This 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner “Junior” is a wonderful conversation starter and is a match to its sister, full-sized Sunliner that has been offered by the same meticulous owner. This scale-sized toy car has also been professionally restored. The 1958 Junior Sunliner is powered electrically, and it is reported that these represent an in-period showroom model and was offered in a limited quantity to the selected, larger Ford stores.

The story goes that these very popular junior cars kicked off with Ford when they established a three-year relationship with the manufacturer Powercar, located in Mystic, Connecticut. They began making Thunderbirds in 1955 and started producing a “Junior” Mercury in 1957. For reasons that have been lost to time, the Sunliner’s were contracted to be built by Donalson Manufacturing Company of Kansas City, Kansas. According to sources, these were released in 1957 and continued in 1958 with the new styling details to correspond to the full-size cars seen on the dealership showroom floors.

This particular example is constructed with a fiberglass body. It measures nearly five feet in length and has a 25-inch overall width. The wheelbase measures 30-inches with a 16.75-inch height. The tires are 10-inches x 1.75-inches and are puncture-proof semi-pneumatic with aluminum hubcaps. The seat is adjustable to accommodate different driver sizes, and it is covered in reinforced vinyl. The frame is welded steel tubing make from a thick gauge and rustproofed. Heavy-gauge aluminum bumpers add to the scaled-down realism; while electric-powered examples had working headlights, taillights and horn.

These fascinating “toys” were used in a number of promotional ways; most of which were designed to entice the youngsters to the dealership with their full-size car buying parents in tow. The main thing was to get the name and address of the children’s folks and what they were currently driving. This was a novel way to go about this sales technique, but given the enduring popularity these scaled-down cars continue to exhibit – the memories from accompanying mom and dad to the local dealership may have more to do with these models instead of the real thing.