Death of the UK Car Industry - Part 3: Austin-Rover

[@peterrhodes5663]

Now retired, I spent 14 weeks as a trade union member, as required by the contract that I was working under. It amazed me how ignorant and useless the union reps were. They wouldn't last 5 minutes in self-employment. A good idea that was corrupted by bullies.

[@Mishima505]

There is a good anecdote from none other than the late Patrick MacNee about how little BL cared about marketing their cars. In 1976 the production company behind the TV series the New Avengers struck a deal with BL to use their vehicles in the programme, including top-line models like the Rover Vitesse, Range Rover and the Jaguar XJS. Part of the deal included all three stars of the series, Joanna Lumley, Gareth Hunt and Pat himself appearing on the BL stand at the Motor Show at Earl’s Court. However Pat relates that on they day they were booked to turn up, BL management forgot about it and the three stars were left waiting around with a horde of press and TV in tow. Then the manager at the Mercedes Benz stand opposite invited them over for drinks and a buffet and got a stack of free publicity for Mercedes as a result!

[@simonhodgetts6530]

It didn’t help that when they were supplied with cars on set, they constantly broke down, delaying filming. BL also supplied cars for the first series of The Professionals, which was made by the same company, but because the supply of cars was sketchy, so when they did have cars they constantly broke down again - hence why the remainder of the series was filmed with Ford cars - which of course turned the Capri, Granada and RS2000 into iconic screen cars…….

[@johnburns4017]

@Mark Atkins Yes! Blame the unions for that.

[@Mishima505]

@@johnburns4017 I blame the management.

[@Mishima505]

@@simonhodgetts6530 yep, it was halfway through series 1 that Fennel & Clemens ditched the Dolomite & TR7 for the Capri & Escort RS2000

[@dcanmore]

@@simonhodgetts6530 there was a slight difference to the supply of cars from BL and Ford to the production companies. BL only agreed to a scant amount of cars supplied, so when they broke down those same cars had to be fixed causing delays to film production. Ford on the other hand supplied cars on the basis of 'how many do you need' ... so when their cars broke down, and they did at the punishing hands of the stunt drivers, replacements were on hand without interruption.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Another Saturday morning and another chapter in the tragedy of the British auto industry.

[@TrevorSports]

My Dad worked at Rover from 1985 to 1998 and the early 90s the company was on the right track. They had a plan and we’re producing some great cars - in particular the 220 coupé and 600 TI were excellent. But it’s the same story as BMC takeover in the late 60’s, the bigger company taking out Rovers legs from under them. If it was anyone else but another car company that brought them and they’d looked to the future rather than the past to inspire their next range of cars, they’d potentially have stood a better chance of survival. Fantastic video dude, great research and insight. Speaking to an ex owner my Dad has said the old 213 and 216 hated corners but were reliable, the Maestro wasn’t a modern day looker but the 2.0 was a great motor, The Turbo is now a legend. My Mum had a MG Metro 1.3 that lasted 13 years, excellent car. The new 200 was my first car, at the 1.4 K series engine was magnificent. That was a great car. Guess we will find out in 1994 why it all went wrong (looking at you BMW!)

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

The K-series engines had severe design weaknesses. Engine and cylinder head didn't hold enough coolant, and temporarily overheated while the thermostat was opening. Once warped and blew a headgasket, was junk thereafter, replacing head gasket would make it worse without block and cylinder head resurfacing, which was mega costs.

[@TrevorSports]

From my experience, it was an excellent engine, it was the nut behind the wheels that failed my 214 SLI

[@reverendbarker650]

I've been a lifelong union member, but the unions were incredibly stupid in that era , they pretty much guaranteed that the company went bust, and laid the way for Thatcher to come into power. Also , from personal experience , some workers ripped off their employers , a guy on our street used to regularly have lorry loads of steel and other materials go missing form the steel company of wales. BMC's quality control was terrible and the management were also pretty incompetent as well, far too many models competing with other models in the production lineup. Almost everyone concerned screwed up on a mass scale, the cynicism, complacency and adversarial attitudes guaranteed the eventual collapse of the industry.

