92-787: The Austin Kimberley and Austin Tasman (sold by Morris in New Zealand alongside the Austin models) "X6" models are a pair of Leyland Australia -designed front-wheel-drive sedans based on the Austin 1800 (ADO17) platform, that were produced from 1970 to 1972 and sold by Austin . At the time of the X6 being launched onto the Australian market it was quite an advanced design in comparison to
184-523: A 40% share of the UK car market, with its history going back to 1895. Despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar , Rover , and Land Rover , as well as the best-selling Mini , BLMC had a troubled history, leading to its eventual collapse in 1975 and subsequent part-nationalisation. After much restructuring and divestment of subsidiary companies, BL was renamed the Rover Group in 1986, becoming
276-482: A brand in consumers' minds in and outside the UK, print ads and spots were produced, causing confusion rather than attraction for buyers. BL marketing and management attempted to draw more obvious distinctions between the marques – most notable was the decision to pitch Morris as a maker of conventional mass-market cars to compete with Ford and Vauxhall and Austin to continue BMC's line of advanced family cars with front-wheel drive and fluid suspension. This resulted in
368-468: A day. The Ministry of Aircraft Production took over the plant putting in managers from Supermarine and placing it under Vickers-Armstrongs (of which Supermarine was a part) supervision. After a major air raid damaged the Morris Bodies factory, the premises switched to the production of jerry cans , producing millions of these versatile containers for use during the rest of the war and following
460-551: A disastrous couple of years in the marketplace, by the end of 1974 BLMC was on the brink of bankruptcy. Its financial backers – the City banks – had become very nervous about its future, and persuaded Lord Stokes to approach Tony Benn for financial assistance." Sir Don Ryder was asked to undertake an enquiry into the position of the company, and his report was presented to the government in April 1975. Following Ryder's recommendations,
552-528: A facelifted Marina) was the last Morris-badged passenger car, with production ending in the summer of 1984. The last Morris of all was a van variant of the Austin Metro , before the Morris brand was finally completely abandoned in 1987. After much restructuring of BL in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the former Morris plant at Cowley and its sister site the former Pressed Steel plant were turned over to
644-418: A factory. A second proposal was a coupé utility variant (codenamed YDO14), to replace the Australian developed Austin 1800 Utility . Although this model never reached production, Barry Anderson (ex-Leyland Australia engineer) states that two were built, one served as a "work hack" for Leyland Australia while the other was crash tested for ADR (Australian Design Rules) compliance. The surviving black work hack
736-605: A four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission . Due to the application in this car, its engine would also be used in ADO17 Austin 2200/Morris 2200/Wolseley Six , and later in the ADO71 Princess . In Australia, this engine, enlarged to 2.6-litres also appeared in the Morris Marina and Leyland P76 , though in these two cars the engine was mounted longitudinally. The differences generally between
828-426: A further issue of ordinary shares to him, the car manufacturing businesses of Wolseley Motors Limited and The MG Car Company Limited. A separate private company, Wolseley Aero Engines Limited , was then formed to continue the development of his aviation interests. In 1936 Lord Nuffield sold Morris Commercial Cars Limited , his commercial vehicle enterprise, to Morris Motors. In 1938 William Morris, Baron Nuffield
920-566: A model designation code of YDO13 with the Mark II models coded YDO19. In the early 1970s, British Leyland had an idea of a medium-sized Vanden Plas model, based on the Australian X6 models. Had the car entered production (there was a running prototype made), it would have had a formalised Wolseley 1800/2200 front end, the rest of the car's bodyshell being X6 based. The car is now in private ownership, one of very few prototypes to leave
1012-522: A much-needed 4-seat version of the car. White and Poppe , who made the engine, were unable to supply the volume of units that Morris required, so Morris turned to Continental of Detroit, Michigan for the supply of a 1548 cc engine. Gearboxes and axles were also sourced in the US. In spite of the outbreak of the First World War the orders were maintained and, from mid-1915 a new larger car,
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#17327865394541104-407: A planned launch in 2021 under the re-launched Morris Commercial marque, well over 30 years after the Morris brand had disappeared. WRM Motors Ltd began in 1912 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris moved on from the sale, hire, and repair of cars to car manufacturing. He planned a new light car assembled from bought-in components. In this way he was able to retain ownership by keeping within
