IT may not be written into their DNA, but there is one thing that certainly runs in the Houguez family.

For the past forty years or so, they have had every right to stake a claim to being Jersey’s biggest Ford fans.
Dad Steve currently owns a 1970s black Escort Mexico, a 1980 Escort RS2000 and a 20-year-old XR3i.

His wife, Gail, drives a 2006 Fiesta ST, their elder son, Richard, has a 1974 Mk I Escort RS2000, while their younger son, Jonathan, has just sold an Escort Turbo.

And if that is not enough, Gail’s brother, Jon Le Brocq, has a black 2.8 Capri. Steve’s first cars were Minis and Mini Coopers. He passed his test in 1970 and was soon competing in hill climbs and sprints in Jersey and Guernsey.

In about 1972 or 1973, however, he got his first taste of owning and driving fast Fords. Almost immediately he was hooked and has loved them ever since. His first Ford was an Escort Mexico, a car with a great racing and rallying pedigree.

‘I had that car for about four years and I wish I had never sold it,’ he said. ‘I went with my brother-in-law, Jon, and another friend to South Africa thinking that we may go and live our lives there. I sold the car, but as it happened I was only away for about six months.’

When he came back to Jersey, Steve continued racing his Minis, but was soon a Ford owner again. ‘I bought another Escort Mexico. It was a factory black one, which are comparatively rare. I believe there were four sold in Jersey and I still have that car.’

In fact, the Mexico is an ongoing project. Steve has been working on it for quite some time. The restoration is getting there, but he says that his friends joke that he will never finish it. ‘It sits on axle stands and I work on it when I feel like it,’ he explains.

In 1980, Steve bought a third Ford. This time it was an Escort RS2000 in the Ford colour Signal Amber. It is this car that Steve and Gail go away in with Jon and his wife, Jill, and meet up with other enthusiasts across northern Europe.
Last summer, they joined the 2008 Classic Ford Tour to Holland with Jersey friends and fellow Ford enthusiasts Neil and Jacqui Le Ber.

They drove from St Malo to join 71 other classic Fords in a convoy 153-enthusiasts strong. The trip was organised by Classic Ford magazine and Continental Car Tours. Steve, Gail and the other Jersey couples plan to join the next Classic Ford trip to Northern Ireland next year.

‘Some of the people we have become very good friends with. We see them every year,’ says Steve. He adds: ‘I just like Fords. I always have. I like the RS badge, which means rally sport. It would be nice to have a collectable Aston Martin or Lotus, but I have never really decided to go down that route.’

It seems that Steve is not alone in Jersey when it comes to a passion for classic Fords. He says that every time he takes one of the cars out, word quickly gets back that someone has seen him.

‘There were quite a few of them on the road in the mid-1970s and 1980s,’ he says ‘but of course they are few and far between now. Some people have never really had a good, close look at a classic fast Ford. Other people like to reminisce and said things like, “I had one of those.” ’

Steve says that outside of Jersey, and especially in France, people need educating about fast Fords. ‘In France, they like fast Citroens, don’t they,’ he suggests. ‘You get some funny looks at traffic lights.’

As for the future, Steve and Gail hope to take the RS2000 down to Le Mans to join other enthusiasts watching the racing there.

And then there is always the black Mexico. One day you may just see it on Island roads.

• Picture: Steve Houguez with his 1980 Mk 2 Escort RS2000