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Rover

2009-05-10T11:56:50Z

79.73.226.95:

{{List of {{PAGENAME}} Models}}'''Rover''' was a British [[automobile]] manufacturer and later a marque based at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham. In recent years it was part of the [[MG Rover Group]]. However, in April 2005, production stopped when the company became insolvent. In July 2005 the [[Nanjing Automobile Group]] acquired the assets, with plans to resume production in China, and possibly also at Longbridge, in 2006. On September 18, 2006 [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] bought the rights to the Rover name from BMW for approximately £6 million. <ref>{{cite news | last = Doran | first =James | title = Ford pays £6m for Rover marque | publisher = The Times | date = 2006-09-19 | url = http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9067-2364242,00.html | accessdate =2006-09-19}}</ref> Ford had acquired an option of first refusal to buy the Rover brand as a result of its purchase of [[Land Rover]] from BMW in 2000.

== History ==
The first '''Rover''' was a tricycle manufactured by ''Starley & Sutton Co'' of Coventry, England in 1883. The company was founded by [[John Kemp Starley]] and William Sutton in 1878. Starley had formerly worked with his uncle James Starley (father of the cycle trade) who began in manufacturing sewing machines and switched to bicycles in 1869.

In the early 1880s the cycles available were the relatively dangerous penny-farthings and high-wheel tricycles. J. K. Starley made history in 1885 by producing the Rover Safety Bicycle - a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeled designs. Cycling Magazine said the Rover had 'set the pattern to the world' and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years. Starley's Rover is usually described by historians as the first recognisably modern bicycle. In 1888 Starley made an electric car, but it never was put into production.

In 1889 the company became J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd and in the late 1890s, the Rover Cycle Company Ltd. Three years after Starley's death in 1901, the Rover company began producing automobiles with the two-seater Rover Eight to the designs of Edmund Lewis who came from [[Daimler]]. During the First World War they made motorcycles, lorries to Maudsley designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a [[Sunbeam|Sunbeam]] design. Bicycle and motorcycle production continued until the Great Depression forced the end of production in 1925. The business was not very successful during the 1920s and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s. In 1929 when there was a change of management with [[Spencer Wilks]] coming in from [[Hillman]] as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to [[Ford Motor Company|Fords]] and [[Austin Motor Company|Austins]]. He was joined by his brother [[Maurice Wilks|Maurice]], who had also been at Hillman, as chief engineer in 1930. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.
[[Image:08-17-07 1749.jpg|center|600px]]
===World War II and gas turbines===
[[Image:08-18-07 1538.jpg|right|400px|thumb]]
In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "Shadow Factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham started operation in 1937 and a second larger one at Solihull started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941 and never regained full production.

In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support [[Frank Whittle]] in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, Power Jets had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in a disused cotton mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941. Rolls-Royce took an interest in the new technology and an agrement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making [[Rolls-Royce Meteor|Meteor]] tank engines which actually continued until 1964.

After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947 and would become the home of the [[Land Rover]].

===Experimental cars===
In 1950, designer F. R. Bell and Chief Engineer Maurice Wilks unveiled the first car powered with a [[gas turbine]] engine. The two-seater [[Rover JET1|JET1]] had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 140 km/h, at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The car ran on [[petrol]], paraffin or [[diesel]] oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production car. It is currently on display at the London Science Museum. Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce [[Rover-BRM|a gas turbine powered coupe]], which entered the 1963 [[24 hours of Le Mans]], driven by [[Graham Hill]] and [[Richie Ginther]]. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km/h) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h).

===Golden years===

The 1950s and '60s were fruitful years for the company, with the [[Land Rover]] becoming a runaway success (despite Rover's reputation for making up-market saloons, the utiliarian Land Rover was actually the company's biggest seller throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s), as well as the P5 and P6 saloons equipped with a [[Rover V8 engine|3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8]], the design and tooling of which was purchased from [[Buick]], and pioneering research into gas turbine fuelled vehicles. In 1967, Rover became part of the [[Leyland Motor Corporation]], which merged with the [[British Motor Holdings]] to become [[British Leyland]]. This was the beginning of the end for the traditional Rover, as the Solihull based company's heritage drowned beneath the infamous industrial relations and managerial problems that beset the British motor industry throughout the 1970s. In 1970, Rover combined its skill in producing comfortable saloons and the rugged Land Rover 4x4 to produce the [[Range Rover]], the first car to combine off-road ability and comfortable versatility. Powered by the ex-Buick V8 engine, it had innovative features such as a permanent [[4 wheel drive]] system, all-[[coil spring]] suspension and [[disc brake|disc brakes]] on all wheels. Able to reach speeds of up to 100 MPH, yet also capable of extreme off-road use, the original Range Rover design was to remain in production for the next 26 years.

