Ford

From the rear-wheel-drive rally Escorts to the Capri V6, the XR hot hatches and the mighty Sierra Cosworth, the classic fast Fords are some of the most loved and fastest-rising British classics. A plain-English guide to the main families, how they differ, what they cost, how to choose, and how to avoid a cloned car.

The Ford Anglia 105E put more than a million British families on the road, and is remembered for two things, its reverse-rake rear window and, decades later, its starring role as the flying car in Harry Potter. A guide to the 105E and 123E, the first of the Kent engines, what they are like to own, and what they are worth.

The classic Ford Capri was Europe's answer to the Mustang, an affordable fastback coupe that sold nearly two million and became a 1970s and 80s icon. A guide to the Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3, the V6 cars, the 2.8 Injection and the RS models, how it differs from the new electric Capri, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Consul was the four-cylinder base of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, and with its Zephyr sister it was the first British Ford built with modern unitary construction. A guide to the Mk1 and Mk2 Consul, the Three Graces, the later use of the Consul name, what to look for and what they are worth.

The Ford Cortina was Britain's best-selling car for much of the 1960s and 70s, five generations of family saloon that defined the company car park and the family driveway, from the sporting Lotus Cortina to the everyday GLs. A guide to the Mk1 to Mk5, how the generations differ, the fast Cortinas, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Escort Mexico was named to celebrate Ford's victory in the 1970 London-to-Mexico World Cup Rally, an affordable, tough, rear-wheel-drive homologation special built to take the Escort's rally success to the showroom. A guide to the Mk1 and Mk2 Mexico, what to look for, and why values have climbed.

The Ford Escort RS2000 was the rally-bred hero of the rear-wheel-drive Escort, a light two-door with a torquey 2.0-litre engine and, in Mk2 form, the famous droop-snoot nose. A guide to the Mk1 and Mk2 RS2000, what made it a motorsport legend, what to look for when buying, and why values have soared.

The Ford Escort XR3i was the fuel-injected hot hatch that outsold every rival and defined performance motoring for a generation of British drivers. A guide to the XR3 and XR3i, the Mk3 and Mk4 cars and the cabriolet, how it compares to the Golf GTI, what to look for, and what they are worth now.

The classic Ford Escort ran across six generations from 1968 to 2000, from the rear-drive rally cars to the front-drive hot hatches and the mighty RS Cosworth. A guide to the Mk1 to Mk6, how the generations differ, the everyman saloons and the celebrated fast Escorts, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Granada was Ford's big executive saloon and coupe for over two decades, from the Mk1 made famous by The Sweeney to the aerodynamic, Car-of-the-Year Mk3 and its 24-valve Cosworth flagship. A guide to the three generations, the Granada and Scorpio names, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Prefect was Ford UK's upmarket small saloon for over two decades, from the upright "sit up and beg" pre-war cars to the modern 100E of the 1950s. Cheap, tough and built in huge numbers, it put Britain on the road, and lent its name to a Hitchhiker's Guide character. A guide to the models, owning one, and values.

The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth turned an ordinary family Ford into a Group A touring-car weapon, with a turbocharged Cosworth engine, a whale-tail wing and, in RS500 form, near-unbeatable race performance. A guide to the three-door, the RS500, the Sapphire and the 4x4, what to look for, and why values have soared.

The Ford Zephyr was the six-cylinder heart of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, quick and spacious for its day, and famous as the patrol car of the BBC series Z-Cars. A guide to the four generations from the finned Three Graces to the big V6 Mk4, how it relates to the Consul and Zodiac, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Zodiac was the top of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, the upmarket, six-cylinder flagship above the Consul and Zephyr. From the finned Mk2 to the huge V6-engined Mk4, it offered American-style space and brightwork at a British price. A guide to the four generations, what to look for, and what they are worth.

Dutton was reckoned the most prolific kit-car maker in the world, building cheap glass-fibre sports cars and estates on Triumph and then Ford Escort running gear, and once beat Ford in the High Court for the right to keep calling one of its cars the Sierra. A guide to the models, the famous lawsuit, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

Robin Hood built the cheapest Lotus-Seven-style kit cars in Britain, famously a car on the road from one budget kit and a single scrap Ford donor, with an unusual folded stainless-steel construction. A guide to the models, the stainless monocoque story, the GBS succession, and the things to check before buying one.

Ford of Dagenham built the cars that put Britain on wheels, from the Cortina that led the sales charts for a decade to the rally-bred Escorts and the executive Granada. A guide to the classic British Fords worth knowing, what they are like to own now, and where each one sits in the story.

The Cortina Mk4 of 1976 traded the Coke-bottle curves of the Mk3 for crisp Italian-influenced lines and finally shared its body fully with the German Taunus. It kept Ford's best-seller at the top of the British charts to the end of the decade. The development story, the range, and what the survivors are like now.

Ford called it the Cortina 80; Britain called it the Mk5. The 1979 facelift of the Mk4 was the last Cortina of all, holding the sales lead until the radical Sierra replaced it in 1982 and ended two decades of rear-drive Cortinas. The development story, the run-out, and the survivors.

The squared-off Escort Mk2 of 1975 was a humble rear-drive family car that doubled as one of the most successful rally cars of all time. The RS1800, RS2000 and Mexico turned the badge into a legend while millions of ordinary Escorts did the school run. The development story, the rally cars, and the survivors.

The front-drive Escort Mk5 of 1990 launched to some of the harshest reviews Ford had ever received, and the company spent the next two years putting it right. At the top of the range, the rally-homologation Escort RS Cosworth turned the unloved Escort into an icon. The development story and the survivors.

The third-generation Granada of 1985 was Ford's most advanced car yet, a smooth aerodynamic hatchback that brought executive-class technology like standard anti-lock brakes to the mainstream and was named European Car of the Year. Known as the Scorpio abroad, it was Ford's big British saloon for a decade. The development story and the survivors.

The Fordson Major is the heavyweight British classic tractor, built by Ford at Dagenham from the post-war E27N to the diesel New Major, Power Major and Super Major of 1952 to 1964. Its history, the engines, the difference between the E27N and the New Major, what to check when buying, and what one is worth.