Yes, this “vintage” car was being sold new in the UK as late as 1959. And yes, it’s essentially a 1932 Ford Model Y, the first all-new car designed by Ford specifically for the European market in 1932. Which means: transverse leaf suspension on solid axles front and rear, a single vacuum-operated wiper, no heater or defroster, a very spartan interior, no chrome anywhere, a 30hp 1172cc side-valve four, mechanical brakes, 6V electrics, and a crank handle that came in handy all-too often.
So why did exist and why did it sell quite well?
The answer is that after the war and well into the fifties, there was of course a huge backlog of demand for cars, including from would-be buyers that couldn’t afford a new one. And there were restrictions on new cars sales, as export sales got priority. Normally, these would be used car buyers, but due to cars being out of production for six long years, there really weren’t many usable used cars to buy. Ford saw this niche in the market and exploited it by keeping the old Anglia/Prefect in production after the new versions arrived in 1953. It was renamed Popular, and stripped of everything that wasn’t absolutely essential in order for it to move and transport four persons, making it the lowest-price new car in the UK, by a good margin. The only other choice for buyers was to pay £100 more for a proper Anglia 100E, Austin A30 or Morris Minor, or a pre-war car, most likely ratty and very tired.
A car tested by The Motor magazine in 1954 had a top speed of 60.3 mph (97.0 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-50 mph (80 km/h) in 24.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of 36.4 miles per imperial gallon (7.8 L/100 km; 30.3 mpg‑US) was recorded. The test car cost £390 including taxes; that’s £11,360 adjusted, which is about $15,500 adjusted dollars. Not all that cheap, given the low purchasing power of the times.
It came to be known as the “Ford Pop” and soon became the UK’s most popular hot rod, the equivalent of 1920s and ’30s Fords in the US.
They took essentially the same tack as Chrysler did in the late ’80s with the Omni/Horizon “America”. Lee Iacocca (who had to have been aware of this car, however at the fringes of his knowledge, as he would’ve been making the jump from the zone office to Ford corporate with an overseas posting a possibility during its’ run) put his twist on the concept by making every popular option standard to cut variations rather than ruthlessly stripping everything out.
More directly, it may have influenced the Studebaker Scotsman.
I immediately thought of the Scotsman connection, as well.
Ford later did something similar with the introduction of the Pinto Pony in 1977, initially offering it as a two-door sedan with limited options, a non-color keyed dashboard (black), and no garnish moldings (a wagon was added in a later model year). I don’t think that the “Runabout” (hatchback) was ever offered in a Pony version.
The only car my Dad ever bought; well half of one anyway, jointly with his brother. Here seen with my Mother on the Isle of Wight, I think in 1956.
Dad sold his half share when I was a year or two old so I don’t remember it all, replaced by a cycle (not motorcycle) sidecar.
My dad bought a 1948 Anglia in Oklahoma City, of all places. I think I remember his saying he paid around $800. It evidently wasn’t from a Ford dealer, but had never been titled. They kept it around as a second into the mid-’50’s. Both parents talked about how sparten it was, even for the era. I remember Dad bragging about the local technical college rebuilding the engine (rings and bearings?) for $30. It was gone by the time I was born. I think there may be a few pics, hoarded by other family members.
I’ve never been clear on the difference between an Anglia Prefect and Popular, until you get to the more ponton era of the ’50’s.
Anglia and Popular are essentially the same thing, each time the superceded Anglia decontented and downgraded to become a cheap starter ‘Ppoular’ model.
The Prefect had four doors rather than two but would otherwise be similar to the contemporary Anglia, at least until the 105E (Harry Potter) version arrived. There they mechanically updated the 1953 version with the new OHV engine and transmission, keeping it going until the Cortina arrived in 1962.
After that there wasn’t a small 4-door Ford until the Escort range was expanded in 1969.
At various times most carmakers have used this technique, continuing or bringing back the old version as a cheapo.
It really shouldn’t be a special technique. If we hadn’t been conditioned to EXPECT obsolescence, there would be no reason to stop making a thoroughly debugged and amortized version of cars or electronics or software. People buy a product because they LIKE it, not because they wish it was something newer and better.
Hear, hear to that. I’d rather have something that works than something novel.
On the subject of Ford Populars, the man who runs the site below is an expert on them. He currently runs one and does brochure reviews, etc. Worth looking at, in my view:
https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/
I drive a 51 year old car as my daily, but something like this that needed decoking every 20,000 miles and could not even approach the speed limit?
