Classic Executive Ford Ghia…

In early 1973 Ford launched the first ever luxury Ford Escort 1300E, with vinyl roof and twin halogen auxiliary lamps. Forty years ago, owning a Ford Escort 1300E was evidence that you were a somebody, the sort of international businessman whose lunch voucher quota allowed you to dine at a Bernie Inn three times a week! The Mk1 Ford Escort range was complex but the 1300E was essentially a combination of the cross flow carb 1.3 litre engine fitted to a wooden veneered dashboard complete with a rev counter, cigarette lighter and fabric trim, replacing the plastic upholstery. There were also twin reversing lamps, a matt black grille and wheels that were sporty and elegant. The 1300E was originally built at Ford's Advanced Vehicle Operation department in Essex, with some 11,000 buyers attracted by the very reasonable price of £1182. The Escort's top speed of 93mph was reasopnable by the standards at the time. It looked sharper than the Triumph Toledo and more elegant than the 1974 Vanden Plas 1500 - aka an Allegro with picnic tables! But the 1300E was more than just a way of retaining customer interest in the Mk1 Escort, for the silver badges on the C-pillars were instantly recognisable to anyone with a working knowledge of the British Ford hierachy where E = "Executive". Dagenham made its first "Executive" model in 1965 with a special version of the Mk3 Zodiac, designed to lure film stars away from their Jaguar Mk Xs. This was replaced in the following year by the Zodiac Executive Mk4, and by 1967 there was also the Corsair 2000E, with a radio and the most vibrant hubcaps in automotive history, as standard.There was also the car that set the standards for all prestigious Fords - the Cortina 1600E. Here the sharp looking shell of the four-door Mk2 saloon, a GT engine and lowered suspension from the Lotus Cortina were combined with a genuinely tasteful interior, resulting in a medium sized sports saloon that could compete with such continental rivals as the Renault 16TS. The Capri 3000E arrived in 1970 but when the Cortina Mk2 and the Corsair were replaced by the Cortina Mk3, the flagship model was badged as the GXL. Worse still, its facia was finished in the very best woodgrain plastic, which is possibly one reason why the 1600E valves remained high throughout the early 1970s. So, when Ford gave the Mk3 a minor facelift for 1974, it took the opportunity to replace the GXL with the more refined 2000E, assuring potential buyers that the interior contained "lots of wood"! There was also seat fabric that looked like crushed velvet, cut-pile carpets and a MW/LW radio with which to listen to Pete Murray as you cruised up the M3. The 2000E was designed to lure reasonably affluent drivers away from their Saab 99s and its price of £1638 represented good value for money. An estate car version was even more stylish, giving middle-managers dreams of being invited to their directors' next shooting party...In the early 1960s, the Ford designer Roy Brown Jr was placed in charge of the Cortina project as a form of internal exile from Detroit following the Edsel debacle, but by the time a 2000E Mk3 became the three millionth Dagenham Dustbin to leave the production line. In June 1974, a coupe version of the Granada was heralded by the announcement that "Ghia of Turin has joined forces with Ford to give the best of both worlds; the welding of Italian flair in styling and design craftmanship to Ford's unrivalled skill in engineering and production". In the Ford hierarchy, prestige was now denoted by a shield-shaped Ghia badge. By 1976, every British-market Ford, from the Fiesta upwards, was available in Ghia form and the executive-class models passed into automotive history. Surviving examples of the 1300E and 2000E are highly prized, not just for their style, but also as a reminder of a time when a heated rear window was evidence of enhanced social standing.Tags: Ford