The car you always promised yourself

This one's for Wibs: We were at Cleveleys just for an afternoon out, when we stumbled across a classic car display right down the new walkway along the promenade. Whilst there were several cars there from the 60's and earlier, there were also plenty from the 70's and even 80's, however describing cars from my era as 'classic' makes me feel old!

There were several little sports cars such as Triumph Spitfires from the 60's and 70's, but this early 1980's Ford Capri caught my eye, being a favourite of Wibs, and in absolutely mint condition too.



The term Capri was first used by Ford in 1961 for a two-door coupe version of the Classic saloon, and then the Consul Capri the following year. The first car known simply as the Capri was launched in 1969, as a European version of the American Mustang, and it's sporty looks made it extremely popular. Ford coined the advertising slogan "The car you always promised yourself" for the Capri.

By 1974, the mark II Capri was launched with a number of small improvements, but sales were on a slow decline which meant by 1977, a mark III version was developed. This was ready for the public in 1978, and this is the version we saw at Cleveleys. The use of Capris in the TV series The Professionals helped maintain interest in the UK, giving the Capri a cult car status, but sales failed to improve significantly and by the mid 1980s the Capri was doomed. The last Capri rolled off the prodution line in 1986 - after more than 1.8 million Capris had been produced.