The [[Rover SD1]] of 1976 was an excellent car, but was beset with so many build quality and reliability issues that it never delivered its great promise. A savage programme of cutbacks in the late 1970s led to the end of car production at the Solihull factory which was turned over for Land Rover production only. All future Rover cars would be made in the former [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]] and [[Morris Motor Company|Morris]] plants in Longbridge and Cowley, respectively.

===Rover and Honda===
In 1981, [[Austin Rover Group]] was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of BL. In the 1980s, the slimmed-down BL used the Rover badge on a range of cars co-developed with [[Honda]]. The first Honda-sourced model, released in 1984 was the [[Rover 200]], which, like the [[Triumph Acclaim]] that it replaced, was based on the [[Honda Ballade]]. (Similarly, in Australia, the [[Honda Quint]] (known in Europe as the Quintet) and [[Honda Integra|Integra]] were badged as the Rover Quintet and [[Rover 416i|416i]].) In 1986, the Rover SD1 was replaced by the [[Rover 800]], developed with the [[Honda Legend]]. By this time Austin Rover had moved to a one-marque strategy and was renamed simply [[Rover Group]]. The Austin range were now technically Rovers, though the word "Rover" never actually appeared on the badging — there was instead a badge similar to the Rover Viking shape, without wording. These were replaced by the Rover 400 and Rover 600, based on Honda's [[Honda Concerto|Concerto]] and [[Honda Accord|Accord]].

===BMW takeover===
This was to prove to be the turn-around point for the company, steadily rebuilding its image to the point where once again Rovers were seen as upmarket alternatives to Fords and Vauxhalls. The 1994 takeover by [[BMW]] saw the development of the [[Rover 75]], before the infamous de-merger in 2000. BMW retained the rights to the Rover name (and the associated portfolio of brands such as [[Mini]], [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] and [[Austin-Healey]]) after it sold the business, only licensing it to the Phoenix consortium while it was in control of Rover.

The BMW management knew that Rover needed a new product lineup to be competitive with [[Opel]]/[[Vauxhall]], [[Volkswagen]], [[Ford]] and the other leading mainstream volume manufaturers. The 75 was the first part of this lineup. The [[MINI]] was the second. To replace both the 200 and the 400 with a more direct successor to the 1980s 200 was the Rover 55 (R30 project) intended to combat the [[Opel Astra]], [[Ford Focus]] and [[Volkswagen Golf]] in the competitive and lucrative European small family car segment. This high volume semi-premium vehicle was cancelled in 2000, just as the Rover group was sold. The [[BMW 1-Series]] is considered by some to be the result of this project. BMW has the rights to the R30 project's engineering and design.

===Nanjing Automobile and Ford===
The company continued as the [[MG Rover Group]] but production ceased on April 7 2005, when it was declared insolvent. In July 2005 the entire company was sold to the [[Nanjing Automobile Group]], who indicated that their preliminary plans involved relocating the Powertrain engine plant to China while splitting car production into Rover lines in China and resumed MG lines in the West Midlands (though not necessarily at Longbridge), where a UK R&D and technical facility would also be developed.

