British Cars

Sir,
May I put in another word in favour of the “Buy British” slogan? In 1968 I purchased a four-year-old Ford Cortina Estate car, with 37,000 miles on the clock. Now the car is almost 11 years old, has 123,000 on the clock, the bodywork is rust-free, and the original engine is still giving good reliable service. This car has been over the Alps eleven times on trips to and from Italy and has never given us any inconvenience. Therefore, I feel that this car has been as reliable as any low-priced car, and still has many more miles of service to afford us. I don’t know whether they make them the same today, but this car has proved to be worth the money invested in it as the cost per mile is negligible now that it has done such an excellent mileage.

However, there has been one problem which has repeatedly inflicted itself upon us, and that is the exhaust pipe. Why is it that every time I have had to buy a front piece of pipe the diameter has been too small? This has resulted in the flange breaking off, hence the need to buy new pieces before they are worn out. In Italy, Switzerland or in England the front pipe has been of the wrong diameter and curved wrongly, with the result that the tube and the manifold never make a good contact. Perhaps FoMoCo might make a note of this in their catalogue, against the 118E model.

Despite this, the only problem I’ve had with this car, I say without hesitation, “Buy British and be satisfied”.

The Postal Authorities take a long time to get my copy of Motor Sport out here, but it’s well worth waiting for.

Monselice, Italy, David C. Mead