Ford Squire
Encyclopedia
The Ford Squire is a car
from Ford
for the United Kingdom
market built between 1955 and 1959.
It was a two door, four seat estate
design, the brother to the Ford Prefect 100E four door saloon, sharing the same 1172 cc Ford Sidevalve 36 bhp engine and other parts and the same interior trim. It was substantially shorter than both the Prefect and the closely related Ford Anglia 100E
two door saloon. It used the short front doors of the four-door model because the bodyshell was optimized for use as a panel van (which was marketed as the Thames 300E
). The rear door was in two pieces split horizontally. The rear seat could be folded flat to convert from a four seater to a load carrier. Until 1957 there were wood trim pieces screwed to the sides of the vehicle.
The Squire competed in the same market segment as the Hillman Husky
and the Austin A30 / A35 based estate
: these were significantly more popular in the UK than longer estates at the time. Total production was 17,812 cars.
The British Motor
magazine tested a Squire in 1955 recording a top speed of 69.9 mph (112.5 km/h) and acceleration from 0-50 mph (80.5 km/h) in 20.2 seconds and a fuel consumption of 35.7 mpgimp. The test car which had the optional heater cost £668 including taxes.
which had a lower trim level. This proved more popular and a total of 33,131 Escorts were produced between 1955 and 1961. Production of the Escort continued until 1961, two years longer than the Squire. The Escort name
was also used on two other, unrelated, vehicles.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
from Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
market built between 1955 and 1959.
It was a two door, four seat estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
design, the brother to the Ford Prefect 100E four door saloon, sharing the same 1172 cc Ford Sidevalve 36 bhp engine and other parts and the same interior trim. It was substantially shorter than both the Prefect and the closely related Ford Anglia 100E
Ford Anglia
The 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car....
two door saloon. It used the short front doors of the four-door model because the bodyshell was optimized for use as a panel van (which was marketed as the Thames 300E
Thames 300E
The Ford Thames 300E is a panel van produced by Ford of Britain from 1954 to 1961. The Thames name was given to all available sizes of commercial vehicle produced by Ford in Britain during the 1950s and until the arrival in 1965 of the UK built Ford Transit.The 300E was introduced in July 1954,...
). The rear door was in two pieces split horizontally. The rear seat could be folded flat to convert from a four seater to a load carrier. Until 1957 there were wood trim pieces screwed to the sides of the vehicle.
The Squire competed in the same market segment as the Hillman Husky
Hillman Husky
The Hillman Husky was a line of British passenger vehicles manufactured between 1954 and 1970 by the Rootes Group, under their Hillman marque.-Original Hillman Husky :...
and the Austin A30 / A35 based estate
Austin A30
The A30 was a compact car produced by Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. Introduced in 1951 as the "New Austin Seven", it was Austin's answer to the Morris Minor...
: these were significantly more popular in the UK than longer estates at the time. Total production was 17,812 cars.
The British Motor
The Motor (magazine)
The Motor was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903....
magazine tested a Squire in 1955 recording a top speed of 69.9 mph (112.5 km/h) and acceleration from 0-50 mph (80.5 km/h) in 20.2 seconds and a fuel consumption of 35.7 mpgimp. The test car which had the optional heater cost £668 including taxes.
Ford Escort
The Ford Escort was a mechanically identical estate car but based on the Ford AngliaFord Anglia
The 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car....
which had a lower trim level. This proved more popular and a total of 33,131 Escorts were produced between 1955 and 1961. Production of the Escort continued until 1961, two years longer than the Squire. The Escort name
Ford Escort
Ford Escort may refer to:* Ford Escort , a vehicle manufactured by Ford Motor Company's European division from 1968 through 2003* Ford Escort , a compact car that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market...
was also used on two other, unrelated, vehicles.