[[Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation]], who were also bidding for MG Rover, planned to release their own version of the Rover 75 in late 2006. On July 16th, Shanghai Automotive announced their intent to buy the Rover brandname from [[BMW]] to whom it reverted after the collapse of the MG Rover Group.<ref>{{cite news
|first =
|last =
|author =
|coauthors =
|url = http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-08-16T040422Z_01_L15102426_RTRUKOC_0_UK-AUTOS-ROVER.xml&src=rss
|title = BMW agrees to sell Rover brand to SAIC
|work =
|publisher = Reuters
|pages =
|page =
|date =
|accessdate = 2006-08-16
|language = en-GB
}}</ref> However, due to [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]'s relationship to BMW in regards to the Rover name, Ford took up their option on the company name and bought it on September 18, 2006, in part to protect their right to the use of the name [[Land Rover]]. The Rover name will become part of Ford's [[Premier Automotive Group]] (PAG), but Ford has no immediate plans for producing any cars with the Rover badge. [http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/09/18/ford-buys-rover-brand-name-from-bmw/] Due to Shangai's inability to gain the Rover name, they created their own brand with a similar name and badge, known as [[Roewe]].

==Rover models==
[[Image:08-17-07 1802.jpg|thumb|right|400px]]
* Pre-War
** 1904-1912 [[Rover 8]]
** 1906-1910 [[Rover 6]]
** 1906-1910 [[Rover 16/20]]
** 1912-1923 [[Rover 12]]
** 1919-1925 [[Rover 8]]
** 1924-1927 [[Rover 9/20]]
** 1925-1927 [[Rover 14/45]]
** 1927-1932 [[Rover Light Six]]
** 1927-1947 [[Rover 10]]
** 1929-1932 [[Rover 2-Litre]]
** 1930-1934 [[Rover Meteor|Rover Meteor (16HP/20HP (12/15 kW))]]
** 1931-1940 [[Rover Speed 20]]
** 1932-1933 [[Rover Pilot|Rover Pilot/Speed Pilot]]
** 1932-1932 [[Rover Scarab]]
** 1934-1948 [[Rover 12]]
** 1934-1948 [[Rover 14|Rover 14/Speed 14]]
** 1936-1948 [[Rover 16]]
* Compact
** 1984-1999 [[Rover 200|Rover 200 (213/214/216)]]
** 1999-2005 [[Rover 25]]
** 2003-2005 [[Rover Streetwise]]
* Midsize
** 1948-1949 [[Rover P3|Rover P3 (60/75)]]
** 1949-1964 [[Rover P4|Rover P4 (60/75/80/90/95/100/105/110)]]
** 1963-1976 [[Rover P6|Rover P6 (2000/2200)]]
** 1976-1986 [[Rover SD1|Rover SD1 (2000/2300/2400/2600)]]
** 1990-1998 [[Rover 400|Rover 400 (414/416/418/420)]]
** 1999-2005 [[Rover 45]]
* Large
** 1958-1973 [[Rover P5|Rover P5 (3-Litre/3.5-Litre)]]
** 1963-1976 [[Rover P6|Rover P6 (3500)]]
** 1976-1986 [[Rover SD1|Rover SD1 (3500/Vitesse)]]
** 1993-1999 [[Rover 600|Rover 600 (618/620/623)]]
** 1986-1998 [[Rover 800|Rover 800 (820/825/827)]] and [[Sterling|Sterling]]
** 1998-2005 [[Rover 75]]
* Small
** 1980-1994 [[Rover Metro]]
** 1994-1998 [[Rover 100]]
** -2000 [[Rover Mini]]
** 2003-2005 [[CityRover]]
* Other
** [[Rover-BRM]]
** [[Rover JET 1]]
==See also==

* [[Austin Rover Group]]
* [[MG Rover Group]]
* [[Nanjing Automobile Group]]

{{Rover}}
{{Template:British Leyland}}

==External Links==
* [http://www.austinmemories.com Austin Memories]
* [http://www.mg-rover.pt.vu Portuguese Mg-Rover Club]
* [http://www.roverki.pl Polish MG Rover Club]
* [http://mg-rover.1.forogeneral.es/index.php Spanish site of Mg-Rover]

[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Rover]]
[[Category:Makes]]

British Motor Corporation

2009-05-10T11:51:34Z

79.73.226.95:

{{List of {{PAGENAME}} Models}}The '''British Motor Corporation''' (BMC) was a UK vehicle company, formed by the merger of the [[Austin Motor Company]] and the [[Nuffield Organisation]] (parent of the [[Morris|Morris]] car company, [[MG (car)|MG]], [[Riley (automobile)|Riley]] and [[Wolseley Motor Company|Wolseley]]) in 1952.

