Ford Cortina’s top the list of cars dad used to drive

Despite uncomfortable vinyl seats, ropey suspension and a distinct lack of in-car gadgets, the cars Dad used to drive can hold fond memories. With Father’s Day round the corner, HPI is celebrating some of the cars we fondly remember with its latest survey on the cars that Dad used to drive.
 
Top of the poll was that ‘must have’ car of the 60s and 70s, the Ford Cortina with 22% of respondents remembering this as the family vehicle of choice. The Ford Sierra comes in at number two with 10% and offers the 80s answer to the Ford Cortina. The Sierra waved goodbye to the boxy styling of the Cortina and went aerodynamic, sealing the demise of the ever-popular 1970s dad car.
 
Third place in the HPI poll is a dead heat between the Vauxhall Cavalier, Mini and the Austin Montego with 8%. The Vauxhall Cavalier had a 20 year production run and was one of Britain’s favourite cars, and the Mini belonged to those families who had a ‘cool’ dad, given its status as a 60s motoring icon. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Austin Montego, which was unveiled with much fanfare and a talking dashboard, but was plagued with faults which the car never quite lived down.
 
“We may shudder when we think of the brown and orange monstrosities our dads drove us to school in, in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but they hold some fond memories” says Nicola Johnson, Consumer Services Manager for HPI. “It’s no surprise that the ultimate dad-mobile, the Ford Cortina tops our list, but there are also some more unusual entries.”
 
One respondent’s dad drove a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith and another’s owned a Wolesley 16/60, proving that some dads preferred to travel in style. And for the dads who fancied a bit more power, the Chrysler Charger and Ford Capri Ghia were on the list, harking back to NASCAR racing and the TV series The Professionals respectively..
 
Johnson concludes, “Back in the day, car safety and security were an afterthought. Seatbelt fitting didn’t come in until 1967 and wearing one wasn’t compulsory until 1983. Car security has also evolved over time, and today’s cars are much more difficult to break into than those of our childhood. Car sales scams, sadly, have also evolved at speed, with new methods of conning buyers emerging all the time. It’s now even more important for today’s consumers to take steps to protect themselves from unscrupulous sellers disguising a banger as a bargain. And the best way to do this is with an HPI Check.”
 
The HPI Check will reveal whether the car is registered as stolen with the police, has been written-off by an insurance company, or has outstanding  finance against it, and it protects buyers with the HPI Guarantee. The HPI Guarantee provides up to £30,000 financial reimbursement in the event of the car not being everything it seems or the data held by HPI being inaccurate. HPI’s guarantee can also cover consumers in the event that they buy a cloned vehicle – the only vehicle history check to do so.
 
HPI’S trip down memory lane
 
My Dad Had One of Those
1. Ford Cortina
2. Ford Sierra
3. Vauxhall Cavalier
Mini
Austin Montego
4. Austin Healey
VW Golf
VW Beetle
Citroen 2CV
Austin Allegro
Princess
Hillman Hunter
5. Triumph Dolomite
Toyota Corolla
Ford Fiesta
Renault 4
Peugeot 405/505