Replacing the archaic leaf-springs suspension of the old-car with fully independent suspension all-round, the Escort impressed judges with its range of reliable, low maintenance CVH engines – and it pipped the Fiat Panda to the COTY post. A mere 15 or so survive today in the UK, it seems.Ĭodenamed “Erika”, the third generation of Ford’s popular hatchback was an all-new design with a transverse engine layout and front-wheel drive, sporting a best-in-class drag coefficient of 0.37. It was effectively replaced in the PSA lineup by the Peugeot 309. The Horizon was thus badged as a Talbot from 1 August 1979 and despite strong initial sales, more capable rivals such as the Ford Escort Mk3 and Vauxhall Astra launched and overshadowed it.
As part of the resulting bail-out, it had to sell its European arm to France’s PSA.
What happened next? Impressively, this was Chrysler Europe’s second winning car in three years, not that it did it much good, as the US parent company sought help from the US government (not for the last time) to avoid going bust in the same year. The modern front-wheel drive layout won over the judges as it was such an improvement over its predecessors - the Hillman Avenger and the Simca 1100 – which remained in production. Sold under the Simca, Chrysler and Talbot badges, the Horizon just clinched the ’79 COTY award from right under the nose of one of its chief rivals, the Fiat Ritmo.
0 kommentar(er)
