5 years ago.

The top stories from Automotive News Europe's August 19, 1996 edition - and how they developed.

Mondeo, Vectra battle

Ford's Mondeo is struggling to win back its crown as king of Europe's upper-medium segment. Despite heavy incentives and product upgrades, the segment's class leader now trails GM's new Opel/Vauxhall Vectra. The Vectra, which debuted in autumn 1995, sold 221,121 units in the first seven months of 1996. The Mondeo sold 192,128 units.

* In a reversal of roles, the new Ford Mondeo was comfortably ahead of the aging Opel/Vauxhall Vectra in the January to July 2001 sales period. The Mondeo sold 183,897 units; the Vectra sold 118,086. But the No. 1 seller was the VW Passat, with 202,405 units. A new Vectra is due in spring 2002.

Scorpio struggles

With a simplified lineup, enhanced specifications and a new engine, Ford is aiming to boost the appeal of its Scorpio executive sedan. In the two years since its introduction, the Scorpio has only had modest success in the middle executive sector, ranking seventh in 1995 below such models as the Mercedes-Benz E-class, GM Omega and BMW 5 series.

* Ford failed to boost the Scorpio's appeal and the model went out of production in July 1998.

Problems at NedCar

The NedCar plant in Born, the Netherlands, lost about 5,000 units of the Volvo S40/V40 because of a sluggish production launch at the beginning of the year. NedCar Production Control General Manager Robert Jans said the problems were caused because the new work force required more training and experience than anticipated.

* NedCar will stop producing the S40/V40 in 2004. Volvo has decided to build their successors in Ghent, Belgium.

Freelander on a high

Land Rover's entry-level sport-utility, code-named CB40, will be launched in Europe in November 1997 as the Highlander.

* Land Rover's new sport-utility was unveiled as the Freelander at the September 1997 Frankfurt auto show. It was launched in the UK in January 1998, and in Germany the following month. The Freelander quickly established itself as Europe's top-selling small sport-utility, and will get a long-awaited US introduction this October.