Rather than tool up to produce a specially styled body for the PARKLANE, FORD instead dressed the body shell intended for its price-leader RANCH WAGONS with the swoopy side trim of the FAIRLANE and the eight-passenger COUNTRY SEDAN wagon. It even received special bright trim on the B-pillar, recalling the stainless tiara of the CROWN VICTORIA hardtop.
Available color schemes were blue on blue, green on green, and tan on brown.
Additionally, the PARKLANE featured seats and upholstery styled after the THUNDERBIRD, and a fully carpeted cargo area with "a trim vinyl cover" that snapped in place at the belt-line to conceal luggage or cargo. Also available (though not present on this example) were new, safety-oriented features like seat belts and a padded dash--elements that ironically are often cited as having given Ford a dangerous image in the consumer mind in 1956.