1196-423: A product to sell. This meant that Austin and Morris still, to an extent, competed with each other and meant that each product was saddled with effectively twice the logistics, marketing and distribution costs that it would have if sold under a single name or if production of a single model platform was concentrated in one factory. Although BL did eventually end the wasteful double sourcing – for example production of
1288-471: A proper moving assembly line and creating Europe's largest integrated car plant. But Morris and Lord fell out, and after 15 years Lord left in 1936—threatening to "take Cowley apart brick by brick". Lord moved to Austin and they were to meet again in BMC—Morris, as Lord Nuffield, its first chairman. Lord succeeded him. As of 1 July 1935 Morris Motors acquired from W R Morris, now Lord Nuffield, in exchange for
1380-467: A recognised and respected marque across India, the wider subcontinent and parts of Africa in the form of Ashok Leyland , a company formed from the partnership of the Ashok group and British Leyland. However, now the company has been largely Indian in its ownership for over three decades. Now a part of the giant Hinduja Group , Ashok Leyland manufactures buses, trucks, defence vehicles and engines. The company
1472-578: A separate MG factory was soon established south of Oxford in Abingdon, Oxfordshire . Having admired Budd's all-steel bodies Morris founded The Pressed Steel Company of Great Britain Limited in 1926 as a joint venture with Edward G Budd Manufacturing Company - Budd International of Philadelphia, USA. Pressed Steel's factory was located over the road from Morris's factory at Cowley and supplied Morris and many other motor manufacturers. Morris withdrew from
1564-619: A single all-new model, the Austin Montego. The Acclaim was replaced in that same year by another Honda-based product, the Rover 200 -series. The MG factory at Abingdon and Triumph factory at Canley were both closed in 1980. By the end of Michael Edwardes' tenure as chairman of BL plc in 1982, the company had been restructured into two distinct parts – the Cars Division (which consisted of Austin-Morris, Rover and Jaguar, and
1656-539: A small number of tractors with some modest success. The car marques inherited by the company are as follows. The dates given are those of the first car of each marque, but these are often debatable as each car may be several years in development. Several of these names (including Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini) are now in other hands. The history of the mergers and other key events is as follows. Pre-BL: As BL: As BL: Post-BL: As BL: Post BL: In some cases, British Leyland continued to produce competing models from
1748-682: A step closer to reconnecting with its British heritage, as Optare is a direct descendant of Leyland's UK bus-making division. During the time of British Leyland's transition into Austin Rover during the 1980s, a version of the Rover SD1 was licence built in India as the Standard 2000 from 1985 to 1988, briefly reviving the Standard brand which had been axed in 1968. British Leyland also provided
1840-653: A stop-gap until the Austin Maestro and Montego were ready for launch. This car would emerge as the Triumph Acclaim in 1981, and would be the first of a long line of collaborative models jointly developed between BL and Honda. At the same time, Leyland Trucks introduced the Landtrain , the first in a series of vehicles developed specifically for export markets. A rationalisation of the model ranges also took place around this time. In 1980, British Leyland
1932-562: A subsidiary of British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, then was subsequently bought by BMW . The final surviving incarnation of the company as the MG Rover Group went into administration in 2005, bringing mass car production by British-owned manufacturers to an end. MG and the Austin , Morris and Wolseley marques became part of China's SAIC , with whom MG Rover attempted to merge prior to administration. As of 2024, Mini , Jaguar Land Rover , Leyland Trucks , and Unipart are
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#17327865394542024-532: A trait it inherited from the 1800s. The standard powerplant for the X6 range was a transverse mounted 2.2L OHC straight-six engine, based on the 1500/1750 Austin Maxi unit. At the time of the X6's introduction, it was the only car in production with a transverse straight-six-cylinder engine. The Tasman's single carburettor configuration produced 76 kilowatts (102 hp) and the Kimberley 86 kW (115 hp) with its extra carburettor. Both were sold with either
2116-786: Is a leader in the heavy transportation sector within India and has an aggressive expansionary policy. In 1987, the UK-based Hinduja Group bought the India-based Ashok Leyland company. Today, Ashok-Leyland is pursuing a joint venture with Nissan and through its acquisition of the Czech truck maker, Avia , is entering the European truck market directly. With its purchase, in 2010, of a 25% stake in UK-based bus manufacturer Optare , Ashok Leyland has taken
