Comet

1961 Comet

Note the canted taillights - this car was originally designed to be an Edsel.  Remember, Edsel was designed to bridge the price gap between Ford and Mercury models, so it only makes sense that the compact Falcon's twin would go to Edsel instead of Mercury.  At the last minute Ford realized the Edsel was a lost cause and assigned the car to Mercury dealers.  An Edsel split grill was hastily reworked to match the current Mercury styling themes but the canted taillights remained.  As did the 'E' shaped key (with a twist - the center bar of the E was removed to form a C).  For 1960 and 1961 these cars were simply sold as Comets, with no mention of Mercury anywhere on the car.  The first year of the 'Mercury Comet' was 1962.