>>Ford Squire

Ford Squire

Ford Squire

Manufacturer	Ford of Britain
Production	1955-1959 17,812
Body style	2-door estate
Layout	FR layout
Engine	1172 cc I4
Transmission	3-speed manual
Wheelbase	87 in (2,210 mm)
Length	142 in (3,607 mm)
Width	60.5 in (1,537 mm)
Height	63 in (1,600 mm)

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 (27 kW) 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 km/h) in 20.2 seconds and a fuel consumption of 35.7 miles per imperial gallon (7.91 L/100 km; 29.7 mpg_-US). The test car which had the optional heater cost £668 including taxes.

Ford Escort

A less expensive variant of the Ford Squire was branded as the Ford Escort.

The Ford Escort was a mechanically identical estate car but based on the Ford Anglia 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.