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| Ford Anglia |
Ford Anglia(1948-53)
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| Hillman Minx |
The Anglia name dates right back to before the Second World War, although the small car to take that moniker did not actually go on sale properly until 1945. Thus the first post-war Anglia, the E04A, was really a '30s car, and the updated E494A-Series model was virtually unchanged, apart from a different front grille. Its sidevalve 993cc engine was said to be capable of 60 mph; however, the Anglia featured well-proved technology and was very cheaply priced, keeping up interest in small Fords until the all-new, unitary-bodied 100E model arrived in late 1953. And the demand for cheap economy cars was such that it was even deemed worth continuing the E494A after the 100E's launch, rebadged "Popular", right up until 1959, by which time it was almost totally outmoded. A total of 108,778 E494A Anglias were made. Other British-built Fords on sale at the time included the Prefect and Mk 1 Consul and Zephyr.
Hillman Minx (Phase V)(1951-52)
The Phase III Minx marked the beginning of post-war production for Hillman, part of the Coventry-based Rootes Group. Rootes too had started building cars with monocoque (unitary body) construction, and enlisted the Loewy styling studio to get the Minx's image right, hence the Studebaker and Plymouth-like front grille and wings. The American influence is also seen in Rootes' closely-related but more upmarket Humber Hawk range. However, while it may have looked up-to-the-minute and featured coil springs and independent front suspension, the Minx III suffered with a pre-war sidevalve 1185cc engine, a shortcoming barely rectified in 1949 with the Minx IV, when that engine was enlarged to 1265cc. The Minx V was little changed bar some extra exterior chrome and a floor-mounted handbrake, while the VI and VII only added cosmetic detailing - it was the VII of 1954 that finally gained an overhead-valve engine. Offered in '52 as a saloon, convertible or estate, the Minx went on to be one of Britain's longest-running model ranges, with the Minx name continuing until 1967, when it was superseded by the Hunter.
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