On this day in 1984 the Ford Escort essentially peaked in popularity when it was named as the best-selling vehicle in the world for a third year in a row.

Originally launched in Europe in 1968 to replace the long-running Anglia, the Escort was a commercial success in several parts of the western world but nowhere more so than the UK where it eventually superseded its super-popular stablemate, the Cortina, as Britain’s best-selling vehicle in 1982.

For the next eight years, the Ford Escort reigned supreme as Britain’s best-selling car however a fifth generation facelift was poorly received in the early 1990’s and sales began to gradually decline under intense competition.

By the time the Ford Escort was eventually discontinued and replaced by the Ford Focus in 1998, it was officially Britain’s best-selling car ever with over 4 million units sold, a title it would eventually surrender to its stablemate the Fiesta in 2014.

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