==Organisation==

BMC was the largest British car company of its day, with (in 1952) 39 percent of British output, producing a wide range of cars under brand names including Austin, Morris, MG, [[Austin-Healey]], Wolseley as well as commercial vehicles and agricultural tractors. The first chairman was Lord Nuffield ([[William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield|William Morris]]) but he was replaced in August 1952 by Austin's [[Leonard Lord]] who continued in that role until his 65th birthday in 1961 but handing over, in theory at least, the managing director responsibilities to his deputy [[George Harriman]] in 1956.

BMC's headquarters were at the Austin plant at Longbridge, near Birmingham and Austin was the dominant partner in the group mainly because of the chairman. The use of Morris engine designs was dropped within 3 years and all new car designs were coded ADO from "Austin Drawing Office". The Longbridge plant was up to date, having been thoroughly modernised in 1951, and compared very favourably with Nuffield's 16 different and often old fashioned factories scattered over the English Midlands. Austin's management systems however, especially cost control and marketing were not as good as Nuffield's and as the market changed from a shortage of cars to competition this was to tell. The biggest selling car, the [[Mini]], was famously analysed by [[Ford Motor Company]] who concluded that BMC were losing £30 on every one sold. The result was that although volumes held up well throughout the BMC era, market share fell as did profitability and hence investment in new models, resulting eventually in the merger with [[Leyland Motors Ltd|Leyland Motor Corporation]].

At the time of the mergers, there was a well established dealership network for each of the marques. Among the car-buying British public there was a tendency of loyalty to a particular marque and marques appealed to different market segments. This meant that marques competed against each other in some areas, though some marques had a larger range than others. The [[Riley]] and [[Wolseley Motor Company|Wolseley]] models were selling in very small numbers. Styling was also getting distinctly old fashioned and this caused Leonard Lord, in an unusual move for him, to call upon the services of an external stylist.

==BMC Farina==

In 1958, BMC hired [[Battista Pininfarina|Pinin Farina]] to redesign its entire car line. This resulted in the creation of three "Farina" [[sedan (car)|saloons]], each of which was [[badge engineering|badge-engineered]] to fit the various BMC car lines.

The smallest of these, a re-bodied Austin A35, appeared in 1958 as the [[Austin A40 Farina]]. This is often mistakenly believed to be the first [[hatchback]] car produced, though that distinction probably belongs to the Citroën Traction Avant Commerciale of 1938. However, the Farina A40's distinctive 'two-box' shape was the forerunner of the modern hatchback design. A [[Austin A40 Farina|Mark II A40 Farina]] appeared in 1961 and was produced through 1967. These small cars used the ''[[BMC A-Series engine|A-Series]]'' engine.

The mid-sized Farinas were launched in 1958 with the [[Wolseley 15/60]]. Other members of the group included the [[Riley 4|Riley 4/68]], [[Austin Cambridge|Austin A55 Cambridge Mk. II]], [[MG Magnette|MG Magnette Mk. III]], and [[Morris Oxford|Morris Oxford V]]. Later, the design was licensed in Argentina and produced as the [[Di Tella 1500]]/[[Di Tella Traveller|Traveller]]/[[Di Tella Argenta|Argenta]]. The mid-size cars used the ''[[BMC B-Series engine|B-Series]]'' [[straight-4]] engine.

Most of these cars lasted only through to 1961, though the Di Tellas remained for four more years. They were replaced with a new Farina body style and most were renamed. These were the [[Austin Cambridge|Austin A60 Cambridge]], [[MG Magnette|MG Magnette Mk. IV]], [[Morris Oxford|Morris Oxford VI]], [[Riley 4|Riley 4/72]], and [[Wolseley 16/60]]. These mostly remained in production through 1968, with no [[rear wheel drive]] replacement produced.

Farina also designed a large car. Launched in 1959 as the [[Austin Westminster|Austin A99 Westminster]], [[Vanden Plas Princess|Vanden Plas Princess 3-Litre]], and [[Wolseley 6/99]], it used the large ''[[BMC C-Series engine|C-Series]]'' [[straight-6]] engine. The large Farinas were updated in 1961 as the [[Austin Westminster|Austin A110 Westminster]], [[Vanden Plas Princess|Vanden Plas Princess 3-Litre Mk. II]], and [[Wolseley 6/110]]. These remained in production through 1971.