[@tiikerihai]

Trade unions are a bit like governments, theoretically they are supposed to fight for and defend the rights of a group of people that they represent, but the second they get substantial political power they forget those people ever existed and start pursuing either self serving benefits or ideological goals. It is fair to say that the trade unions weren't so much stupid as they didn't particularly care about those workers that they represented. Their allegiance lied elsewhere.

[@williampatrickfagan7590]

As you sat quality . Go into a high class restaurant you will be offered 2 meat dishes, t 2 fish dishes 2 veg dishes 2 or 3 deserts 2 or 3 starters. Kitchen does a few dishes very well instead of a lot of dishes very badly.. Cars are no different. Great abalagy

[@borderlands6606]

The general impression is the workers didn't like the product they were making, hated the management, cut corners, were on the take and loathed their jobs. The previous generation who took pride in what they built must have despaired at the change. Car production was simply the medium union leaders used in their attempt to change society.

[@paulthesquid3595]

Spot on there just about sums it up there.

[@marcelolinhares8233]

Unions are destructive machines.

[@ssadonnelly]

My Dad was incredibly loyal to BL products Maxi, Rover P6, Princess, Morris Marina Estate, Rover 2300. Lots of people look back no this period with rose tinted glasses so dark as to be opaque. "They were good cars but undermined by unjustified bad press etc". IMHO it was all justified they were a national disagrace

[@matthewc.419]

I agree , they was good cars .....all 70s cars rusted some worse than B.L !!! I think B.L shud be brought back into life me ........new models

[@johnmarsh2078]

The saviour of BL/Rover was the tie up with Honda. The Triumph Acclaim was mostly made in Longbridge by Austin workers who also produced the derided Allegro and Maxi. It proved that even the lazy useless Austin workers could produce a quality car if the production lines and the vehicle design were to japanese standards. The Acclaim was the most reliable Triumph/BMC/BL vehicle ever built. The later R8 was probably, in terms of class performance, build quality and reliability, the best Rover ever built. Sadly it was discontinued in hatch/saloon form after only five years. From then on it was the 4 Robbers and then BMW. If Thatcher had conspired to sell a controlling interest to Honda instead of Ford things might have been very different.

[@matthewc.419]

@@johnmarsh2078 well sed , totally agree , my grandfather had a Triumph Acclaim , such a lovely car , very light very nice car to drive , i still remember the smell!! Yeah , all our heavy industries gone so sad smh , almoat like it was designed to happen 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@colinvanful]

when i was a lad , way back in the 1970's i loved the triumph cars , by the time i was old enough to drive it was the early 1980's , by that time the car i grew up loving , had such a bad rep , you could litraly buy just about any ten year old BL car for penuts . at one time i had 5 cars all triumph from heralds to 2500 pi . i never bought anything made after 1974 . i was given a 1977 dolly sprint [ yes given ] FREE CAR it ran and drove ok ! but i fell apart faster than i could weld repair pannels on to it , all this time i had a 1300 fwd triumph [1967] that sat there not doing anything ! [ well not droping apart at least ] when i gave up on the newish bag of crap i charged the battery up on the good old 1300 drained the fuel tank [ omg ! it had a drain plug on the bottom of the tank ] fresh fule cleaned up dissy points and away she rolled after being sat there for 3 years she drove like new .

[@LN997-i8x]

Having worked on a lot of classic cars, the English stuff is filled with very idiosyncratic engineering. While not bad by and large, said engineering does make you scratch you head and wonder.

[@ryanreedgibson]

Unions are needed as a corporation's shouldn't have absolute power. However, with this union power, you have responsibility to the industry as well. Corruption in both needs to be eliminated. But blame who you wish. I don't believe the UK auto industry could remain competitive even without the unions.

[@peekaboo1575]

The unions were terrible but so were the suits in charge.

[@AnonNomad]

Finding that balance with the overwhelming pressure of American, European and Japanese automakers ploughing ahead could never be achieved.

