The Big Picture
Thanks to you, Ford changed its intention to scrap this car
It’s saved! The Standard Ten that Ford threatened has been rescued.
Practical Classics originally made an offer to Ford to take on the Standard Ten, which was rescued from a Caithness scrapyard after being processed by a Ford dealership in Thurso, but was rebuffed by the American giant. Ford stated they did ‘not want to set a precedent,’ by sparing the almost perfect 1959 classic. The story was then taken up by the Daily Telegraph and Classic Car Weekly but still Ford insisted that the Standard had to be destroyed. Finally, Practical Classics enlisted the assistance of Lord Steel, president of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs. He managed to get through to Ford Senior Management, who agreed to negotiate with Practical Classics Editor, Danny Hopkins. A lengthy phone call with Tim Holmes, Ford’s Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Ford Great Britain concluded with an agreement to grant the Standard an amnesty. It would not be scrapped as long as a commitment was given not to return it to the road. Tim Holmes stated that, ‘Ford is committed to heritage, the collection at Dagenham is testimony to that and no-one wants to see a mint classic destroyed, least of all me.’ However, he continued, ‘When we enter into a scrappage contract, we commit to a customer to “scrap their vehicle responsibly”.’ Practical Classics will continue to exert pressure on all motor manufacturers to modify their wording so that classics might be spared from the crusher. A system that states, ‘We commit to recycling your vehicle responsibly’ could easily involve the resale of Historic Vehicles or the
securing of components.
PC also committed to seeing if a legislative solution can be found, whereby a car with Historic Vehicle on its V5 cannot be processed through scrappage. The Ten‘s continued life might yet be secured. PC is exploring those possibilities with the new custodian after we visited Caithness to assess the car and meet the people who saved it (see News on p8).