Once again, let’s dive into the world of ’60s images and their Pop Art influenced graphics. Well, sort of. Besides Pop Art, the Cortina brochure is obviously playing with the checkered flag theme, another cultural reference of the time. Now, if an object was ideal for playful Pop Art treatment, that was the checkered flag.
Throughout the brochure, only the females got to play with the checkered pattern. Meanwhile, Dad only got to wear dull business attire. Is it me, or are the women having more fun?
Of course, they were having more fun! The brochure was obviously tied to the MK2’s launch campaign: New Cortina Is More Cortina! And the star was none other than Miss Cortina and her family!
In the ’60s equivalent of a multimedia cross-platform event, there was more to the MK2 launch than Miss Cortina and her family. Ford motivated dealers to hold Miss Cortina-inspired beauty pageants, while the ‘New Cortina’ song played from record players hidden in the trunk -sorry, boot- of cars at display (The song is on Youtube here). Well, what can I say? It was the swinging ’60s!
Back to the brochure, and its bright and cheerful ’60s displays. All throughout, Miss Cortina and her family are ever-present in playful displays.
Here, Dad seems to be blowing some kind of toy, which goes some way toward showing he’s not just a dull grown-up. Of course, the point of the image is to emphasize the Cortina’s new Aeroflow ventilation system.
Miss Cortina finally gets some relaxing time, and the Cortina is more than apt. As for the model, the MK2 Owners Club mentions she is Colleen Fitzpatrick; and it looks like she had a ball of a time.
It’s clear from the images that Miss Cortina was a color-coordinated freak. Dad didn’t mind though, after all, look at the cute way she asked for it all!
Finally! Dad gets to join in the fun! And, is he now going racing? In any case, in the sales race, the MK2 kept the winning streak the MK1 had started. By late ’66, the Cortina had become Ford of Britain’s most successful model ever.
More Cortina:
Curbside Classic: 1963 Ford Cortina MK1 – Ford Takes On BMC, And Wins
Something looks off about these cars – the doors are too short, the quarter window too long and the B pillar too far forward. They must’ve had a 4-door in studio and retouched it for reasons unknown.
And they got it consistently wrong! Except for the white car in the “neon” ad that remains a 4-door. Were the 2-door doors extended at the last minute just before production or something?
Link to pic; https://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay337971.jpg
That is very odd. I’m guessing this was of course for the new Mk2 and they used a hand-built prototype or such for the shots.
The other thing that’s totally odd is that in most of the images they show a LHD version, but in a couple of shots it’s RHD! Makes no sense. Why would the prototype be LHD?
I believe that’s the most likely cause, early pre-production examples. I had three mk2 2-doors over the years. Pretty little cars, fragile little cars, shitty handlers.
oops no, you can see in the blue car interior shot there are actually rear doors, window winders and all
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/5-2.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/8.jpg?ssl=1
You’re right, I hadn’t noticed – this was the two-door. Strange!
my G/f had one for a few months drove it few times was the G/T 2 door was not that bad she smashed it up one nite when she was on a tear lucky she never got a d u i it as Written off she owed more than the insurance I helped pay it off they were a hot little car some ended up with the capri 4 or even the v6 they were a neat looking car for the time
Several of my friends had MkII Cortina GT’s in California, in the mid-Seventies. Already an orphan, they were cheaper than Datsun 510’s and hop-up parts were available for engine and suspension. My sister’s first car was a ‘69 non-GT which finally rusted to dust after she moved to Ontario.
I grew up in a 67 Cortina. My brother and I fighting in the backseat, and mum and dad smoking in the frontseats….ah, those were the days.
That aeroflow system was actually effective, and I can’t remember the car ever letting us down. After ten years it had become quite rusty though.
I’ve never seen one. Or, don’t remember ever seeing one. They appear rather generic in a nice way. Such a simple little box shape. Nothing out of place.
As to the pop art styling of Fab Swinging London during this era, you have to admit, those four lads from Liverpool had the world on a string in 1967. Not only were they at the top of the charts, so were many of their other groovy swinging gentlemen from the UK. Twiggy was all the rage on the fashion scene in 1967 as well as Mary Quaint. It was an age of deliberate naivete and innocence. Sweet – kinda sickly sweet, but much better than Goth.
Ford was definately at an upswing globally as well. These were happy days in Dearborn.
Groovy pop art motif was a big deal for Ford, here in the US as well.
Not yet groovy, Chrysler attempted something close but no cigar to pop art for this 1960 DeSoto ad but it didn’t worked for them.
The Fairlane GT ad looks like they used the set from The Time Tunnel (which was on television about the same time).
Didn’t Onslow, the character on the Britcom “Keeping Up Appearances” drive a Ford Cortina sedan? His was all run down but it always got them from point A to point B.
