the US and Australia as the "Audi Fox" beginning in May 1973, because Ford's executives considered the 80 their class-leading subcompact competitor, and made it the baseline reference for the new platform. Another reports that Ford used the Fox name in an internal report as early as February 1973, making it less likely to have been borrowed from the German model. In December 1973, Ford President Lee Iacocca formally approved development of the Fox platform. Although the Fairmont would be the first Fox-based car to reach the market, development was guided by an anticipated sport coupe to be based on the new platform. Development started in early 1973 on both a short wheelbase version, to replace the Pinto/Cortina/Taunus lines, and a long-wheelbase version, that would become the Fairmont. By 1974, the difficulties faced in meeting the conflicting regulatory requirements in different markets and differing production methods used by the various divisions had killed the world car idea. In 1975, North American Automobile Operations took over development of the Fox platform from Sperlich's Product Planning and Research group. The first running Fox/Fairmont prototype was a modified Cortina with a MacPherson strut and torsion bar front suspension. A 1980 Fairmont station wagon converted to an electric vehicle by Electric Vehicles Associates Inc. and renamed the EVA Current Fare Wagon was evaluated by the US Department of Energy from March 1980 to November 1981. Model overview The Ford Fairmont was launched in August 1977 as a 1978 model. The name was first used by Ford in 1965 for the Australian Fairmont, an upscale trim level model of the Ford Falcon (XP), and had also been used in the South African market in 1969. Chassis specifications The Fairmont is based on the rear-wheel drive Ford Fox platform, using steel unibody construction. The independent front suspension comprised lower lateral arms, MacPherson struts, and helical-wound coil springs. In what Ford called a modified or hybrid MacPherson strut system, the coil springs were mounted separately from the struts rather than concentrically, being located between the lower arm and front cross-member. A front anti-roll bar was standard equipment. The rear suspension used a solid axle suspended on coil springs and vertically mounted dampers. The axle was located by four links; two lower trailing arms and two sharply angled upper control arms. The Fairmont has power-assisted brakes, with 10.0 inch vented front discs and 9.0 x 1.8 inch rear