Many of you will remember those run-arounds that used to get you to work each day and do the weekly shopping in – the Marinas, Allegros, Maestros and Montegos. They go back to the 1970s and 1980s and were loved by many with millions being produced.
Regrettably, many now face becoming extinct which seems incredible.
The classic Ford Cortina
For instance, it is believed that there are only 369 of the popular Hillman Avenger about at the moment. There were 175,247 Morris Itals built but only 174 remain. Do you remember the Rover SDI? – well there are now only believed to be 310 on our public road network.
It would be interesting to find out why this has happened. Is it because these, what can now be referred to as classic cars, were of a poor construction as they were produced at such high volumes or is it that they appeared on the scene at a time when people just did not bother to maintain their vehicles?
You must have seen hundreds of Austin Metros on the roads in years gone by yet when was the last time you saw a restored one? You can probably count the occasions on one hand. Even Princess Diana had one. There were around 1.5 million built but only 1,930 remain.
Do you remember the Austin Allegro? Well, based on the number of these classic cars that were built, it is the most endangered of all this era of vehicles. During the period 1973 to 1982 there were 642,340 made yet there are a mere 291 on our roads today.
The Austin Princess is believed to only have 121 owners whilst the Vauxhall Viva has 1,057 happy and proud owners.
One of the most seen cars on our roads back in that era was the Ford Cortina. There were 4.15 million built yet only 5,411 can be seen on the roads or at classic car shows.
The above figures do not make impressive reading.
