Ford Cortina Remembered

Ford Cortina MkI - Launched in 1962, the Cortina replaced the Consul in Ford's range

Back in 1997, Tony Blair and the Labour party targeted 'Mondeo Man' in the run-up to the general election. He used this terminology to attract the typical English middle class voter, the company car driving dad with a steady income. This goes to show how popular Ford's family car and fleet favourite had become; how it cemented its reputation on the British subconscious.
Of course the Mondeo is the current of a long line of Ford models that have done exactly the same. In many parts of the world; in particular the US and the UK, Ford symbolises the typical 'blue-coller' car manufacturer - affordable, practical, reliable.
Back in the early 60's, Ford needed to replace the popular but dated Ford Consul and the result was the 1962 Ford Cortina; a name that lasted for 20 years, often sitting between the Escort and Granada in Ford's line-up.
Named after the Italian resort, there were five iterations of the Cortina. In 1967 it was the best selling car in Britain, outselling BMC's Austin/Morris 1100/1300 and from 1972 until 1981 the Cortina ruled the sales charts. Each iteration became more popular than the last; however, due to rust and the general passage of time, certain models have become pretty rare today.

The Lotus Cortina was a popular choice, especially on the track where it became a successful touring car

Ford of Britain's Dagenham factory built the Cortina, at least for the UK market. When demand was high Cortinas would be shipped over from Ford's plant in the Netherlands. Further afield, Cortinas were manufactured in Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malta, Malaysia and South Korea to name but a few, pretty much making this family saloon a 'world car'. The Cortina was even sold for a time in the States until Ford replaced it with the Pinto in 1971. Canada was another market in the New World that had Cortinas in the showrooms.
The MkI like all Cortina's featured rear wheel drive and was made available with either a 1.2 or a 1.5 litre engine. Trim levels ranged from the basic Standard through to Deluxe, Super and finally GT. The most famous and sporty model was of course the Lotus Cortina, a model that contained a rather spirited 1558cc engine tuned by the Hethel sportscar specialist. This was not only a nippy car on the road but also on track where it became a successful touring and rally car. The World Cup winning year of '66 saw the MkI bow out.

The MkII Ford Cortina 1600E arrived in 1967

The MkII featured a 1.3, 1.6 and a fairly rare 3.0 litre V6 petrol. The most sought after model was the sporty 1600E, a car that marked out the owner as someone who was going places. Despite its relative popularity, 1970 saw the introduction of its successor.
Unfortunately the MkIII didn't have a good start in life - thank the striking 70's for that! Despite this it sold well with a six year production run. The level of trim options ballooned to include Base, L, XL, GT and the bells and whistles GXL which featured the de rigueur vinyl roof. The Cortina MkIII also featured a design popular in the US - Coke-bottle styling. Using the same contour design as the classic Coca-Cola glass bottle, the outer wings were more pronounced with a narrow centre.

On the far left is a rarer 3dr Cortina MkIV alongside Ford's popular Capri

Fleet buyers flocked to the MkIV during its run from 1976-79. Doing away with the American styling of the MkIII, the MkIV took on a more contemporary, some would say straight laced design. Value for money, overall simplicity and reliability were reasons why this Cortina did well with both private and business buyers alike. During the 1970's, Ford began working on integrating the European arm with Ford of Britain. This resulted in the MkIV being all but identical to the European market Ford Taunus. In Britain, the MkIV was the only Cortina that remained at the top of the sales charts throughout its whole lifespan. Unfortunately rust caused many to fade away over the years and the MkIV ended up being popular on the banger racing circuit. Not the best way to go...

Ford Cortina 80

The final Cortina, the MkV, ran for just three years. Initially christened the Cortina 80, it was ultimately an update of the MkIV. It featured revised lights, cosmetic updates and more importantly, better rust protection. Despite this, sales were starting to slow as more people were turning towards Vauxhall's Cavalier, a car that featured a more modern front wheel drive set-up. Production of the Cortina came to an end in 1982.
What's interesting is that Cortina sales grew towards the very end of production as Ford customers initially shied away from the rather bold look of the new Sierra. In the end, Ford had a number of Cortinas in stock after production ended, the last being registered in 1987. (In fact, one Cortina managed to remain unregistered into the mid noughties).
Share your memories - Which was your favourite? Have you ever owned one?...

BMW M5 - Then & Now

The original 'E28' M5 was hand built and used an evolution of the engine found in the M1 supercar

I often find it interesting comparing an original car through its lineage to the current model. Some examples have got progressively better through time whilst others have had their ups and downs.
The European performance saloon market has often been dominated by BMW's M division. The M3 and M5 are the bread and butter of the range as well as the most popular. Mercedes' AMG and Audi's Quattro Gmbh arms have for many years seen M as the division to beat, occasionally struggling to whole heartily trounce the Bavarian giant.
Anyway, the M5...
First launched in 1984 with sales kicking off the following year, the 'E28' M5 was the fastest production saloon in the world in its day. The engine was a 3.5 litre petrol that produced 282bhp and took the M5 to 60mph from rest in just 6.2secs and on to a top speed of 153mph. It was a very significant car, not just because it cemented the M5 as a first class car in its own right but also because it woke up BMW's rivals to the now ubiquitous German super saloon. Personally I think it's also one of the better looking M5s with a simple, understated but purposeful silhouette.
The 'E28' was dropped in 1988 and the following year the 'E34' M5 was launched which had a longer six year lifespan. This model was very successful selling far more vehicles than the 2,191 units the 'E28' shifted. The 'E34' was also the first M5 to be launched as a Touring derivative although this bodystyle was never officially sold in the UK market. Like its predecessor, the 'E34' was handbuilt at M's factory in Garching.
In 1998 the 'E39' M5 was released to critical acclaim and sold well. For this generation of M5, a Touring model was not produced and the saloon was built alongside more regular versions of the 5-Series at BMW's own plant in Dingolfing.
The most controversial iteration of M5 was launched in 2005 with the Chris Bangle designed 'E60'. Compared with the clean lines of the original, this M5 was for some, including myself, a difficult car to like aesthetically, however, it was no slouch with a V10 engine sitting proudly at the front; the first time this had been done on a production saloon car. Apart from the styling, a difficult to fathom iDrive interface and a rather jerky SMG transmission, this didn't stop the 'E60' becoming the most successful M5 to date. Production ceased in 2010.

The 2011 'F10' M5 drops the V10 engine of its predecessor and uses a 4.4 litre twin turbo V8

2011 saw the launch of the current 'F10' variant of the M5. Due to emissions and ever increasing environmental concerns, this M5 ditches the V10 and uses a V8 instead - the majority of manufacturers have downsized after all. It's still more powerful though at 560bhp compared to the V10's 500bhp. For me, this M5 is much more pleasing on the eye that its 'E60' predecessor. Styling is subjective though, but full life sales figures look set to show the continuing success of the M5, despite the rise of other BMW M models available.
The all-new 5-Series is due in 2017. And the next M5? Another autobahn and Nurburgring favourite I expect...
So which generation of M's executive saloon is your favourite?