These images remind me of the wallpaper my parents had in their dining room when I was a kid – which was a black-and-white checkered design.
Looking at old pictures, I’m amazed that folks didn’t become nauseous from looking at a whole wall full of that design, but as VanillaDude mentions above, it was Groovy pop art of the day, and mom and dad were very much into that.
There were a few Mark II Cortinas running around my part of western Canada but harsh winters and so-so workmanship meant they didn’t last many years.
I seriously considered a Mark III GT after graduating tech school as it was a better alternative to a Pinto and if I recall correctly, a little more expensive. Unfortunately or fortunately, they weren’t imported after 1973 model year. I’ve often wondered had I bought a used 73 if it would have been a good car for me. Well, I crossed the road and bought a GM product instead. I still have a lot of respect for the Mark II and III and like the styling and interior layout.
The white one “photo’s” well!
I had one for 3 years in 1976 complete with 1600 cross flow and Webber carb. Went very well with 4 on floor shift. Can’t remember if many women drapped themselves over the upholstery…
Great period brochures. I had the pleasure of an early 1967 Cortina MkII GT for a couple of years in the late 1970’s. Being an early ’67, it still had the non-crossflow 1500 GT engine carried from the Mark I GT. I bought it from the father of my first wife. An enthusiast had it prior to him. It had a very steep geared Lotus Cortina rear axle ratio and the engine compression had been increased. Some suspension work as well. 97 pump octane was needed. Surprisingly, the ’67 still featured a generator, as I recall. The long row of Smith gauges was a nice sight in the GT’s.
Sadly I never got to drive one but I well remember these being fast little cars .
-Nate
Only if you got the 1600 were they fast and even then it was mostly an illusion
Not a single one of the cars shown has side-view mirrors.
Whether LHD or RHD.
We know the options:
— Fender-mounted
— High-mounted on A-pillar
— door-hinge attachment
— bullet form racing mirrors.
None at all.
A rare best. I drive one around… 1990 .They were clunkers then. Try finding one now!. The 1600 GT was more common than the 1500 but both rate than the 1600 E a model you didn’t get in North America ,you just got the wood dash in your GT.
Amazingly an external rear view mirror wasn’t compulsory in the UK until 1978, though they were common options. The internal one was standard and required, but I assume the cleaner look was better for brochure photos.
Looks like the dash vents are a carry over from the earlier cars where they matched the tail lights.
They did, but they were only added to the Mk.1 half way through production (’64-’66). The whole dash is similar between the late Mk.1 & the Mk.2. They repeated that pattern with the later Mk.3, changing the dash in 1973 when the plastic front grilles replaced the original metal ones. After that the basic dash lasted right through to the end of the Cortina (& Taunus) in 1982, though the steering wheels changed with the Mk.4’s introduction.
Well the Corrina was built by Ford Lusitania in Portugal as well as the German Taunus. Many had the front bench seat, a rare option in the UK and four on the tree. Guess you then had a six passenger compact sedan, pretty seat belt era that is…. The 1300cc engine was the popular choice due to taxation. It was a world car.
German Ford Taunus of those years was completely different design, with a V4 engine.
The contemporary German counterpart was the Ford P6 series. Badged as 12M or 15M – depending on the mill you ordered. Assembly plants were in Cologne (Germany) and Genk (Belgium). And yes, they all had V4 engines.
Captive import era in the US was soon coming to an end. Safety and emissions may have been part of it, plus varying exchange rates. Cortina was replaced by Pinto in Ford showrooms. It made more sense to sell a Vega at Chevy than an Opel at Buick. GM did import Isuzu for Buick showrooms. Chrysler stopped importing captive British cars, and replaced them with Mitsubishi.
The Cortina is featured prominently in “Made in Dagenham”, a great comedy-drama film based on real life events at the factory. It dramatises the all-women sewing machinists strike in 1968 which led to equal pay law reforms. Saw movie in art house theatre in Calgary years ago. Well worth seeking out !
My grandfather, who grew up in Glasgow around the turn of the 20th century and emigrated to R I just before the Depression, had one of these. Probably the only one I ever saw in the US. It was dark green.
It replaced a Hillman, so apparently he had a penchant for cars from his country of origin.
A neighbor – who worked as a chemist for a major oil company – enhanced my vocabulary when my 14 year old ears heard him sporadically unleash profanity-laced diatribes at his Cortina. A big takeaway…
My parents had two MK II Cortinas, both white and both 67ish I think – first one was a low-spec 1300cc which was traded on the second, a higher-spec 1600. They still had the second one in ’73 when I arrived, and kept it until 1978ish. I have clear memories of my fingertips fitting perfectly in the round warning lights on the dashboard! My grandparents had a ’67 1300 auto with bench seat – red with white interior. Was pristine when my Grandfather died in 1985, and slow, oh so slow… Fun cars as I recall, although I prefer the Mk III-V.