1952 Ford

convertible, and the "Victoria" hardtop, a tradition going back to 1932 with the Ford Victoria 2-door coupe. The station wagon continued with the "Country Squire". Inside was a "flight-style" control panel and new pedals suspended from below the dashboard.^[4] A voltmeter, gas gauge, temp. gauge, and oil pressure were standard.^[3] The clock and radio were in the center of the dash. The grille sported a single center "bullet" surrounded by a chrome ring as well as "jet intake" corner markers. New trunk hinges were used that would not crush the contents of the trunk.^[5] Wheelbase was 115 in (2,921 mm).^[3]

Lincoln lines. The center grill bullet lost its ring and was now flanked by vertical black stripes, while the corner markers were plain rectangular lights rather than the circular "intakes". All 1953 Fords featured commemorative steering wheels marking the company's 50th anniversary. Mechanical changes included two-inch wider tread, and a k-bar frame with five cross-members.^[6] William Clay Ford paced the Indianapolis 500 in a Sunliner convertible with a dummy Continental tire kit (Coronado kit).^[3] This was also the last year for real wood trim on the Country Squire wagon. Toward the end of the year, Ford added "Master-Guide" power steering as an option on cars with V8s. Full instrumentation was still used.^[7] An unusual service provided by Ford was that the radio preset buttons would already be set to local stations by the dealer.^[8] The heater was $74.^[9][3]

acrylic glass panel over the front half of the roof. Also added was the new "Astra-Dial Control Panel" speedometer, which has a clear, plastic covering on the top, which let sunlight illuminate it in the day-time.^[11][12] New power accessories included a four-way power front seat.^[3] The "woody" Country Squire wagon now used artificial fiberglass

Flathead V8 which went into Australian production in 1952.^[13][14] The Australian 1954s (arriving in June 1954) retained the flathead V8 rather than the new overhead-valve unit used in the United States, but received some visual alterations mostly consisting of additional chrome. The bumpers were deeper, wraparound units, while the taillights were redesigned, a full-length chrome strip was fitted along the side, and an airplane-shaped bonnet ornament was fitted. The interior was now available in either Vynex or leather.^[15]