The (Sub) Standard of the World

[Betaphile]

Think the car that 'saved' Vauxhall in the UK was the first Cavalier, it was certainly the first Cortina competitor they did that was actually a better car than the Ford. But the Mk2 really sold in big numbers, although by the 1980s the Astra was helping on this front as well.

 

By the time the different development teams in the US and Germany had developed their version of the original J car, they were so different barely a single part was the same. Same goes for the 1980 Escort, ostensibly another 'world' car but the US and European versions were very, very different cars that looked vaguely similar. In both the above cases, we got the better car, unsurprisingly!

Story goes that there was a grand total of six parts common to the US and Euro Scrotes, two of which were badges.