Those who are looking to compare car insurance quotes for the best deal may be interested in learning about the most popular Fords of all time, which we have generally defined here as the best-selling.

The Escort is Ford’s best-selling car, albeit over a series of different models, with sales of over 20m worldwide including 4m in the UK alone according to a March 2009 survey, making it the best-selling car of all time here. It was in production from 1968 until 2003. The Mark I Ford Escort, which was developed by Ford of Britain, made its show debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968, while the Mark II model, which had begun production in late 1974, was a joint effort between the Blue Oval’s UK and German arms. Far from merely a dependable family runabout, the Escort was also famed as a rally car, scoring arguably its greatest victory at the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally as well as taking the 1979 World Rally Championship.

Another long running model of Ford is the Fiesta supermini, which has achieved sales of over 13m over six generations since the Mk I model was launched in 1976. The Fiesta has long been one of Ford’s most popular cars and has spawned many well known body styles, including the 3-door or 5-door hatchback and 2-door van variants, as well as the XR2 hot hatch.

Another of Ford’s most popular cars is the Escort’s successor, the Focus, which has been manufactured since 1998, with sales of some 9.2m over its two generations so far (not including the Mark III version that is set to enter production in late 2010). The first model was known for styling that marked a significant departure from the Escort, representing a continuation of Ford’s late 1990s New Edge design philosophy. Like the Escort, the Focus has also been a popular rally car, winning the 2006 and 2007 World Rally Championship Constructors’ titles.

The most popular single design of Ford in sales terms, however, remains the Model T, which was produced from 1908 until 1927. With sales of 16,500,000, it is the second bestselling single design of car after the Volkswagen Beetle. The Model T has been widely hailed as the first affordable automobile, partly because it was the first automobile to be mass produced on assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts. It is regarded as one of the most influential cars in history.