[@skynet1.044]

Piss poor management, quality of materials, quality control and workforce, antiquated tech and manufacturing,constant strikes that solved nothing,surprised it wasn’t worse than what it was or happened sooner.

[@chrisb8075]

@Skynet 1.0 it's a good job the unions were so supportive and unselfish then, thank goodness they did nothing to jeopardise their own future...... 🙄

[@williamkennedy5492]

A well paid job and the pillocks threw it away. My dad in 1983 said come and have a look at my new car, my heart sank as i saw his brand new SD1 which caused a major delay in Penzance high street due a bad connection to the starter moter , thats four days old ,Later the car locked him inside it was a never ending battle with it. much later he swapped it for my Mk3 Granada , The doors never sat right and there were gaps on the SD1 , the build quality was basically crap. Years later as two new managers a friend and i walked into a Rover dealer with the idea of buying two new 600 series, the salespeople couldn't be bothered to get off their backsides, so we went to Volvo, excellent build and excellent service. AND lets talk about the Marina, a sales rep friend told me three of them picked up a brand new Marina each, none arrived home, one the fuel tank fell out, two went to go round a corner but the steering column wasnt done up so he went into the bushes and the third stopped at a set of lights never to go again. I would think some staff really wanted to work but followed red robbo being afraid to do otherwise. to go from a well paid job onto the dole is a no brainer. But thats what they did. No wonder thatcher pulled the plug.

[@johnburns4017]

_"a sales rep friend told me three of them picked up a brand new Marina each, none arrived home, one the fuel tank fell out, two went to go round a corner but the steering column wasnt done up so he went into the bushes and the third stopped at a set of lights never to go again."_ *That was made that up.*

[@briancarton1804]

The SD1 was a beautiful looking car. I had a factory in Dublin and at the rear of it was a garage. Summer 1982 we were busy doing overtime on a Saturday. The Mechanic who did not normally work Saturday had to come in to take in a broken down SD1 and do a rush job on it as his customer was badly stuck. The mechanic joined us for a cup of tea at lunchtime. We were chatting away looking out the back doors which were wide open on this beautiful sunny day. Next minute looking at the SD1 the mechanic says to me " isn't that a beautiful looking heap of shit , what a shame it looks so good.

[@scofab]

Shooting yourself in the foot is one thing... taking a machine gun to your legs is something else entirely. Thus repeatedly snatching certain defeat from the jaws of victory. It'd be funny if it hadn't been so damn tragic.

[@caribman10]

Went for a ride in a friend's MGA. When I went to get out, I coudn't find the dor handle. He pointed to a piece of rope inside the dooor cutout. I couldn't believe it. That summer, we got caught in a rain storm. We had to assemble the top (bows separate from fabric) and then mount the side curtains. And this was a new car at the time. So some of you can be nostalgic, but the truth is most of the cars weren't very good in the first place.

[@jonnyc429]

I've been so excited about this part 3. Looking forward to watching it 4 or 5 times like the other parts 😂

[@jmatthewsuk]

Really learned some history in this series. I also remember the SD1 used as police cars.

[@DKS225]

Oh yes they did. I remember in early episodes of the police drama The Bill that they used an SD1 in the intro credits.

[@paulketchupwitheverything767]

The white police cars with the reflective yellow/red/yellow stripe down the side earning them the nickname of ‘jam sandwich’.

[@kuchenblechmafiagmbh1381]

The Rover SD1 Vitesse was also very successful in the DTM, in 1984 and 1985 Olaf Manthey (his Porsche Team won the 24h of Nürburgring multiple times and they're improving the GT3/GT2 RS even further) was ranked second in the championship driving a Vitesse. And in 1986 Danish driver Kurt Thiim (father of Nicki Thiim who won Porsche Supercup, WEC in the LMGTE Pro and also the 24h of Nürburgring) even won the DTM championship on a Vitesse. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4mYhpx8ebl_aJY

[@alora1105]

I bought a Vauxhall Viva when I got my driver's license. Electrical faults constantly, the alternator starter motor, the power distributor had to be dried if it had been a humid day. Once the car caught fire when the levers of the heating device had stripped the power cord.