2208-668: Is owned and operated by BMW, who use it to assemble the new MINI . The history of William Morris's business is commemorated in the Morris Motors Museum at the Oxford Bus Museum . Post-Morris cars to have been built at Cowley include the Austin/MG Maestro , Austin/MG Montego , Rover 600 , Rover 800 and (for a short time) the Rover 75 . Following the bankruptcy of the MG Rover Group in 2005, three competing bids were launched aiming to acquire
2300-485: Is preserved at the Wanaka Transport Museum , in New Zealand. Fittingly, while the cars themselves are moved constantly around the museum, it is always shown parked alongside an Austin 1800 . Two Austin Tasman utility vehicles were built, one served as a 'work hack' for Leyland Australia while the other was crash tested. Morris Motors MG Rover Group (2000–2005) Morris Motors Limited
2392-612: The Austin Metro (initially named the Mini Metro), a three-door hatchback that gave buyers a more modern and practical alternative to the iconic but ageing Mini. This went on to be one of the most popular cars in Britain in the 1980s. Towards the final stages of the Metro's development, BL entered into an alliance with Honda to provide a new mid-range model which would replace the ageing Triumph Dolomite , but would more crucially act as
2484-542: The British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), and subsequently, in 1975, the nationalised British Leyland Limited (BL). The Cowley complex remained the second largest single facility in the BL empire (after Longbridge ), but BL's history was a turbulent one – BMC was close to financial ruin, and the newly installed Leyland management failed to turn its fortunes around. With the replacement for
2576-591: The British Motor Corporation in 1952, the Morris name remained in use until 1984, when the by-then Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin brand as well as expanding the more upmarket Rover brand. Until 2014, Morris Oxford vehicles (based on the 1954-59 Oxford) were manufactured with periodic enhancements in India by Hindustan Motors , and sold well there, even being imported to Britain in small numbers during
2668-500: The Land Rover Group . JRT later split up into Rover-Triumph and Jaguar Car Holdings (which included Daimler ). At the same time the public use of the "British Leyland" name ceased, being abbreviated simply to "BL", whilst the company's "hurricane" logo was redesigned with the central "L" removed. The Austin-Morris division was given its own unique brand identity with the introduction of the blue and green "chevron" logo, which
2760-473: The Leyland P76 , which was introduced to Australia and New Zealand in 1973. The Leyland P76 had quality issues while the company was having issues also . When introduced, a notable selling point of the X6 was the Tasman's two bench seats , which could seat six (the plusher Kimberley had separate front seats and sat five). One advertisement for the New Zealand specification Morris Tasman X6 proclaimed that
2852-728: The Morris Marina and Leyland Princess being delayed into the 1980s, the Marina was restyled in 1980 to become the Morris Ital, while the Princess was restyled for 1982 to become the Austin Ambassador . British Leyland later confirmed that the Morris brand would be discontinued on the all-new replacement for these two cars, which was finally launched in April 1984 as the Austin Montego . The Morris Ital (essentially
Austin Kimberley - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-703: The Nuffield Organization merged with its old rival the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC). Nuffield brought the Morris, MG, Riley and Wolseley marques into the merger. Leonard Lord was in charge, which led to Austin's domination of the organisation. Badge-engineering was important to BMC and for many years the various marques would be seen on several families of similar vehicles. In 1966, BMC acquired Jaguar to create British Motor Holdings (BMH), which subsequently merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form
3036-607: The Simca 1307 (Chrysler Alpine) in 1975. The company also wasted many of its scant funds on concepts , like the Rover P8 or P9, that would never be produced to earn money for the company. These internal issues, which were never satisfactorily solved, combined with serious industrial relations problems with trade unions, the 1973 oil crisis , the three-day week , high inflation and ineffectual management meant that BL became an unmanageable and financially crippled behemoth. "Following
3128-575: The "LC8" project – eventually launched as the Austin Mini Metro in 1980. In 1977, Michael Edwardes was appointed chief executive by the NEB. Edwardes embarked on a massive restructuring of the beleaguered conglomerate, selling off many of its non-core businesses such as Prestcold and Coventry Climax. Edwardes also took on the militant unions head-on, culminating in the dismissal of chief shop steward Derek Robinson in 1979, who had been seen as