==BMC Cars==

==="Inherited" Models===

<div style="float:left; width:48%;">

====[[Austin Motor Company|Austin]]====

* [[Austin Sheerline|Austin A125 Sheerline]] 1947-1954
* [[Austin Princess|Austin A135 Princess]] 1947-1956
* [[Austin A40 Sports]] 1950-1953
* [[Austin A70|Austin A70 Hereford]] 1950-1954
* [[Austin A30]] 1951-1956
* [[Austin A40 Devon]] 1947-1952

====[[MG (car)|MG]]====
* [[MG TD]] 1949-1953
* [[MG Y]] 1947-1953

</div><div style="float:right; width:48%;">

====[[Morris Motor Company|Morris]]====
* [[Morris Minor]] 1948-1971
* [[Morris Oxford]] (Series MO)1948-1954
* [[Morris Six]] 1948-1953

====[[Riley (automobile)|Riley]]====
* [[Riley RM|Riley RM series]] 1945-1955

====[[Wolseley Motor Company|Wolseley]]====
* [[Wolseley 4/50]] 1948-1953
* [[Wolseley 6/80]] 1948-1954
* [[Wolseley Oxford Taxi]] 1947-1955

</div><br clear="all">

===BMC Designs===

<div style="float:left; width:48%;">

====Austin====

* [[Austin A40 Somerset]] 1952-1954
* [[Austin A40 Cambridge]] 1954-1958
* [[Austin Westminster|Austin A90 Westminster]] 1954-1968
* [[Nash Metropolitan|Austin Metropolitan]] 1954-1961
* [[Austin A35]] 1956-1959
* [[Austin Princess|Austin Princess IV]] 1956-1959
* [[Austin A40 Farina]] 1958-1967
* [[Austin A55 Cambridge]] 1959-1969
* [[Austin Mini]] 1959-1989
* [[BMC ADO16|Austin 1100/1300]] 1963-1974
* [[Austin 1800]] 1964-1975
* [[Austin 3-Litre]] 1967-1971

====[[Austin-Healey]]====

* [[Austin-Healey 100]] 1953-1959
* [[Austin-Healey 3000]] 1959-1968
* [[Austin-Healey Sprite]] 1958-1971

====MG====
* [[MG A]] 1955-1962
* [[MG Magnette]] ZA/ZB 1953-1956
* [[MG Magnette]] Mk III/Mk IV 1959-1968
* [[MG Midget]] 1961-1974
* [[MGB]] 1962-1980
* [[MG 1100|MG 1100/1300]] 1962-1973
* [[MGC]] 1967-1969

====Morris====

* [[Morris Oxford]] 1954-1971
* [[Morris Cowley]] 1954-1959
* [[Morris Isis]] 1955-1958
* [[Morris Mini|Morris Mini-Minor]] 1959-2000
* [[BMC ADO16|Morris 1100/1300]] 1963-1974
* [[Morris 1800]] 1964-1975

</div><div style="float:right; width:48%;">

====Riley====
* [[Riley Pathfinder]] 1953-1957
* [[Riley Two-Point-Six|Riley 2.6]] 1958-1959
* [[Riley One-Point-Five|Riley 1.5]] 1957-1965
* [[Riley 4/68]] 1959-1961
* [[Riley 4/72]] 1961-1969
* [[Riley Elf]] 1961-1969
* [[Riley Kestrel]] 1965-1969

====[[Vanden Plas]]====
* [[Austin A90|Vanden Plas 3 litre]] 1959-1964
* [[BMC ADO16|Vanden Plas 1100/1300]] 1963-1974
* [[Austin Princess|Vanden Plas Princess 4 litre R]] 1964-1968

====[[Wolseley Motor Company|Wolseley]]====
* [[Wolseley 4/44]] 1952-1956
* [[Wolseley 6/90]] 1954-1959
* [[Wolseley 15/50]] 1956-1958
* [[Wolseley 1500]] 1957-1965
* [[Wolseley 15/60]] 1958-1961
* [[Wolseley 16/60]] 1961-1971
* [[Wolseley 6/99]] 1959-1961
* [[Wolseley 6/110]] 1961-1968
* [[Wolseley Hornet]] 1961-1969
* [[Wolseley 1100|Wolsleley 1100/1300]] 1965-1973
* [[Wolseley 18/85]] 1967-1972

