Few could’ve blamed Vauxhall for casting envious glances in Ford’s direction. The Cortina had proved to be smash hit for the Blue Oval, with the Mk1 shaking up the family and fleet market, and the Mk2 knocking the BMC 1100 off its perch to become a UK best-seller in 1967. Even Ford’s gamble in launching the bigger ‘Coke-bottle’ Mk3 Cortina would pay off handsomely, as it once again soared to the top of the Britain’s sales chart.
By contrast, Vauxhall was suffering something of a nosedive in the early ’70s. While the Viva was a decent seller, the FE Series Victor failed to make inroads into a fleet market dominated by the Cortina. Unfortunately, unlike Ford who’d spent tens of millions to