3220-491: The 1100/1300 ranges), launched in 1973, gained a similar reputation over its ten-year production life. The company became an infamous monument to the industrial turmoil that plagued the United Kingdom during the 1970s. Action by unions frequently brought BL's manufacturing capability to its knees. Despite the duplication of production facilities as a result of the merger, there were multiple single points of failure in
3312-471: The 1960s with both the Mini and the 1100/1300 , both cars were infamously underpriced and despite their pioneering but unproven front wheel drive engineering, warranty costs had been crippling and had badly eroded those models' profitability. After the merger, Lord Stokes was horrified to find that BMH had no plans to replace the elderly designs in its portfolio. Also, BMH's design efforts immediately prior to
3404-589: The 1990s. Part of Morris's manufacturing complex at Cowley, Oxford is now BMW Group 's Plant Oxford , factory of the MINI marque since its launch in 2001. The Morris trademark is currently owned by the China-based automotive company SAIC after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive . The Morris Commercial JE, an electric van with a 1940s design, was unveiled in November 2019 ahead of
3496-513: The 2-seat and 4-seat Morris Cowley was introduced. After the war the Continental engine was no longer available so Morris arranged for Hotchkiss of France to make a near copy in their Coventry factory. This was used to power new versions of the basic Cowley and more up-market Morris Oxford cars. With a reputation for producing high-quality cars and a policy of cutting prices, Morris's business continued to grow and increase its share of
3588-527: The Allegro. The company were aware of the issue but had decided against a recall. They were held liable for damages as they had failed to take reasonable care, because the costs of the recall were deemed in proportion with the potential risks of injury. In 1978, the company formed a new group for its commercial vehicle interests, BL Commercial Vehicles (BLCV) under managing director David Abell . The following companies moved under this new umbrella: BLCV and
3680-565: The Austin Kimberley and Tasman were in their trim. The Kimberley was an upmarket model, with a plush interior and four rectangular headlights, while the Tasman had basic vinyl trim, and a simplified grille with two round headlights. Mark II versions of both the Tasman and the Kimberley were introduced in 1971. The X6 was discontinued in 1972 with a total of 12,194 examples sold in Australia. The X6 Tasman and Kimberley models were given
3772-588: The British Empire. Both-Nuffield respirators were able to be produced by the thousand at about one-thirteenth the cost of the American design. In the summer of 1938 Morris agreed to build, equip and manage at government expense a huge new factory at Castle Bromwich specifically to manufacture Supermarine Spitfires . with intention to build bombers later. Nuffield's management failed; no Spitfires were delivered by May 1940 despite expectation of 60
Austin Kimberley - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-512: The British market overtaking Ford to become in 1924 the UK's biggest car manufacturer, holding a 51% share of the home market and remaining enormously profitable. Possessed of a very large cash income Morris had a policy of personally buying up suppliers' businesses. For example, in 1923 he bought Hotchkiss's Coventry business which later became Morris Engines branch. He also brought in F G Woollard which became Morris Commercial Cars to lead
3956-622: The British market. By the end of the 1970s, the UK Government had introduced protectionist measures in the form of import quotas on Japanese manufacturers to protect the ailing domestic producers (both BL and Chrysler Europe ), which it was helping to sustain. At its peak, BLMC owned almost forty manufacturing plants across the country. Even before the merger, BMH had included theoretically competing marques that were in fact selling substantially similar badge engineered cars. The British Motor Corporation had never properly integrated either
4048-528: The Land Rover Group later merged to become Land Rover Leyland . In December 1978, British Leyland Limited was renamed BL Limited and its subsidiary, which acted as a holding company for all the other companies within the group. The British Leyland Motor Corporation Limited was renamed BLMC Limited at the same time. BL's fortunes took another much-awaited rise in October 1980 with the launch of
4140-544: The Mini and the 1100/1300 was concentrated at Longbridge , whilst the 1800 and Austin Maxi ranges moved to Cowley , the production of sub-assemblies as well as component suppliers were scattered all over the Midlands which greatly increased the cost of keeping the factories running. BMH and Leyland Motors had expanded and acquired companies throughout the 1950s and 1960s which were in direct competition with each other, with
4232-729: The Morris C4 truck, Morris ML ambulance, 500 Morris Commercial 8x8 GS Terrapin (amphibious vehicle)s , and the Morris Commercial CD series trucks. Production restarted after the Second World War, with the pre-war Eight and Ten designs. In 1948 the Eight was replaced by what is probably the most famous Morris car, the Morris Minor designed by Alec Issigonis (who later went on to design the Mini ) and reusing
