn’t use all the letters the first time through. They were a small shop in the beginning, and some were probably one-offs or prototypes that they decided not to produce. Checking the list at Wikipedia, there’s:
MG M-Type (introduced 1929), C-Type (1931), D-Type (1931), F-Type (1931), J-Type (1932), K-Type (1932), KN (1933), L-Type (1933), N-Type (1934), P-Type (1934), SA (1936), TA (1936), VA (1937), WA (1938).
The T-series was developed into the TB (1939) and the TC (1945). As part of Britain’s effort to rebuild after World War II, companies could only get raw materials if they exported some portion of their output, and the TC came to America. Legend has it that its popularity was spread by returning American pilots who had enjoyed the cars during their deployment in Britain. The American love of the sports car was born.
Further models were:
TD (1950), TF (1953), Y-Type (1947), ZA (1953) and ZB (1956).
Which left them with something of a problem for their next, all new design. They decided to start at the beginning again, but drop the hyphen, and the MGA came out in 1955.
Chrysler used to make a S car. It was very slow. You should see the escargo.
There was the K Car from Chrysler.
And the Pontiac GTO.
How about a single numeral? Renault 5.
The British had Q ships and British submarines went by the letter. America had its X planes.
The Chrysler 300s may have established the best alphabetical series of autos, but I can say I have owned the strangest of Ford’s alphabetial missteps, the Merkur XR4Ti. As the Ford Sierra and particularly the Sierra Cosworth, the vehicle had a lot going for it, but in the US it was terribly executed, only available at a few Linoln Mercury dealers, and the shocks were too squishy.
Does the 240 Z count?
I didn’t see any one mention the XKE, but that could be because I am tired and not really seeing too well.