Canada is a strange place, and not just because of poutine and clam-juice cocktails. There are also Canadian potato chips. Not only do our neighbors up north indulge with great regularity in ketchup-flavored chips, they also enjoy something called “all-dressed” chips. I’ve had them, and they’re difficult to describe.
1954 Mercury M-100
But it’s not just food. Due to a number of factors, including a relatively low population density (really), Canada has been home to some strange cars and trucks, too. And by strange, I mean unique. And by unique, I mean that American carmakers created and branded a number of vehicles over the years exclusively for the Canadian market.
Here’s the deal: Because Canada is generally more rural than the U.S., the population up there is more diffuse, meaning that it’s a little harder for retailers of virtually any product to reach a significant audience. For carmakers, this means that many towns in Canada can really only support one dealership, but not two or three. Here’s why that matters…
In America, historically, Ford would have all of its brands represented in a community: Ford, Ford Trucks, Mercury and Lincoln. And generally, Ford and Ford Trucks, and Mercury and Lincoln would be paired, or “dualled” as they say in the biz. So, two dealership cover the full product lineup.
But in Canada, communities are smaller, and the people further apart. This means that for most locations, one dealer is all a maker can justify. For Ford, for example, this can be awkward, as the Ford-brand store largely caters to mainstream shoppers, while the Lincoln-Mercury store more upscale clientele. And this is where things get interesting…
Like General Motors, Ford developed expanded lineups for its Canadian dealerships, this to allow single outlets to reach a broader audience. So, For part of the Forties and in the Fifties, Ford stores sold a line of upscale models under the Monarch brand. Likewise, Mercury stores sold a line of cars similar in price to Ford models branded Meteor.
But what Mercury stores really needed was trucks. So, In 1947, Merc began selling “M-Series” pickup trucks. The M trucks were virtual clones of their Ford F-Series counterparts, save for some minor grille and trim tweaks.
The ad seen here depicts a 1954 M-100 pickup, a workhorse well suited for rural and agricultural Canada. Mercury dealers in Canada would go on to sell rebranded Ford pickups until 1968.
In a similar vein, Chrysler developed the Fargo line of trucks for sale at its Chrysler-Plymouth stores, which would otherwise have been without trucks in their lineup. And, as the Mercury trucks were rebadged Fords, Fargos were simply rebadged Dodge trucks.
The crazy Canadian-special model phenomenon lasted through the Nineties, and perhaps crescendoed with Pontiac selling a thinly disguised version of the Chevrolet Corsica. You can check out more Canadian-special cars here. And for some extreme Canadian weirdness, check this out.
And, as for this ad, it’s not crazy or anything, but it has rarely been gazed upon by Americans. There was a whole other auto world up there north o the border, and few of us Yanks know much about it.
The Canadian Auto Brochure Power Quiz