4324-577: The Morris Ital and the Triumph Acclaim being discontinued, their respective brands were effectively shelved, leaving only the Austin and Rover marques, whilst Land Rover moved into the Freight Rover Group alongside the light trucks division. After the divestment of Unipart and the van, truck and bus divisions in 1987 (see below), leaving just two subsidiaries – Austin Rover (volume cars) and Land Rover (SUVs) this essentially remained
4416-457: The Morris marque, being transferred to SAIC. The Morris badge shows an ox fording the River Isis , the traditional emblem of William Morris's home town of Oxford , used in the coat of arms of Oxford . Many of the model names are based on the tax horsepower rather than the actual horsepower. "Six" often indicates a 6-cylinder engine. British Leyland#History British Leyland
4508-451: The Rover Group, and only retain the Cowley operations and the rights to manufacture the new MINI family of vehicles. Land Rover was divested to Ford , who integrated it with its Premier Automotive Group (of which Jaguar was already a part, therefore reuniting the two former BL stablemates), whilst the remains of the volume car business, including the massive Longbridge complex, became
4600-508: The UK and as DAF in the Netherlands. In 1987, the bus business was spun off into a new company called Leyland Bus . This was the result of a management buyout who decided to sell the company to the Bus & Truck division of Volvo in 1988. That same year, the UK Government controversially tried to privatise and sell-off Land Rover , however this plan was later abandoned. The Austin name
4692-589: The X6 was never a serious threat to the dominance of the rear-wheel-drive and multiple-body Holdens, Fords and Chryslers. The Leyland Tasman was the standard model with single round headlamps, and the Leyland Kimberley was the deluxe model with twin rectangular headlamps. Due to this, Leyland Australia developed a much larger rear-wheel-drive car to replace the X6, and compete directly with the Holden, Ford and Chrysler models (in both straight-6 and V8 forms),
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#17327865394544784-581: The basic structure of BL and subsequently the Rover Group until the 2000 break-up. In 1986, Graham Day took the helm as chairman and CEO and the third joint Rover-Honda vehicle – the Rover 800 -series – was launched which replaced the ten-year-old Rover SD1 . Around the same time, BL changed its name to Rover Group and in 1987 the Trucks Division – Leyland Vehicles merged with the Dutch DAF company to form DAF NV , trading as Leyland DAF in
4876-403: The bench seats could hold the driver and seven schoolboy rugby players. Whilst this may seem an exaggerated claim by its makers, the 1800/Kimberley platform did provide excellent passenger room for a vehicle of such a compact outer dimensions, a legacy of Sir Alec Issigonis who strived for increased cabin space on a small footprint as witness the Mini, 1100, 1800 and Maxi. A white Morris Tasman X6
4968-468: The bounds of his own capital resources. A factory was opened in 1913 at former Oxford Military College at Cowley, Oxford , United Kingdom where Morris's first car, the 2-seat Morris Oxford "Bullnose" , was assembled. Nearly all the major components were bought in. In 1914 a coupé and van were added to the line-up, but the Bullnose chassis was too short and the 1018 cc engine too small to make
5060-401: The company's assets. One of the bids, led by Maserati CEO Martin Leach alongside Chinese state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation (SAIC) , included plans for a Morris Minor revival. Despite this, the bid was lost to the Nanjing Automobile Corporation and the new Minor was not produced, although Nanjing Automobile Corporation later merged with SAIC, with all assets, including
5152-501: The company's production network which meant that a strike in a single plant could stop many of the others. Domestic rivals Ford and General Motors mitigated against this by merging their previously separate British and German subsidiaries and product lines (Ford combined Ford of Britain and Ford Germany to create Ford of Europe , whilst GM eventually merged the operations of Vauxhall and Opel ), so that production could be sourced from either British or Continental European plants in
5244-449: The dealer networks or the production facilities of Austin and Morris . This had been done partly to appease poor industrial relations, as decades old rivalries between Austin and Morris workers at Longbridge and Cowley respectively, had persisted after the 1952 merger and creation of BMC. The upshot was that both plants were producing badge engineered models of otherwise identical Austin and Morris cars so that each dealer network would have
5336-427: The development of the Morris Marina and the Austin Allegro . The policy's success was mixed. Since the dealership network was still not sufficiently rationalised it meant that Austin and Morris dealers (which had, in BMC/BMH days, each offered a full range of cars both advanced and traditional) had their product range halved and found that they could no longer cater to many previously loyal customers' tastes. The policy