[@Sonormuseum]

Did Vauxhall use Lucas electrics as well?

[@gwheregwhizz]

Employees in Fords, Vauxhalls and Rootes cars driving into that BL factory. That's shows confidence in your product.

[@williamegler8771]

I drive past a major Chrysler assembly plant, they assemble JEEPs, every day on my way to and from work. The road takes me right past the employee parking lot and a majority of the vehicles parked there are Japanese or Korean. The remaining are mostly Ford or Chevy pickup trucks.

[@telcobilly]

Nobody can afford to buy or maintain Jeeps

[@davidty2006]

@@telcobilly Atleast the modern jeeps anyway. Older jeeps people can.

[@Frenchie100]

Amazing work, thank you for putting all this together so well! Cannot wait for part 4!

[@Daniel-OConnell]

Whatever about one's political views it is clear from this video that unions were out of control in late 1970's Britain. The demise of the British motor industry was a very brutal lesson to all concerned.

[@erik_dk842]

Out of control? Moscow controlled them every step.

[@FaustoTheBoozehound]

@@erik_dk842 Maggie the Milk-thief convinced you to hate organized labor using nonsense fear mongering about commie influence. Now corporations have ALL the power and you get zero hours contracts and a cost of living crisis. How's that working out for you?

[@johnburns4017]

@@erik_dk842 What issue of the Daily Mail said that? I would like to read it.

[@johnburns4017]

@@FaustoTheBoozehound Yes, they love poverty and deprivation.

[@erik_dk842]

@@johnburns4017 Well, you are not likely to find an issue of the Grauniad stating it.

[@Rockport1911]

Thanks for the video series, as a german the whole british car industrie always seemed a bit of a mess but this gives some clarity. While watching I would have guessed that Honda not only supplied designs but would eventually buy Rover outright to close in on the GB/ EU- market...

[@herseem]

As generally a fan of BL / Rover design philosophy and have owned mostly BL / Rover cars, but with Ford, Vauxhall and Fiat as well, I can't thank you enough for these videos about the British motor industry. This is especially as you cover issues ranging all the way from engineering to polical, with important stops via personal, egos econonic, commercial and socio-political where appropriate. In my view, this breadth and depth of issues is required to give a full understanding of the most pivotal factors involved.

[@MSJChem]

What an excellent, well-researched documentary. I remember the Austin-Rover era well. I had both a Metro and a Maestro in the early 90s. Awful build quality and always breaking down but I remember them fondly.

[@pyrotechnick420]

I can't help but notice a small but hilarious bias that the narrator has against the unions while, at the same time, holding the executives in higher esteem. He doesn't outright say anything like this but you can hear it in his tone. It's great I love it lol

[@swingingvoter4309]

I can remember growing up in Aust in late 70’s and early 80’s that while we had our own problems with strikes and manufacturing quality controls, cars made in UK had an absolutely terrible reputation, of being expensive lemons. The only people who bought them seemed to be people born in UK and still regarded themselves as British.

[@lezivanerrol3697]

I had a mate who bought a brand new Morris Marina in Melbourne. One day he decided to drive it Perth across the Nullabor. At the time there was still 350 kilometers of gravel road. Left Melbourne with a brand new Marina came back a month later with a 8 year old Holden. His Marina is probably still rusting away out on the side of the road near Eucla. Broke down and left there - along with countless air cooled VW's.

[@swingingvoter4309]

@@lezivanerrol3697 Ha, my parents used to take us across the Nullarbor each year in Summer. First couple of years, yes, it was gravel for a few hundred km east of Eucla. First year, we used 2 HR Holdens in convoy. Subsequent years, typically a XA or XB Ford Falcon, and a VW beetle (the L version). All those cars coped fine even in 45 deg heat, even the VW. Whereas it seemed anyone who owned a Morris Minor had a car that was not working, or at least blowing smoke up the highway.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Cleese: Do you actually have any cars here at your car dealership? Palin: Errr...not as such

[@heidirabenau511]

We need a video about the UK Helicopter industry now!

