ONE of Britain's best-known fleet car names is set to be dropped from the next new lower medium model range to be launched by Ford. Fresh badging is believed to be under consideration for the car which is due to take over the mantle of the long-running Escort next year.

Under a dramatic plan to make the most of the Escort's final three years of British production - the Escort replacement will be built in Germany and Spain - officials are aiming to field a complete line-up of runout cars which will cost significantly less than the current range.

The 'old' Escort - Britain's best-seller for the last 14 years - has been available before in cut-price Popular form. But insiders feel next year's downmarket guise is most likely to come with a Classic badge. This was the branding recently given to the runout Fiesta - and proved to be such a successful marketing campaign that Ford officials came close to deciding to ask for fresh investment so they could keep building the outmoded model alongside the new Ka at Valencia in Spain.