5428-411: The end of 1976 with the approval by Industry Minister Eric Varley of a £140,000,000 investment of public money in refitting the Longbridge plant for production of the company's "ADO88" (Mini replacement), due for launch in 1979. However, poor results from customer clinics of the ADO88, coupled with the UK success of the Ford Fiesta , launched in 1976, forced a snap redesign of ADO88 which evolved into
5520-548: The ending of hostilities. The Cowley plant was turned over to aircraft repair and production of Tiger Moth pilot trainers, as well as "mine sinkers" based on a design produced at the same plant during the First World War. Morris produced the popular Morris C8 Quad artillery prime mover towing artillery (such as the 25-pounder ) and anti-tank guns (such as the 17-pounder ) with some 10,200 made. Morris also produced some 2200 Morris Light Reconnaissance Cars , 100 Morris CS9 armoured cars, 21,319 Morris CS8 15cwt light trucks,
5612-434: The event of industrial unrest. The upshot was that both Ford and Vauxhall ultimately overtook BL to become Britain's two best-selling marques. At the same time, a tide of Japanese imports, spearheaded by Nissan (Datsun) and Toyota exploited both BL's inability to supply its customers and its declining reputation for quality. Continental carmakers including Fiat , Renault and Volkswagen were also achieving strong sales on
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#17327865394545704-612: The merger had focused on unfortunate niche market models such as the Austin Maxi (which was underdeveloped and with an appearance hampered by using the doors from the larger Austin 1800 ) and the Austin 3-litre , a car with no discernible place in the market. The lack of attention to the development of new mass-market models meant that BMH had nothing in the way of new models in the pipeline to compete effectively with popular rivals such as Ford's Escort and Cortina . Immediately, Lord Stokes instigated plans to design and introduce new models quickly. The first result of this crash programme
5796-410: The most prominent former parts of British Leyland that still exist, with SAIC still operating its UK base out of the former Longbridge site. BLMC was founded on 17 January 1968 by the merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), encouraged by Tony Benn as chairman of the Industrial Reorganisation Committee created by the first Wilson Government . At the time, LMC
5888-432: The new models that had been introduced by BLMC failed to sell in high enough quantities outside of the home market, despite the UK now being a part of the European Economic Community – with the Allegro and Princess, in particular, having been tailored for European tastes. However, both these vehicles were saloons when the trend in Europe was moving towards family-sized hatchbacks, typified by the Volkswagen Golf in 1974 and
5980-407: The newly independent MG Rover , which collapsed in 2005. However, after suffering severe financial problems and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Ford decided to dissolve its Premier Automotive Group, and sold off most of its brands, with Jaguar and Land Rover being sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors by the end of 2008. Ultimately only MINI, Jaguar Land Rover and Leyland Trucks would be
6072-437: The organisation was drastically restructured and the Labour Government created a new holding company, British Leyland Limited (BL), of which it was the major shareholder, effectively nationalising the company. Between 1975 and 1980, these shares were vested in the National Enterprise Board which had responsibility for managing this investment. The original seven divisions of the company were now reorganised into four: There
6164-524: The other competitors from Ford, Holden and Chrysler, whose rear-wheel drive, conventionally sprung underpinnings dominated the market at the time. These cars were offered as an Australian replacement to the Austin 1800 . Their boxy styling, developed for the car to be a proper six-seater, was all-new, but a few features, including the doors, were retained. These doors however utilised recessed door handles, to satisfy Australian Design Rules safety concerns. The body had an exceptionally stiff torsional rigidity,
6256-547: The perpetrator of much of the strikes and industrial unrest that had crippled the company throughout the decade. Edwardes quickly reversed the Ryder Report's policy of giving prominence to the "Leyland" brand, and returned focus back to the individual brands. Leyland Cars was thus renamed BL Cars Ltd , consisting of two main divisions; Austin Morris (the volume car business) and Jaguar Rover Triumph (JRT) (the specialist or upmarket division). Austin Morris included MG. Land Rover and Range Rover were later separated from JRT to form