Even in the ’60s that would have been a “no”.
Remember these from my childhood. They are really narrow!
Funnily enough, the only one I rode in was a rather nicely done hot rod…
Yep. Society is so wasteful nowadays. For all that we’re supposedly aware of the environment, so often that awareness doesn’t trickle over to affect our buying patterns in any long-term meaningful way. We ought to be giving product longevity more of a priority on our buying decisions.
Speaking of electronics, this one’s thoroughly debugged (and amortized no doubt, if the British component manufacturers are still around); shame there’s not much on AM radio any more, and while it will play LPs, it’s not stereo, so I stick to 78s when I use it. Sometimes I think my place is a museum of retrotechnology! 🙂
Wait – it’s 1958, and it’s the original old Rambler, now relabeled as a new Rambler American? What a great idea – wait until Ford over there in the UK hears about George Romney doing that! Next thing you’d know, Ford would bring back one of their old cars!
I can just barely remember that my paternal grandfather in London had one of these – like most of them, it was black.
Saw this one at a car show, I believe it was an Anglia
New Zealand was once littered with these Ford 10 Anglias and Pops and Prefects worth nothing by the 70s survivors were thrashed mercilessly to try to stay with regular traffic and many were kept in use long past their scrap by date, one of the machinists at the powerstation I worked at made jigs to cast bigend bearings for his one and did a few for other people, home jobs like that were priority.
Good cars if you werent in a hurry and didnt want to corner fast my grandfather drove a Prefect untill he had his licence taken in his early 90s he traded a very tired Model A pickup on it the only two cars he ever owned.
The same thing happened with the Morris Minor & the Mini. The Mini was introduced in 1959 but the Minor soldiered on until 1970 or so.
Ford used Popular and the slightly less skinflint Popular Plus as base trim levels on Escorts until 1990 also as the base trim of the early Fiesta
Thanks for the opening picture, it’s nice to finally see one that isn’t a customized street Rod. Now, for my next request, how about a 40-42 Willys Americar?
Blimey, the purchase tax added almost 50% to the price of the car! Perhaps might explain why the jump to a Minor or somesuch was financially bigger than it might seem at first glance. Still, agreed that even without it, it’s not pennies in ’54 UK purchasing power, and gives insight as to why bikes and sidecars and (lesser-taxed) three-wheelers sold well at prices even lower.
No air cleaner, no voltage regulator (it’s a DIY thing), no shocks, no water pump, and no indicators, but still with 26 points to lubricate every 1000 miles. No heater – this in the UK – and for all intents and purposes, no brakes. Rubber floor (over wood) and plastic seats, zero chrome. Whip and chain discreetly provided at minimal charge for the surprisingly large number of self-flagellant buyers, inscribed with the Latin for “I shall suffer in motoring” inscribed.
We got them here, and I’ve vague notion an aunt may have had one 2nd-hand one back in the time. I always thought Populars to have about as much charm as a communicable disease, but time has fuzzed the lens a bit. They’re OK now, a curio from a time in a devastated and broke country.
Btw, such was the shortness of wheelbase and tallness of roof – indeed, was this car nearly the same in the former and latter? – the best comment I ever read about these grim miseries is that they were so bad at cornering that they could fall over even standing still.
Rolling away from the dealer lot in 1959, in a “new” one of these must a felt like “science fiction”.
The next door neighbor, a Ford dealer of all things, had an Anglia (maroon I think) in his driveway from time to time in 1948-49. No idea if he ever sold one or tried to but I guess Ford more or less wanted him to take one. Not at all clear if I ever saw an Anglia after that.
My grandmother learnt to drive when she was in her 50s [this was the 1960s] and had a blue Pop. She said it was powered by ‘Kangaroo juice’ as it wasn’t a smooth drive. I also remember the damp smell inside.
She never locked the Pop as she said no one would want to steal it, the boot didn’t have a lock anyway, there was a square carriage key.
Nana did the office work for a firm of builders and would get the workmen to straighten the bumpers and wings when she had hit a hedge or a wall. I don’t think she liked driving, or maybe the Pop put her off. It went to the farmer they lived next to and she had a Renault 4L, also of course 3 speed and very slow, but left all the driving to grandad after they retired.
The last few years up to 1959 when it was discontinued the Pop was made at Briggs Motor Bodies in Doncaster, Yorkshire, rather than Dagenham.
Interesting automotive hair shirt .
I didn’t realize just how minimal these were .
A friend of mine in Wi. is restoring one, some how it managed to not be all rusty .
-Nate