What happened to Ghia badged Fords?
Discussion
GHIA is indeed a design house which has been around many years and been involved with many manufactures, prior to Ford buying them in the 70s.
The VW Karman GHIA, De Tommaso Pantera an Volvo P1800 and a few rebodied Ferraris/Fiats were also GHIA efforts.
Back in the early 2000s I had a Orion Ghia 1.6 which came with some lovely bits of chrome & velour,electric windows, head rests and a passenger vanity mirror lol - looking back it was dreadful but compared with the Fiesta 'Bonus' ( the bonus being a sticker and nothing else) it was luxury.
The VW Karman GHIA, De Tommaso Pantera an Volvo P1800 and a few rebodied Ferraris/Fiats were also GHIA efforts.
Back in the early 2000s I had a Orion Ghia 1.6 which came with some lovely bits of chrome & velour,electric windows, head rests and a passenger vanity mirror lol - looking back it was dreadful but compared with the Fiesta 'Bonus' ( the bonus being a sticker and nothing else) it was luxury.
CapriV6S said:
Anyone remember the early Mk2 Granada-Ghia Sapphire from around 1979 / 80 - had 2.8i engine, metric TRX 390 alloys, 2-tone blue and silver, think probably had leather too. Ford did some other limited edition Granada Ghia-based models for when the Ghia just wasnt enough. Granada Ghia Chasseur estate with roof-rails in 2-tone brown.
My Cortina 2000S is long gone, TSE 777R.
Remember them, have the brochures on them.My Cortina 2000S is long gone, TSE 777R.
The Sapphire Granada just looked right. Don't think it had leather but without digging out the loft to find out I could be wrong.
The Chasseur, dark brown, gold wheels, leather and check interior with its own luggage fot that huge boot. Graphics on the side of people doing sporty things.
I remember as a kid going in a new W reg one. Smelt of leather, had eectric windows....maybe its becase I was 10, but cars just don't do it for me in that way any more.
I used to love special editions. There was also the Granada Consort? Based on a GL but with nice bits added. I recall a model called the Carousel too, though that I think was a Cortina. It preceeded the Crusader run out midels.
For some reason I never got the Capri Ghia. The car was too spirty to wear a Ghia badge and it didn't wear the trim as well as it did in S or Injection form.
mfmman said:
CapriV6S said:
Anyone remember the early Mk2 Granada-Ghia Sapphire from around 1979 / 80 - had 2.8i engine, metric TRX 390 alloys, 2-tone blue and silver, think probably had leather too. Ford did some other limited edition Granada Ghia-based models for when the Ghia just wasnt enough. Granada Ghia Chasseur estate with roof-rails in 2-tone brown.
My Cortina 2000S is long gone, TSE 777R.
And if that wasn't enough there was a Ghia X Executive!My Cortina 2000S is long gone, TSE 777R.
TBH the roof rails you could get on any granada the thing that made the chasseur stand out was the trim and matching suitcases !
Just browsing the granada launch folder as i type, came through the door today as it happens
toon10 said:
Fox- said:
I loved my Mondeo Ghia X.
I had a W reg GhiaX 2.5 Modeo and it was a great car. Some numpty pulled out of a junction and wrote it off for me. I always though the Titanium badge was one of those economic or cheapo versions like a blue motion (or whatever they are called) or an 'L' in the old days and not at the upper end of the model range. You live and learn. Yiliterate said:
Wasn't there also a GTi version of the Escort for a brief and all-too-forgettable period?
Can't say I'm a fan of the 'Titanium' tag; sounds to me like the name they would give a special edition to try and boost flagging sales a year or so before the new model comes out...
Yeah there was a escort gti. Had the same 1.8 zetec 115bhp as any other escort but had half leather seats and side skirts and escort cosworth style wheels. I was going to get one when i was 19 but my insurance company quoted me another half of what a 1.8 si would cost to insure. So, what did i do, i bought a 1.8 si then had the skirts put on. Plus the si's wingback seats were better than the gti ones anyway, which were the same as the the bottom of the range escort but just with leather boulsters. Nice one ford, good effort, not.Can't say I'm a fan of the 'Titanium' tag; sounds to me like the name they would give a special edition to try and boost flagging sales a year or so before the new model comes out...