6348-537: The policy of having multiple models competing in the same market segment continued long after the merger – for instance BMH's MGB remained in production alongside LMC's Triumph TR6 , the Rover P5 competed with the Jaguar XJ , whilst in the medium family sector, the Princess was in direct competition with upscale versions of the Morris Marina and Austin Maxi , meaning that economies of scale resulting from large production runs could never be realised. In addition, in consequent attempts to establish British Leyland as
6440-483: The production of Austin and Rover-badged vehicles. They continued to be used by BL's Austin Rover Group and its successor the Rover Group , which was eventually bought by BMW , and then by a management consortium, leading to the creation of MG Rover . None of the former Morris buildings now exist. British Aerospace sold the site in 1992; it was then demolished and replaced with the Oxford Business Park. The adjacent former Pressed Steel site (now known as Plant Oxford)
6532-460: The re-organization of their engine production from batch to flow, thus increasing output from less than 300 units per week to 1200. By 1924 the factory was making 2000 units a week with only a small increase in work space and labour force. Cecil Kimber , head of Morris's own original 1909-founded Morris Garage sales hire and repair operation in Oxford, began building sporting versions of Morris cars in 1924 labelling them MG . They were so successful
6624-420: The remaining independent British car manufacturing companies and included car, bus and truck manufacturers and more diverse enterprises including: construction equipment, refrigerators, metal casting companies, road surface manufacturers; in all, nearly one hundred different companies. The new corporation was arranged into seven divisions under its new chairman, Sir Donald Stokes (formerly the chairman of LMC). At
6716-552: The result that when the two conglomerates were brought together into BL there was even more internal competition. Rover competed with Jaguar at the expensive end of the market, and Triumph with its family cars and sports cars against Austin, Morris and MG. Internal politics became so bad that one marque's team would attempt to derail another marque's programmes. Individual model lines that were similarly sized were therefore competing against each other, yet were never discontinued nor were model ranges rationalised quickly enough; in fact,
6808-592: The small car market helped Morris through the economic depression of the 1930s. At the 1934 London Motor Show the Minor was replaced by the Morris Eight , a direct response to the Ford Model Y and, though Leonard Lord's handiwork, heavily based on it. In 1932 W R Morris appointed Lord Managing Director of Morris Motors Limited and Lord swept through the Morris works, updating the production methods, introducing
6900-450: The small car name from 1928. The Ten was replaced by a new 1948 Morris Oxford MO , styled like a larger version of the Minor. A later Morris Oxford (the 1956 Morris Oxford III) was the basis for the design of India's Hindustan Ambassador , which continued in production until 2014. They used six engines and five (and a half) car bodies, of which the "specialist" three were obsolescent, the rest very closely related if not identical. In 1952
6992-536: The surviving automotive manufacturing operations of British Leyland to the present day. Many of the brands were divested over time and continue to exist on the books of several companies to this day. In total, the British Government had invested over £3 billion (not adjusted for inflation) attempting to rescue British Leyland from bankruptcy. Until the 1980s, the Leyland name and logo were seen as
7084-487: The technical know-how and the rights to their Leyland 28 BHP tractor for Auto Tractors Limited , a tractor plant in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Established in 1981 with state support, ATL only managed to build 2,380 tractors by the time the project was ended in 1990 – less than the planned production for the first two years. The project ended up being taken over by Sipani , who kept producing tractor engines and also
7176-543: The time of its founding, BLMC was the world's fifth largest vehicle manufacturer after General Motors , Ford , Chrysler and Volkswagen . The seven divisions were: While BMH was the UK's largest car manufacturer (producing over twice as many cars as LMC), it offered a range of dated vehicles, including the Morris Minor which was introduced in 1948 and the Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford , which dated back to 1959. Although BMH had enjoyed great success in
7268-533: The venture in mid-1930. Budd sold their share to British interests at the beginning of 1936. The small car market was entered in 1928 with the Leonard Lord -designed Morris Minor , using an 847 cc engine from Morris's newly acquired Wolseley Motors . Lord had been sent there to modernise the works and Wolseley's products. The Minor was to provide the base for the MG Midgets . This timely spread into
7360-545: Was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd ( BLMC ), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings . It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the UK government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had
