Ford Skyliner

Infobox Automobile
name=Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
aka=Ford Skyliner


manufacturer=Ford Motor Company
production=1957–1959
class=Full-size car
body_style=retractable hardtop
related=Ford Fairlane
predecessor=Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner:"See also Ford Victoria Skyliner for the 1954 Ford and Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner for the 1955–1956 Ford Crown Victoria, both with acrylic glass roofs."The Ford Skyliner was an innovative full-size automobile with a retractable hardtop produced by the Ford Motor Company in the late 1950s. Based on the North American Ford Fairlane, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. This mechanism was prone to failure, and the large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales. Nonetheless, the retractable hardtop reappeared in the 1990s with the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

The Skyliner, which was produced for model years 1957, 1958, and 1959, had a squared-off roofline style that was admired by the public and found its way onto most Ford two-door hardtops until 1965, including the Thunderbird, Galaxie, and Fairlane.

The Skyliner name was previously applied to another Fairlane derivative, the Crown Victoria Skyliner. This vehicle had a clear acrylic glass roof panel over the front row of seats.

Today, the Skyliner has become a very valuable collectible car, with high-point restored specimens costing upwards of $50,000 (2006).