'80s sales heroes vanishing from our roads

The Top 10 best-sellers chart during almost the entire 1980s was occupied exclusively by cars from Ford, BL/Austin Rover, and Vauxhall.  The idea of the likes of Audi and BMW nicking at the sales heels of Ford as they do today would have seemed ludicrous.

But what has happened to the decade’s big sellers? They’re rapidly dying off – but some more rapidly than others. Using data from the How Many Left? website, we’ve taken some famous ‘80s big-selling nameplates, stating their sales during the decade, the number of survivors in 1995 (when the data began), and their survival numbers today, and deriving a survival rating from that. Data concerns cars registered as on the road, and excludes those on a SORN.

1980’s sales: 1,607,999On the road in 1995: 1,935,884Now: 16,255Survival rate: 0.84%

The Escort first arrived in 1968, but few are left from that era. The Escort was the best-selling car of the ‘80s, and in go-go XR3i form (pictured) it came close to defining it too. The nameplate did manage to outlive the ‘80s, struggling on with the unloved Mk5 version to 1998, goosing its survival rate.

Back in the Escort's heyday, though, it did much to ensure Ford's dominance of the UK market. It had a 30.7% market share at the start of the decade, and it still had 25.3% of it by its end, despite the efforts of encroaching new German- and Japanese-badged competitors. Fast forward to today, and the past year was horrific for the blue oval due to the microchip shortage torpedoing its sales, especially those of the usually market-leading Fiesta. This led to Ford’s market share in 2021 cratering to just 7.5%.

1980’s sales: 1,007,865On the road in 1995: 1,231,323Now: 1462Survival rate: 0.12%

There were a cool 1.23 million Cavaliers on the road in 1995, in good part because the nameplate carried on until the arrival of the Vectra name in 1995. The first Cavalier didn’t make much of an impression but the Mk2 of 1982 was well-regarded by the press on arrival and proved a smash hit in the UK, and outsold the Sierra in 1984 and 1985, capitalising on having a saloon on offer at a time when the Sierra was only a hatchback. At the end of the decade a Mk3 model appeared and was again praised and sold well. The vast majority have however long since gone to the scrapyard.

1980’s sales: 979,379On the road in 1995: 1,062,249Now: 2480Survival rate: 0.23%

Sierra sales were initially slow to get going as the public reacted negatively to its radical jelly-mould shape. But they warmed up eventually and it became part of the decade’s mobile furniture. As with all the era’s best Fords, the hot versions were and are desirable; 57% of survivors today are Cosworth or XR4i (pictured) variants.

1980’s sales: 913,336On the road in 1995: 684,232Now: 319Survival rate: 0.05%

BL’s late entrant to the new supermini class, this was the car to save the British motor industry. No pressure then. Though well-packaged, practical, with decent handling, the Metro soon had serious competition from the likes of the Ford Fiesta Mk2 and Peugeot 205, and annual sales declined from 1983 onwards. Though Austin-badged models are very rare, there are around 2300 Rover-badged ones still out there from the ‘90s, along with 109 MGs. A disastrous, headline-making performance in a 1997 Euro NCAP crash test killed the car stone dead, after nearly 18 years on sale.

1980’s sales: 497,706On the road in 1995: 119,850Now: 4489Survival rate: 3.75%

Britain’s love for the Cortina and doubt over the Sierra saw the run-out fully-loaded Crusader variant (pictured) of the former car rack up 30,000 in sales alone, making it Ford’s biggest-selling special edition ever. As with its successor, survivors today come mainly from the fast versions; 300 or so Lotus-badged variants are still out there, along with another 300 1600Es, all built in the 1960s.

1980’s sales: 384,381On the road in 1995: 456,767Now: 332Survival rate: 0.09%

Ford was rightly concerned that its customers still yearned for a saloon after the Cortina’s retirement, and its solution was to introduce the Escort-derived Orion in 1983. And the formula worked, with the model regularly appearing in the Top 10 best-sellers list. The nameplate carried on into 1993, but the death rate since has been steep, not helped by the absence of any notable fast variants in the range.

1980’s sales: 360,829On the road in 1995: 426,962Now: 900Survival rate: 0.21%

Replacing the ancient Chevette, GM fully climbed aboard the supermini bandwagon in 1983 with the Spanish-built Nova. A decent range of trims and engines helped it surf the wave reasonably well and to regularly make the Top 10 list of annual best sellers. Inevitably, fast GSi/GTE/SR/SRi variants are notable among the survivors today.