J4CKO said:
Always will remember a dodgy geezer from Stockport who was married to a mature student, a rough as a
holes bird called Paula I was at college with, bougth a pc off him, good deal, didnt realise it had been pinched from another college until I found their data on it, I didnt call the Police I am sorry to say but I didnt want to die.
He had a white Orion Ghia Injection X, dont think they ever did an X on the Orion but it had every bit of tat on it and those script letters that people used to put on in the nineties that displayed your initials, he told me how it was so much faster than my MK1 Golf GTI because it had a "special engine", he couldnt tell me the details as it was secret due to it being experiemental for Ford, to me it just looked like your average injected CVH with the stem seals on the way out but I just nodded sagely still remembering the chat we had one time on a night out how he had his eye on me as he thought I had my eye on Paula, I assured him that this was not the case due to my immense respect for him, I couldnt really say she was a total skank and I would rather not could I.
Saw him, in an Orion 1600E with her and their brood of shaven headed mini me versions of him quite recently.
There was a Ghia Orion X (in the last, "rounded" shape, MK4 Escort time), albeit briefly. IIRC it had a slightly peppier engine than the normal Orion Ghia.holes bird called Paula I was at college with, bougth a pc off him, good deal, didnt realise it had been pinched from another college until I found their data on it, I didnt call the Police I am sorry to say but I didnt want to die.He had a white Orion Ghia Injection X, dont think they ever did an X on the Orion but it had every bit of tat on it and those script letters that people used to put on in the nineties that displayed your initials, he told me how it was so much faster than my MK1 Golf GTI because it had a "special engine", he couldnt tell me the details as it was secret due to it being experiemental for Ford, to me it just looked like your average injected CVH with the stem seals on the way out but I just nodded sagely still remembering the chat we had one time on a night out how he had his eye on me as he thought I had my eye on Paula, I assured him that this was not the case due to my immense respect for him, I couldnt really say she was a total skank and I would rather not could I.
Saw him, in an Orion 1600E with her and their brood of shaven headed mini me versions of him quite recently.
Jimbo. said:
There was a Ghia Orion X (in the last, "rounded" shape, MK4 Escort time), albeit briefly. IIRC it had a slightly peppier engine than the normal Orion Ghia.
Not as far as I know - I think you're thinking of the Orion Ghia Injection (As opposed to the standard Ghia, which had a carb) - essentially XR3i running gear in sensible clothes.Great cars, always preferred them to the XR3i.
The Ghia badge got a bit devalued in later years appearing on diesel estate cars and such like. I always thought it was a bit strange having a Ghia X model and seem to recall in the early 80s there was even a Granada "Ghia X Executive" that had all the options as standard.
Back in the day I could tell from looking at any Ford side on, exactly what trim level it was. These days I wouldn't have a clue. I'm getting nostalgic for the simpler times when everyone knew their place in the pecking order.
Back in the day I could tell from looking at any Ford side on, exactly what trim level it was. These days I wouldn't have a clue. I'm getting nostalgic for the simpler times when everyone knew their place in the pecking order.
Agent57 said:
The Ghia badge got a bit devalued in later years appearing on diesel estate cars and such like.
Eh?It was a trim level, so appeared on all sorts - it just signified that you had the top of the range trim, but didn't say anything about the body style or mechanical components.
HeatonNorris said:
Not as far as I know - I think you're thinking of the Orion Ghia Injection (As opposed to the standard Ghia, which had a carb) - essentially XR3i running gear in sensible clothes.
Great cars, always preferred them to the XR3i.
Maybe thinking of the Orion Ghia Si which had the 1.8 130 motor out of the XR3i?Great cars, always preferred them to the XR3i.
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