Chrome Addict

Hello, I’m Tom Maruska and you’re witnessing history being made as the 1954 Mercury XM-800 concept car drives into view. You see, the XM-800 was a push car when new. It was common for auto manufacturers to not make their concept cars fully functional for cost saving measures. The XM-800 lacked certain drive train components needed to make it driveable. I installed these missing components when I restored the XM-800. The XM-800 was designed by John Najjar of the Lincoln-Mercury Design Division of Ford Motor Company in 1952. It was built in late 1953 and is crafted entirely of fiberglass. a new challenge in the auto industry and Fords first venture into fiberglass. Even the bumpers are fiberglass and chrome plated, likely the first plastics ever to be chrome plated. I restored the XM-800 over the winter of 2008/2009.The windshield and rear windows are plexiglass. The Xm-800 features power windows, power seats, power brakes and sual exhaust. All quite commonplace in todays automobiles but something quite amazing in 1954. It also features power opening and closing hood and trunk lids as well as a power reclining front passenger seat. These are features you still not available in todays autos. Other features include bucket seats front and rear, something not repeated in the auto industry until Pontiac did it in 1960. It has center consoles front and rear which contain controls for the seats and windows as well as a place to store personal items and cigarette lighters and ash …