</div><br clear="all">
----

=== BMC Project Numbers ===

Most BMC projects followed the earlier [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]] practice of describing vehicles with an 'ADO' number (which stands for 'Austin Design Office'). Hence cars that had more than one marque name (eg Austin Se7en and Morris Mini Minor) would have the same ADO number:

*ADO6 [[Austin FX4|Austin FX4 Taxi]]
*ADO8 [[Austin A40 Farina]] MkI
*ADO9 [[Austin A55 Cambridge]]
*ADO10 [[Austin Westminster|Austin A90 Westminster]]
*ADO13 [[Austin-Healey Sprite]]
*ADO14 [[Austin Maxi]]
*ADO15 [[Mini]]
*ADO16 [[BMC ADO16|1100/1300]]
*ADO17 [[Austin 1800|1800/2200]]
*ADO20 [[Mini|Mini MkIII and Clubman]]
*ADO23 [[MG B|MGB]]
*ADO26 [[Austin-Healey 3000|Austin_Healey 3000 MkIII]]
*ADO27 [[Austin Kimberley]]
*ADO28 [[Morris Marina]]
*ADO31 [[MG A|MGA 1600]]
*ADO34 Pininfarina design for 2 seat roadster based on [[Mini]].
*ADO37 [[Vanden Plas Princess|Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre]]
*ADO40 [[Wolseley 24/80]]
*ADO41 [[Austin-Healey Sprite|Austin-Healey Sprite MkII]]
*ADO44 [[Austin A40 Farina]] MkII
*ADO47 [[MG Midget|MG Midget MkI]]
*ADO50 [[Mini|Mini Cooper and Cooper S]]
*ADO52 [[MG C|MGC]]
*ADO53 [[Austin Westminster|Austin A110 Westminster]]
*ADO59 [[Morris Minor|Morris Minor 1000]]
*ADO61 [[Austin 3-Litre]]
*ADO66 [[Vanden Plas Princess|Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R]]
*ADO67 [[Austin Allegro]]

==BMC Commercial Vehicles==

Most BMC era commercial vehicles were sold as Morris but there were sometimes Austin equivalents. Radiator badges on the larger vehicles were often BMC.

===Car based light vans===

*Morris Z-series ¼-ton ([[Morris Eight]] Series E) 1940-1953
*Morris ¼-ton O-Type ([[Morris Minor]] van) 1953-1971
*Morris Cowley MCV ([[Morris Oxford]] van) 1950-1956
*[[Austin A30]] van 1954-1956
*[[Austin A35]] van 1956-1968
*[[Austin A35]] pick-up 1956-1957
*Morris ½-ton ([[Morris Oxford]] Series III van) 1956-1962
*[[Austin A55 Cambridge|Austin A55/A60]] van 1958-1972
*[[Austin A55 Cambridge|Austin A55/A60]] pick-up (Australian built) 1958-1972
*[[Mini]] van 1960-1982
*[[Mini]] pick-up 1961-1982
*[[Austin A40 Farina]] van (export only) 1961-1967

===Light Vans===
*Austin K8 1948-1954
*[[Morris J-type]] 1949-1960
*Morris LD 1952-1968
*Morris J2 1956-1967
*[[Morris Commercial J4|Austin/Morris J4]] 1960-1974

===Light Trucks===

*Morris LC4 1952-1954
*Morris LC5 1954-1960
*Morris FV-series (Series I) 1948-1954
*Morris FV-series (Series II) 1954-1955
*Morris FE-series (Series III) 1955-1959
*Morris FG 1960-1968
*Morris FM 1961-1968
*Morris WE 1955-1964
*Morris WF 1964-1981
*Morris FF 1958-1961
*Morris FH 1961-1964
*Morris FJ 1964-1968

==The end of BMC==
In 1966 BMC and Pressed Steel merged with [[Jaguar|Jaguar Cars]] to form [[British Motor Holdings]] (BMH). In 1968 there was a further wave of mergers in the British car industry, and BMH merged with the [[Leyland Motor Corporation]] (LMC) to form the [[British Leyland Motor Corporation]] (BLMC), the original BMC mass-production, and MG sports car products being brought together into the ''Austin Morris'' division of the new organisation. In 1975 BLMC was nationalised and became [[British Leyland|British Leyland Limited]].