7452-542: Was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris 's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same vehicles. By 1926 its production represented 42 per cent of British car manufacture—a remarkable expansion rate attributed to William Morris's practice of buying in major as well as minor components and assembling them in his own factory. Although it merged with Austin Motor Company to form
7544-427: Was a highly successful truck and bus manufacturer – as well as owning prosperous car brands Triumph and Rover – whilst BMH (which was the product of an earlier merger between the British Motor Corporation , Pressed Steel and Jaguar) was perilously close to collapse. The government was hopeful LMC's expertise would revive the ailing BMH, and effectively create a "British General Motors ". The merger combined most of
7636-486: Was also carried out haphazardly: The advanced, Hydragas -sprung Princess began life in 1975 sold as an Austin, a Morris and a Wolseley before being rebadged altogether under the new Princess name. The Princess (and the Mini , which BL also turned into a marque in its own right) was sold across the Austin-Morris dealership network, making any distinction between the two even more vague to many customers. Critically,
7728-478: Was dropped from the Metro, Maestro and Montego by 1988, signalling the end for the historic Austin marque, in a push to focus on the more prestigious (and potentially more profitable) Rover badge. In 1988, the business was sold by the UK Government to British Aerospace (BAe), and shortly afterwards shortened its name to just Rover Group. It subsequently sold the business to BMW , who, after years of investment that ultimately resulted in huge losses, decided to break up
7820-471: Was later expanded in use when the car manufacturing operations were further consolidated into the Austin Rover Group in the 1980s. In 1978, the company was the subject of an important legal development concerning corporate civil liability . In the case of Walton v British Leyland , the court held Leyland liable for negligence owing to a design defect in the wheel bearings of their new model of
7912-673: Was led by Ray Horrocks ) and the Commercial Vehicle Division (which consisted of Land Rover, Leyland Trucks, Leyland Buses and Freight Rover ) – whose chief executive was David Andrews. The holding company BL plc was now chaired by Austin Bide in a non-executive capacity. Around this time, the BL Cars Ltd division renamed itself Austin Rover , shortly before the launch of the Austin Maestro and Ray Horrocks
8004-458: Was offered for private sale in Melbourne in 1990, at which time it was no longer roadworthy or registered. In the marketplace, the cars were intended as competitors to the more established larger Holden Kingswood , Ford Falcon and Chrysler Valiant models. However, the complexities of front-wheel-drive were an issue against the car, and compounded with the lack of body variations and models,
8096-518: Was positive news for BL at the end of 1976 when its new Rover SD1 executive car was voted European Car of the Year , having gained plaudits for its innovative design. The SD1 was actually the first step that British Leyland took towards rationalising its passenger car ranges, as it replaced two cars competing in the same sector, the Rover P6 and Triumph 2000 . More positive news for the company came at
8188-527: Was raised to Viscount Nuffield. The same year he transferred his newly acquired Riley car business to Morris Motors Limited for £100. Visiting London in 1938 during a polio epidemic Lord Nuffield saw a Both Iron Lung in use. He commissioned an improved design which could be produced using the techniques of car assembly and arranged production of approximately 1700 machines at the Cowley works, which he donated to hospitals throughout all parts of Britain and
8280-486: Was replaced by Harold Musgrove as its chairman and chief executive. The emergence of the Austin Rover brand effectively put an end to the separate Austin-Morris and Jaguar-Rover-Triumph divisions, since by this time, Jaguar now resided in a separate company called Jaguar Car Holdings and was now led by Sir John Egan , and this was later de-merged from BL completely and privatised in 1984. That same year, with both
8372-593: Was still producing three cars in the large family car sector—the Princess 2 , Austin Maxi and Morris Marina . The Marina was succeeded by the Morris Ital in July 1980 following a superficial facelift, and a year later the Princess 2 received a major upgrade to become the Austin Ambassador , meaning that the 1982 range had just two competitors in this sector. In April 1984, these cars were discontinued to make way for
8464-441: Was the Morris Marina in early-1971. It used parts from various BL models with new bodywork to produce BL's mass-market competitor. It was one of the strongest-selling cars in the United Kingdom during the 1970s; being the second-most popular new car sold in Britain in 1973, though by the end of production in 1980 it was widely regarded as a dismal product that had damaged the company's reputation. The Austin Allegro (replacement for
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