Quote:
Originally Posted by griston64
That was my first ever car  Wood dash with loads of dials that I didn't have a clue what they were for
Loved it ! |
I've always thought of them as a triumph of marketing over matter or the "thinking mans Escort GT".
In the early 70s, insurance companies went berserk loading premiums on cars with "S", "GT", "TC" and similar because a few silly people had been overcome by the extra power from a "hot" model.
All of a sudden, manufacturers were dropping these badges in favour of things like "E", "Ghia" and so on and marketing them as a higher end model. Becuase of that, it didn't attract the "boy racers" of the day as it was an "Executive" car, not just a hotted up version of dads family car.
The Escort 1300E was basically a GT with improved trim (and some wood veneer glued to the dash
) and normal seats cover in Dralon instead of bucket seats. The Mk3 Cortina GT made way for the 2000E i a similar way, the Granada GT became the Ghia etc.
The insurance companies didn't tumble to this trick and rated them just a little higher than their stable mates instead of 2-3 groups higher which made a big difference back then, with only 6 main insurance groups.
That meant you got all the performance of a GT but without the insurance pain and you had a nicer interior as a bonus!
Result!