Armchair Tourism, Part 3

In the car enthusiast world, the United kingdom is one of the better countries. There is a sizable community and media (including the popular "Top Gear") and overall the variety of cars isn't bad. Obviously, European cars are the most popular, especially Ford's European division. However, Asian cars can also be found, in addition to some US-based Chrysler/Jeep models and GM cars.
Unfortunately, cars in the UK have always rusted pretty quickly. Older cars don't appear too frequently on street views and finding one is something of a jackpot. The website Howmanyleft.co.uk reveals how poor the survival rate has been for most cars.
I was Google-surfing through Addlestone yesterday and found a Ford Cortina. I had been specifically hoping to find one on Google but kept striking out.The Cortina was a British Ford, and the best-selling car in Britain during the entire 1970's. They were a staple of British roads and almost symbolic of England itself. Not many have made it into this decade, though, and that makes me sad. There are several reasons the rarity of these cars is depressing.
The first is that Britains auto industry has diminished badly. It is a ghost of it's former self, offering almost no cars. Through the 80's, there were British cars for all budgets and tastes. The Cortina was one. You could buy a Cortina in Sedan, Wagon or Convertible form. It was so popular that South Africa, Taiwan, and Australia all had a Cortina line available.Even in South Korea, a Hyundai-badged cortina was built and sold (I have not found any indication that even a single Hyundai version still survives).The United States did not get Cortinas after the early-70s, but seemingly everyone else did.It was a British success story, yet nowadays Britain offers very few choices even for it's own market, forcing buyers to choose German or French cars instead.Some sources say that 1982 was the last year of production, but they were also sold in South Africa through the 1984 model-year.
Another reason is that England itself has changed. Demographically and socially, it is no longer the England of the 1950s that evokes adoration from foreigners even today.The country Anglophiles admire is no longer the same place.The Cortina represented the England of the past, and as they rust away and are scrapped, so are the memories of the country so many people dream about visiting. The Britain of tea-drinking, pub-crawling and scone-eating has gone the way of of the Cortina, and the country is more generic now and less distinguised.That seems to be a common thread in many localities today.
Reason 3 is that the Cortina was so popular that it was almost part of the British landscape and when it gets as rare as it is now, it just reveals how much time has slipped by and that familiar things soon become just a memory.As I mentioned a few posts ago, I feel the same way about Chevy Vegas here in the US.
This is a 1979-82 "mk V" Cortina, the final incarnation. Howmanyleft.co.uk is not the most precise or accurate source, as it only lists cars by first year of registration as opposed to actual model year, but for cars registered between 1979 and 1983 (remember, sources often give '82 as the last year), about 1400 are still left in their native land, and less than half are registered. Close to 900 have been issued a SORN (stationary Off-Road Notice), so only about 530 are driven and not in storage.
At least I finally spotted an iconic Cortina on Google like I had been hoping for. I will probably keep surfing street views of Britain because I'm still hoping to spot a Vauxhall Chevette.