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| Photographer / Copyright: James Mair Images should not be reused without permission. Date added to site:07/04/20 | ||
| Details: Many vehicle manufacturers produced van versions of their car models, often simply by omitting the passenger doors and windows. The Ford Escort, Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Astra all saw use as service vehicles in both car and commercial configuration. A drawback of this approach was that the load space was restricted by the dimensions of the car bodywork and in the late-1980s/early-1990s several 'hybrid' models were introduced. These retained the chassis and front end of the car designs but married it to larger bodywork to the rear. To keep the windscreens and doors standardised, this often resulted in a 'stepped' appearance, as seen on the Vauxhall Astramax (1986-1993) and later Combo B (1993-2001), and the 2nd generation Volkswagen Caddy (1995-2004, based on the Polo car). The final design of Escort van also featured a slightly enlarged cargo space but in 1991 Ford added the Courier model, based on the Fiesta car platform. 21 examples of this type were added to the leased fleet between 1995 and 2001, with a total of 8 being in stock at April 2000. 4809F, photographed at Uxbridge Bus Station on 24th October 2000, is an example of the 1995 design, which was based on the Fiesta Mk4. The oval grille replaced the earlier plain design, and was further revised in 1999. The allocation of this van is not known though, being lettered for Distribution Services, it was probably Acton Works. Note the mismatched wheeltrims. Production of the Courier ended in 2002, both it and the Escort van being replaced by the new Transit Connect model. However, the Courier name returned in 2014 as the smallest model in a newly expanded Ford Transit range. | ||
| Comments (Most recent at top) | ||
| Posted By | Comments | Date/Time |
| Adam Floyd | That's a Vauxhall wheeltrim on the front, probably pinched from an Astra | Sun 10/05/20, 22:21 |