For Sale: 1961 Comet 2dr Sedan, 38K miles, 170 6-cyl. manual shift - $9,850 - Scotia. NY - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1961 Comet 2dr Sedan, 38K miles, 170 6-cyl. manual shift - $9,850 - Scotia. NY

1961 mercury comet for sale by owner - Schenectady, NY - craigslist
Seller's Description:

1961 Comet 2 door, 38,367 miles, light blue. Very, very good condition. 170 CI 6-cylinder engine, 3 speed manual shift transmission on column.
Contact: call or text Jim (518) 4-two-8-6-two-6-2
Copy and paste in your email: 0c699ed1df6931aca738e814225419a1@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1961 Comet 2dr Sedan.

Note: For model years 1960 and 1961 Comets were titled and sold as a stand-alone nameplate at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, but not as "Mercury Comet" until the 1962 model when the Mercury Meteor join the Mercury product line.  

[plymouthcranbrook]

I was going to remark about being a bit overpriced but after seeing the pictures it certainly seems to be in the ballpark. Especially if you always wanted one.😁

[rocketraider]

I did not need to see this car...

 

Trying to figure out the carpet. I'd always read that 60 and 61 Comet had rubber floor covering standard, and only the 61 S22 or cars with Deluxe trim got carpet. This isn't a buckets/console S22, nor does it have bright metal window frames as a Deluxe would.

 

I sure do like it though. This is the best Comet I've seen in this section. And with the 170, it might be able to get out of its own way!

[Fossil]

I much prefer the looks of these Comets compared to the Falcon. This one is very nice. 

[m-mman]

3 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

titled and sold as a stand-alone nameplate at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, but not as "Mercury Comet" until the 1962 model when the Mercury Meteor join the Mercury product line

Yes and the 1960 Valiant was not a Plymouth.  For a long while Imperials were not Chryslers and we all know that at the end Clippers were no longer Packards……

 

Car people cherish these subtle marketing moves but are there examples where it made a difference to the buyers of the time?
 
For the people walking onto a lot in the 50s - 60s I don’t think that any of them knew or cared.  

The ads said “Comet, see it at your Mercury dealer” (because where else would you get one?) Later it was “The new Mercury Comet for 19XX” now at your Lincoln Mercury dealer. 
 

I think the buyers only looked at the shape and the price, rarely the details of the name.  

[58L-Y8]

19 hours ago, m-mman said:

Yes and the 1960 Valiant was not a Plymouth.  For a long while Imperials were not Chryslers and we all know that at the end Clippers were no longer Packards……

 

Car people cherish these subtle marketing moves but are there examples where it made a difference to the buyers of the time?
 
For the people walking onto a lot in the 50s - 60s I don’t think that any of them knew or cared.  

The ads said “Comet, see it at your Mercury dealer” (because where else would you get one?) Later it was “The new Mercury Comet for 19XX” now at your Lincoln Mercury dealer. 
 

I think the buyers only looked at the shape and the price, rarely the details of the name.  

m-mman:

 

Those initial marketing gambits such as the 1960-'61 Comet, 1960 Valiant, all the years Chrysler tried in vain to separate Imperial and AMC tried to tell people an Ambassador was neither a Nash nor a Rambler but as an independent nameplate are just some of the industry trivial tidbits that make automotive history fascinating.  It's true, buyers at the time were focused primarily on the promising aspects of the car under consideration for their potential purchase and of course its price.

 

"...but are there examples where it made a difference to the buyers of the time?"

 

Only perhaps to the absolute diehard brand loyalist that were common years ago.   Dodge owners swore their cars were superior to Plymouths. Every Big Three brand loyal owner looked down on those oddball independent make cars as 'off-brands'.    Marketing takes advantage of the illogic of the human psyche.

 

Steve
 

Addendum: For years after Comet had been replaced in the 1960's-1970's by Montego and by Zephyr in the 1980's, a yellow 'Comet' neon sign still glowed in a local Lincoln-Mercury dealership used as a nightlight.  

Edited July 24 by 58L-Y8
addendum comments (see edit history)

[TerryB]

Yes indeed, a great looking survivor car. No frills with economy as the selling point.  

[m-mman]

2 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

It's true, buyers at the time were focused primarily on the promising aspects of the car under consideration for their potential purchase and of course its price.

A lot of effort by the ad men to push something that nobody cared about. 

BUT…..

FoMoCo must have been overjoyed that the Edsel was never more than just Edsel.  That saved a lot of reputation rehabilitation after 1960.  😁

[58L-Y8]

17 minutes ago, m-mman said:

A lot of effort by the ad men to push something that nobody cared about. 

BUT…..

FoMoCo must have been overjoyed that the Edsel was never more than just Edsel.  That saved a lot of reputation rehabilitation after 1960.  😁

m-mman:

 

Indeed, the Edsel faded away very quickly, a process that started even with the reduced selection of 1959 models.  By 1960, it was nearly invisible and irrelevant as the franchises had been folded into the Lincoln-Mercury dealer network.  Few L-M dealers were interested in promoting Edsel since the Mercury Monterey competed on price with all but the cheaper 1960 Edsel models.  Salvation arrived in March 1960 when the 1960 Comet was introduced.  Dealers lived on high Comet sales, even more so when the down-market 1961 and 1962 full-size Mercurys produced lackluster sales.   Greater differentiated 1963-'64 styling and the unique breezeway started to raise the make from the doldrums. 

 

By the late 1950's, the general public was used to seeing established nameplates disappear from the market; Kaiser and Willys Aero, 1955; Nash and Hudson, 1957; Packard, 1958; Studebaker expected to quit any day except forestalled by the Lark.  Edsel's trajectory was analogous to a firework burst.  DeSoto was being perceived as superfluous, its content available in a Dodge Polara or Chrysler Windsor or Newport.  By the mid-1960's, it was rare to even hear anyone mention the Edsel, except in reference to a failure. 

 

Steve

[Dave Wells]

This Comet was a nice grandma car back when grandmas could drive cars with manual transmissions.

 

 

 

 

[TAKerry]

5 hours ago, Dave Wells said:

This Comet was a nice grandma car back when grandmas could drive cars with manual transmissions.

 

 

 

 

I was looking for the 'only driven by a little old lady to church on Sunday's'.

[drhach]

Somewhere there's a picture of me on a tricycle; maybe 2 years old. That same model is parked on the street. My Mom called it the "puddle jumper".  I've always liked those taillights. 

[58L-Y8]

23 minutes ago, drhach said:

Somewhere there's a picture of me on a tricycle; maybe 2 years old. That same model is parked on the street. My Mom called it the "puddle jumper".  I've always liked those taillights. 

 

[Sal Hepatica]

Not mentioned, the Comet was originally going to be called Edsel. They had to find a 5 letter name to replace it. There are '60 "Comet" parts marked Edsel on the box.

This is the nicest example I've seen in decades. 

[58L-Y8]

Here is a front view of a 1960 Edsel styling prototypes still with the vertical center grille theme which gave it a look we now associate with Pontiac. 

[EmTee]

On 7/25/2024 at 8:34 AM, 58L-Y8 said:

Here is a front view of a 1960 Edsel styling prototypes still with the vertical center grille theme which gave it a look we now associate with Pontiac. 

The inspiration...?