The decision not to build the Ford Cardinal in North America was made after the car had been prepared for production, and was the result of a review of “marketing opportunities” in the US.

Its North American designers had created a car that was far larger and more spacious than the standard set by the Volkswagen which dominated the small saloon class in Germany.

Over its four-year model life the Taunus 12M was produced at an average rate of more than 150,000 per year, which made a useful contribution to the sales figures but did little to affect the dominance of the small car sector market by the Volkswagen Beetle, which was held back chiefly by a shortage of production capacity.

The V4 incorporated a balance shaft to dampen some of the imbalance resulting from the unconventional positioning of the four crank pins in relation to the three bearings for the crankshaft.

The modern V4 engine placed Ford of Germany in the unfamiliar position of setting the pace, and the company was able to sell the unit to other smaller European manufacturers.

The universal joints necessary to combine power transmission with steering and suspension functions involved engineering and materials technologies regarded as "leading edge" at the time, although front-wheel drive in lighter cars with less powerful engines had become mainstream in Germany over the three previous decades, following the pioneering application of the various technologies involved in Auto Union's DKW-badged small cars.

In autumn 1964 the various elements were rearranged to make it possible to soften the front suspension significantly: after this it was reported that the level of engine vibration reaching the driver was reduced.

This effect was countered by the substitution of firmer dampers, while two additional support connections were added at the front in order to make the steering and tracking more precisely controllable.

The coupé provided exactly the same interior space as the two-door saloon up to the level of the car's waistline, but head-room for those on the back-seat was severely restricted.

[5] The principal changes during the car's four-year production run took place under the skin, and received only muted publicity since many involved suspension modifications which a slower and more careful development process might have made unnecessary.

Initially the P4 was built exclusively at Ford's Cologne plant, but from August 1963 the P4 became Genk's first volume model, and by the time the P4 was replaced three years later almost all the P4s were being produced there.

Over the course of 142 days in 1963 a standard specification Ford Taunus 12M travelled 356,273 kilometres (221,378 mi) around a disused race track at Miramas at an average speed of 106.48 km/h (66.16 mph).