18 replies to this topic

[Dan]

Austin Rover did not exist until 1981.......

Ah yes, sorry! I forgot about that middle period because I was coming at it from the Mini side which of course became a brand in its own right at that time.

[mab01uk]

The Mini was a Morris, of course, not an Austin.

When Austin and Morris joined together in 1952 to form BMC, Alec Issigonis came from the Morris side of the fence where he'd already designed the Morris Minor long before he designed the Mini Minor.

So, was 621 AOK the first Mini (Morris Mini Minor)?
"According to retired BMC engineer Peter Tothill, who was responsible for the design and supervision of the Mini production line at Cowley (Morris) and performed rectification work on Mini prototypes, 621 AOK was the first production Mini. Peter Tothill’s story is that four employees – Bob Moore, Tony Monk, Bob Hollis and Peter Tothill himself – built 621 AOK over the weekend of Good Friday 27 March to Easter Monday 30 March 1959.
‘There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, because on the Wednesday of that week, Les Ford (chief planning engineer) said to me, “We want you to build the first ADO15 over the Easter weekend when there will be no-one in the factory, and I want you there.” I had recently got married and we had planned to go away for the weekend, so I had to tell my wife that the trip was off! The car was loaded onto a truck, sheeted up and delivered to Longbridge (Austin) on the Tuesday, ready for the directors to view on the Wednesday. Tuesday was a holiday in Birmingham because they always worked on Good Friday.’
This version of the Mini story has it that (Morris Mini) 621 AOK was used as the reference for Longbridge foreman Albert Green to build the first Austin Minis. Peter Tothill reckoned it was impossible for Cowley to pilot build ten ADO15s in one day and that these cars were built in the preceding weeks with records commencing on 8 May 1959."
http://www.aronline....history-part-1/

[mab01uk]

"In 1952, old rivalries and suspicions were allegedly slaked when Morris (The Nuffield Group) and Austin joined forces to become the British Motor Corporation. The idea behind the formation of BMC was a good one; to form an enormous British car company in order to fight the very real threat posed from overseas manufacturers – and assure the future of the British Motor industry. Problems with the BMC organization very quickly manifested themselves, though – as they always do................."
The whole story: Formation of an Empire, BMC is created
http://www.aronline....bmc-is-created/


The Pininfarina styled Austin A40 model was launched in 1958 as a replacement for the A35. Styling was smart, but underneath though it was tediously conventional.

Edited by mab01uk, 08 April 2012 - 10:25 AM.

[Cooperman]

It always seemed that BMC saw themselves as their own competitors. For example, at the same time they were producing the Minor 1000 and the A40 and A35, all 1-litre family cars of similar size and performance. Ford produced the Anglia at that time. Then they had the Riley 1.5/Wolseley 1500 and the Austin A55/Morris Oxford in the 1.5-litre range. Later they added the 1500 and 1750 Maxi which had a completely different engine. They continued to produce the A40 and Minor 1000 after introducing the ADO 16 1100 and 1300 range. Their marketing strategy, if they ever had one, was muddled to say the least. Once the added-on companies came along the 'muddle' got even worse with Rover competing head-on with sister-company Triumph in the 2-litre class instead of building a single-design for a really competitive car to compete with the Ford Granada and Vauxhall Victor. Then, when Ford were really winning with the Mk.2 Cortina and the new Escort along came BLMC with, yes, the Marina in 1.3 and 1.8 litre engine sizes. I was invited tyo the launch of the 'New Marina' and after driving a 1.8 Marina the salesman asked if I wanted to buy one. "You must be having a laugh" was my reply. I got back in my year-old Cortina 1600E and was pleased to have a car which went round corners, steered well and had super brakes.

Edited by Cooperman, 08 April 2012 - 03:17 PM.