==External links==
* [http://www.austinmemories.com Austin Memories]

{{British Leyland}}

[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Rover]]
[[Category:Makes]]

Austin Rover Group

2009-05-10T11:46:52Z

79.73.226.95:

{{List of Austin Rover Models}}The '''Austin Rover Group''' ('''ARG''') was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of [[British Leyland]] (BL). ARG was the end result of a comprehensive restructuring programme intended to rescue BL from almost-certain oblivion, and with the MG, Triumph, Morris, Riley and Wolseley marques now effectively dead, the new, leaner car business was rechristened as the ''Austin Rover Group''.

==History==

Following the collapse of the [[British Leyland Motor Corporation]] (BLMC) in 1975 and the infamous Ryder Report on the ailing firm, the resulting government bail-out and nationalisation saw the company being renamed to [[British Leyland]] (BL).

However, the huge industrial relations problems that had plagued the company up to the nationalisation continued to escalate throughout the late 1970s. The problems centered around Longbridge union leader and shop steward Derek Robinson (nicknamed "Red Robbo" by the British press). Robinson had assumed a greater level of control over BL than any of its senior managers, and his network of union leaders in the various BL plants could bring the company to its knees at his whim. The Labour administration of the time ran out of patience, and appointed South African-born corporate troubleshooter Sir Michael Edwardes to turn BL around.

Edwardes' first job was to curb the excessive amount of power that the trade unions had over the company. After discovering Robinson's links with various Communist groups, the company amassed sufficient evidence claiming that his actions were intended to deliberately damage both BL itself and the UK economy. As a result of this, he was dismissed in 1979. Secondly, Edwardes began a ruthless programme of factory closures and sell-offs. The biggest casualties of this were the [[MG|MG]] assembly plant in Abingdon, and the [[Triumph|Triumph]] plants in Speke and Canley. Thirdly, he entered into a collaborative agreement with [[Honda]], which paved the way for the joint development of a range of cars which spearheaded the company's revival in the 1980s and 1990s. Lastly, the number of BL dealerships in the UK was trimmed down drastically.

Following the renaming of its parent company, BL, in 1986 to the [[Rover Group]], and the subsequent sell-off of its truck and bus businesses, and takeover in 1988 by British Aerospace, and then in 1995 by [[BMW]], ARG was eventually sold back into private ownership and became [[MG Rover]].

==Austin Rover Group timeline==
* 1981 Renaming of the BL subsidiary ''BL Cars Ltd'' to ''Austin Rover Group Ltd''
* 1982 Launch of [[Austin Ambassador]], a facelifted version of the discontinued [[Austin Princess]]
* 1982 Michael Edwardes steps down as Chairman, and is replaced by [[Harold Musgrove]]
* 1983 Launch of [[Austin Maestro]], which replaces the discontinued [[Austin Allegro]]
* 1984 Launch of the second Honda-ARG joint venture car, the Mk.1 [[Rover 200-series]], [[Triumph Acclaim]] and [[Morris Ital]] production ceases
* 1984 Launch of the [[Austin Montego]]
* 1986 Launch of the [[Rover 800/Sterling|Rover 800-series]], jointly developed with Honda; [[Rover SD1]] production ceases
* 1986 BL renamed to ''Rover Group PLC''
* 1987 [[Unipart]], ARG's spare parts brand is sold off via management buyout
* 1987 Austin badges removed from Metro, Maestro and Montego for the '88 model year
* 1988 ''Rover Group PLC'' sold by British Government to British Aerospace.
* 1989 Austin Rover Group is re-branded '''Rover Group'''

==Models==
* [[Austin A90]]
==See also==
*[[MG Rover]]
*[[British Leyland Motor Corporation]]
*[[Leyland Trucks]]
*[[Leyland Bus]]

==External links==
* [http://www.austinmemories.com Austin Memories]

{{British Leyland}}

[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Makes]]