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[mab01uk]

"A five-part account of the British Leyland years from 1974 to 1977 on AROnline.
Linked below, the first part, sets the scene for the company’s 1960s decline – from lofty heights – and its subsequent need for a Government bail-out in the closing days of 1974…

 

Setting the Scene, in August 1959, BMC unveiled the Mini. It may have been small, but its impact on our expectations of what the British motor industry could achieve was enormous. Since 1945 the politicians and analysts had exhorted the British motor industry to produce a volume car that would appeal to export markets in the same way as the Volkswagen Beetle. Virtually all previous attempts had failed, at the manufacturers’ expense, not the politicians, it might be added. Now, in the summer of 1959, it had arrived. However, the Mini was not the car the politicians and analysts had screamed for – it was mechanically complex and expensive to build and perhaps not as reliable as conventional rear-wheel-drive cars. Despite this, demand for the Mini soon led to production easily outstripping the other BMC volume cars. It has been commented before that probably no other company would have allowed Issigonis to develop a car like the Mini. The fact remains that in the Mini and ADO16 he created two of Britain’s most popular cars ever. However, beneath the façade lurked problems. The main one was labour relations.... "
British Leyland, The Grand Illusion – Part One (of Five) - Export or Die:-
https://www.aronline...one-export-die/

Edited by mab01uk, 25 October 2024 - 08:14 AM.

[mab01uk]

Another interesting extract in Part 2 below which mentions the poor build quality of a new BL Mini 1000 in the early 1970's.

Mr Lines and the sub-standard Mini...
"In 1972 the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on the case of Dennis Lines, a Vehicle Inspector who worked at Triumph in Coventry. He bought a Mini 1000 car for £855 through British Leyland’s discount scheme for staff.
He claimed he had spent seven days having faults rectified in the five weeks he had owned the car. He ended up with a list of 28 faults. Most of those complaints were about the paintwork, but he also had the rack-and-pinion steering replaced. In addition to this the handbrake did not work, the exhaust rattled, the heater was too noisy and the steering column made a grating noise.
There were other complaints about the car’s electrical system and bodywork. ‘We can all make mistakes. But my car should not have been allowed to leave the factory with this number of faults. I shall probably be unpopular for speaking out about a car made by my own company. But I believe you cannot stay silent if something is wrong,’ he said.
Dennis Lines had worked at Triumph’s Coventry plant since 1946. His car was made at Longbridge. ‘My complaints are not an attack on my workmates. I am criticising the system, which allows quality to be sacrificed for quantity. There is a lot of bad workmanship at British Leyland because some inspectors don’t bother any more. They seem to have been brainwashed,’ said Mr Lines.
British Leyland was shocked by this attack from one of its employees. ‘These complaints appear to be rather exaggerated. Quality is not being sacrificed for quantity, and it is certainly not true that our inspectors are brainwashed into letting faulty cars through,’ said a spokesman.
It was a disturbing story – if British Leyland could not produce a then 15-year-old design satisfactorily, what hope was there for the newer models?"
British Leyland, The Grand Illusion – Part Two:-
https://www.aronline...-behalf-people/