It was the year that Wet Wet Wet topped the charts, that Alan Shearer became the UK’s most expensive footballer, that Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated, and Brits all had to pay 15% interest rates as the pound crashed out of Europe. But 1992 was also the year Ford launched one of the best-selling cars ever made, the Mondeo.
Fast-forward 25 years and while the 1990s are enjoying something of a revival, the cars that kept the decade moving are on the verge of extinction, according to consumer motoring website Honest John Classics.
Unveiled on 23 November 1992, the Ford Mondeo was a truly global model. But despite more than 88,660 examples being sold in the UK during the car’s first full year of production, only 322 of those survive today – just 0.36%.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair used the term “Mondeo Man” to capture the image of the self-made man of middle England, owning his own home, earning a decent wage, supporting his family – a swing voter looking to back the political party that put the most money in his pocket.
Ultimately, the writing is on the wall for Ford’s world car. The Mondeo no longer makes the list of top ten best-selling cars in the UK, with “Mondeo Man” now much more likely to drive a Mercedes-Benz C-Class or a Nissan Qashqai.
Read about 50 years of the roadside breathalyser in Britain.
Read our 2010 comparison test of Ford Mondeo, Volkswagen Passat and Opel Insignia.