[@MrJimheeren]

There is an European helicopter industry now. It’s called Airbus. You can only compete with the big boys in America by working together and the UK alone is a small island that can’t even compete with the Italians if it comes to industry

[@TSR1989FF]

^ *Diatribe 100*

[@heidirabenau511]

​​@@MrJimheeren Yes, I know Airbus, I aspire to work for them. #airbusoverboeing

[@natehill8069]

the UK has a helicopter industry?

[@TSR1989FF]

@Nate Hill Well technically yes, as Augusta-Westland still has some UK facilities 🤔 . BAe Systems might get back into whirlybirds one day, but yeah~ it's smaller civilian firms that is to thank for most of the choppers still coming out of the UK.

[@russellhammond4373]

Thanks for another excellent review of the decline of the British branded car industry. Looking forward to part 4.

[@steamsearcher]

I had a Metro. Constant problems with the suspension. The worst SU carburettor ever made, fitted... And one morning due to the wires being routed round the front of a sharp bit of metal. It had set itself on fire. Recovered in time BUT. The MGB GT was far better of course. Loved it. Then came the Nissan Micra. Lovely car and always started. We have always gone for Almira's and still have a TINO. Lovely video thank you.

[@klawlor3659]

I think that's the story for a lot of people in the 80s and 90s including myself. Had the late 80s metro which I liked but was unreliable and always needed work. Then onto a Ford Escort which was nearly the same junk. Kept for 2 years until a wiring and oil leak issue led to it going up in flames outside Blackpool! Went onto an old Mazda which needed very little work and always got me to where I wanted to go. Kept that old Mazda for nearly 8 years to be replaced...by a Toyota! Once you go Jap you don't look back.

[@Sacto1654]

This is where Ford UK and Vauxhall taking full advantage of the resources of the Ford and GM German operations blew by British Leyland in no time flat. No wonder why Ford could barely keep up with the demand for the Fiesta, Escort, Granada, etc. by the late 1970's. Even the controversial styling of the Sierra didn't really detract from sales because the Sierra was such a far superior car to any BL mode.

[@mickeydodds1]

David Bache - pronounced as 'baysh'. Probably the best British car designer of the post war era. Responsible, amongst other things, for the styling of the Range Rover - the daddy of all SUVs everywhere, the beautiful Rover P5, the iconic Rover P6 and the excellent Rover SD1.

[@TSR1989FF]

Mostly agree; but the Range Rover's a 4x4, while the Freelander and the GMC Taho are SUV's. The clue is in the name, "Suburban Utility Vehicle", which unlike a true 4x4 can't actually go off-road much because it lacks the ground clearance nor notable features such as Diff' Locks. Range Rover's most definitely can off road very well, thus are distinct from SUV's.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I also think that the much maligned Harris Mann deserves a mention - I have a great deal of respect for him - he stepped into the difficult job of taking overall design responsibility for BLs eagerly anticipated new 70s cars following Roy Haynes’ departure, whilst battling BL’s poor market standing and reputation, problems with tooling, and politics which saddled one of his most notable designs, the Allegro, with oddly dumpy proportions. When the Maestro was being designed, he came up with a very stylish alternative proposal to the eventual car, but it was overlooked by David Bache, and although I’ve always liked the Maestro’s styling (the MG model in particular), Mann’s design had much more showroom appeal. It must have been a very frustrating job for him!

[@Bicyclehub]

People always say that the Allegro had dumpy proportions but the recent Audi A1 is almost the same shape, with a high bonnet. I think the Allegro’s tiny headlights set close together were responsible for its odd appearance. It has got a silly face.

[@HarryJamesBooks]

@@TSR1989FF The Range Rover is the original SUV. It's where the genre came from - US makers aping the Range Rovers being bought by wealthy Septics, and using what they had that was "close enough" - ie, light truck chassis. Now it's changed and designs are more subtle, but the original Range Rover was the source of the style.