1980’s sales: 332,635On the road in 1995: 234,080Now: 42Survival rate: 0.02%

The Montego was Austin Rover’s gallant attempt to take a slice of the juicy family saloon sales taken by the likes of the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier. But both those cars were larger and from more established bloodlines; the Austin was a replacement for the ill-starred Morris Ital and Austin Ambassador. Sales peaked in 1988 with 63,649 sold in the UK.

When the Austin name died it then suffered the ignominy of not physically wearing a brand at all, except for administrative and dealership purposes, the Rover name considered beyond its capabilities. Never that well-built, the model has been massacred; just 42 are left, along with another 26 bearing MG badges, and 67 ‘Rovers’.

1980’s sales: 324,125On the road in 1995: 286,393Now: 142Survival rate: 0.05%

In 1983 the Maestro replaced Austin’s Allegro and Maxi in one go, and it was in some ways it was a compelling package, with a spacious interior and good visibility from a large glasshouse. Maestro annual sales peaked in 1984, with 83,000 shifted, but declined thereafter. It faced major competition from the evolving Escort and the Volkswagen Golf, and it seemed to lack the X-factor of rivals. This was exemplified by the Escort XR3i and Golf GTi overshadowing the MG Maestro in both cultural and sales terms; incidentally 77 MG Maestros are left, including 24 Turbos.

1980’s sales: 283,423On the road in 1995: 232,163Now: 300Survival rate: 0.13%

Volvos of the 1980s are today remembered as large, boxy, dull but very safe large saloons and estates. So it’s easy to forget that the Dutch-built 300 series was frequently among the Top 10 best selling models in the UK during the decade. The 300 wasn’t the greatest of cars, hampered by being very heavy for its class – around 1100kg at a time when the Escort was around 900kg – but without strong engines to compensate. Still, that weight did bring enhanced occupant safety in the event of a crash, and it was reliable.

1980’s sales: 262,056On the road in 1995: 622,990Now: 2697Survival rate: 1.03%

While one half of Austin Rover was persevering with home-grown models (with mixed success), the other half was making the best out of the company’s new partnership with Honda. This first gave us the Honda Ballade-based Triumph Acclaim, which sold around 80,000 in just under three years. It was succeeded by the Rover 200 Series saloon in 1984, also based on the Ballade, at a time when the small saloon shape was a popular one; it was a regular in the Top 10 best-sellers during the decade. The nameplate carried on through two further Honda-orientated generations all the way to 1999, despite the company by then being owned by BMW.

1980’s sales: 225,774On the road in 1995: 374,764Now: 3372Survival rate: 0.90%

Born in 1983, the 205 continued on sale all the way through to 1998, and quickly became the best-selling Pug in the UK by some margin. Buyers loved its practicality, looks, robustness and zesty engines, and it frequently outsold the VW Golf. It opened the door to something of a golden age for the brand, as the popular 309, 306, and 206s all flowed in its wake. The most celebrated 205s are the 1.6-litre and 1.9-litre GTi variants (pictured); unsurprisingly they comprise 37% of survivors.

1980’s sales: 142,276On the road in 1995: 189,789Now: 320Survival rate: 0.17%

After failing to make a dent on the Escort class with the Talbot Horizon, Pug scored another hit after the 205 with the 309, which was built in Coventry for British customers. Despite its slightly gawky appearance, British buyers likes its practicality and range of engines, including very economical diesels. And as with its 205 little brother, its sporty GTi variant was highly regarded: 28% of survivors wear its red badge.

1980’s sales: 131,624On the road in 1995: 27,104Now: 435Survival rate: 1.6%

The Marina was one of the biggest selling cars of the 1970s, despite a dubious reputation for build quality. By 1980 it was obsolete, but British Leyland lacked the funds to replace it in a timely fashion so it got Italian styling house Italdesign to give it a facelift, eke a few more years out of it – and lend the model a new name in the process. We’re quite impressed by the survival rate; we suspect part of that is down to the fact that this fantastically unexceptional pair are frequent stars of the Festival of the Unexceptional, the annual event held every summer that celebrates ordinary, unsung cars.

Why no Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Astra and VWs Golf and Polo? These are long-running nameplates and still operating today, and thus we wouldn’t be able to generate usable numbers for these models.