There I was minding my own business taking a little walk on a public footpath, when I was presented with a bunch of broken Mondeos parked up near some trees.
Some have been vandalized - inevitable, we are in the UK after all (sad as it may seem, it's common).
The cars have sat for some time yet they still look so modern.. this ST24 model was top of the range.
Yikes, pesky kids or pesky tree branch - Either way, restoring this car is now a lot more involved than it may have been otherwise!
V6 badge on the wing is still intact. Amazing someone hasn't nicked all the badges, it's a common thing that some like to 'collect'.
Really fun part of studying derelict cars. When we look for details we reveal history, and things about the past owner, like this Taekwondo sticker. He liked Taekwondo and drove a Mondeo ... almost rhymes!
Cream of the crop ST24 ... This is the one I'd have!
All lined up, looking frozen in time, just a few years ago you'd see them all the time on the roads. Nowadays, increasingly rare. Thousands were chopped in for the government 'scrappage schemes' which gave buyers big discounts to lease a new car.
The view just past the broken Mondeos, is back to Devon rolling hills! Those cattle will be producing delicious milk or steak, not sure which. Plus the lamb ... local Devon lamb is delicious as any from NZ ...
Somewhere in Devon, England
There is this field up on a public footpath behind a small mixed-use industrial and housing estate. It was one day after visiting a business in the area, I saw the views looked good and decided to check them out. Then to my surprise, I found a whole bunch of old Ford saloons!
Future Classics?
The Mondeo was Ford's replacement for the Sierra model, and a great success. They really went to town on the engineering, and wanted to catch up in the market to German rivals like BMW and Mercedes, whilst offering Ford value for money and running costs. This was Ford's major play in the 'company fleet' market, and sold by the bucketload to motorway-mile munching sales execs.
Growing Cult Popularity, and an F1 connection ...
Over the years, like many Fords - Mondeo's became extremely good second-hand buys, once retired from a company fleet they could be picked up for a song. Some models had sports saloon credentials, with powerful engines and sports suspension. Jackie Stewart, the 3 times Formula 1 World Champ, was involved heavily in the R&D of this car. From his time using Ford engines in his F1 cars, he'd carved himself a career after Ford, the company and was to become not only a champion of the Mondeo PR, but had direct impact on the final product by extensively test driving the prototypes and feeding back to the engineers. The results were apparent from the first reviews, and the motoring press raved about how well it handled and felt on the road.
What next for these old timers?
Until a few years ago, nobody would have paid much attention. They've clearly been used as parts cars, and would take some work to put back together again. Far more than the value they would yield. However, with enough passage of time - some or all will likely become valuable. However, if by that time they are still in this field - they'll be in a very sorry state by then. Perhaps even overgrown by nature. Will they be rescued? Who knows. If I had a huge barn, (which I don't), I might have tried to find how to obtain one or two to stash away safely. Perhaps someone will ...
Thanks for reading, and checking out the sight of these once motorway mile eating machines, sitting looking a little frozen in time and decaying in a field. I'm just glad to have made such a quirky discovery and whenever I get back to my hometown, I'll be sure to go look if they are still around!