The Ford Granada was a mid-size car built by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1975 to 1982 and in Europe from 1972 to 1976. The Granada, along with its sister models the Mercury Monarch and Lincoln Versailles, was touted as an economically-priced rival to the Mercedes-Benz 280. The Granada itself was the successor to the compact Ford Maverick and quickly found an audience in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis as an "economical luxury car," intended to appeal to consumers who wanted more bang for their fuel-buying buck but didn't want to sacrifice the styling and roominess of a full-size car. In doing this it also somewhat misappropriated itself as a compact car, with some sources even classifying it as such. This was not entirely inaccurate, however, as it was in fact designed around the four-door Maverick's smaller wheelbase.
As previously mentioned, the spike in oil prices in the early 1970s led to widespread consumer demand for cars that sipped gas but still looked good doing it. While it may seem quite the stretch to call any vehicle from that era economical, the Granada proposed to do both, with its base 3.3 litre inline V-6 engine and styling that was reminiscent of popular European cars of the era with just a touch of the boxy American look. Ford shamelessly pushed the latter as a selling point. Indeed, several print ads circa 1975 show the Granada and the aforementioned Mercedes 280 side-by-side, and while they could never even remotely be confused with one another the inspiration for the Granada's design was apparent.
This is where the similarities ended, however. The car buying public was not convinced that such a car could go toe to toe with the average compact, and it would seem they were right. The Granada's fuel economy, or rather lack thereof, was one of the most frequent gripes among buyers. Nonetheless, reviews for the car from both owners and professionals were largely favourable; the Granada's lean $4100 price tag was likely instrumental in this. In the end Ford achieved what it set out to do with the Granada, bridging the gap between the stalwart full-size market and the relatively new compact niche with a solid offering that offered the best of both worlds.
Sources
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ford13.htm
http://jackyan.com/blog/2010/11/retro-moment-the-rst-american-ford-granada/
http://www.lincolnversailles.com/Granada/RT_FG2.htm