[@TSR1989FF]

^ I politely disagree, as the Range Rover was/is still a vehicle still primarily for use offroad, while SUV'S are not. The latter for instance lack the ground clearance, diff locks and other features considered essential to a competent 4x4. I would nominate the *Jeep Jeepster* as being the first SUV. It was hideous and hopeless in both environments (and a commercial flop)... just like SUV's today 😆.

[@superjesse645]

If I had to gather anything from this series so far, I've concluded that the UK's car industry crashed through a clash of egos. Austin, Morris, the Unions, the dealers, etc. All of them refused to ease up on trying to one-up each other and everyone lost as a result.

[@smorris12]

I believe Austin Rover is going to get into profit by 2025....

[@bentullett6068]

I think the only thing that realistically survived was the K series engine. I think a modified one is still in use in the new MG cars. Although my brother who works at a MG dealership says you wouldn't want one long term as the Chinese build quality is hit and miss and early new MG cars the Chinese brought out like the MG6 already have the majority of the parts inventory obsoleted.

[@carlarrowsmith]

Breaking even at the moment :)

[@davidpeters6536]

While this is without doubt the longest documentary on this subject I have to say it is by far the best. The little connections and timing of events are vital in the story. The section on Unions might have mentioned we were in the middle of the Cold War of course. My Dad was a Morris/Wolseley man until he refused to buy a Marina or 18/85. I introduced him to the new Triumph 2000 Mk2 and the world was good again. After two and nothing to follow he bought a Saab 900.

[@andicog]

Where is 'Spake' in Merseyside? It's pronounced 'Speak' and spelt Speke. Knew someone that worked at the Triumph factory, they would sleep the whole shift, had a large area on top of the paint plant. Brand new TR7's would be taken from the compound and raced around for entertainment before being placed back in line.

[@tankmicr00man]

I'm not surprised. Many similar stories circulated at all the BL plants, and as for the hemorrhaging of parts stolen either for personal use or profit.....

[@sg-yq8pm]

People from different regions have different accents and different pronunciation, and some pronounce 'ea' differently than you apparently think everyone should, try using your brain before you form an opinion and express it.

[@andicog]

@@sg-yq8pm really? Thanks for the education but I don't know of any dialect that would pronounce Speke as Spake, there is also no 'ea' in SPEKE. Did you stop and think that I may just have been correcting the commentator so he doesn't make the same mistake in the future? Jesus there's some sad gits on here.

[@Hattonbank]

@@sg-yq8pm I worked at Triumph Canley during those days and visited the Speke plant many times and never heard anyone pronounce it anything other than Speak/Speek.

[@glennpowell3444]

Local dialects aside "Speke" is a saxon word and would have been pronounced as "Spake". E would be spoken as A.if was in the middle of the word.If you really want to get into saxon orientated words and how they were /pronounced look at the deep black country dialects sadly softened up alot now.

[@peekaboo1575]

The unions kept on going until everybody was out of a job, lol. Way to go.

[@erik_dk842]

Just doing what their real bosses in Moscow had told them to do. The bosses in Moscow aren't even around anymore, but the West still keeps shooting itself in the foot by the climate change hoax and mass migration. Big ugly trees from the seeds that Moscow's finest planted in 1968

[@Ben-jq5oo]

Exactly. Watching it as a teenager it seemed to be all about the ego of shop stewards and union bosses at war with management, not the pay and conditions of the workers. Red Robbo got drunk on his own power given to him by a large workforce, and either forgot or didn’t understand that there is nothing either the floor or office workers can do when a board decision has been made to close a plant. He needed to accept the limitations of his power and focus his energy on fighting for the best redundancy package for workers. Easy to say in hindsight I know.

[@mockbattles]

@@Ben-jq5oo Red Rob later in life appeared to be a shadow of himself.

[@oranjelicht]

British car companies are luckily now part of German car companies

[@MattVF]

Any brand loyalty went out the window. People had enough. They just wanted cars that worked,electricity 24/7,coal when they needed it. If it meant not buying British then so be it. Don’t get me wrong management was poor but the strikes of 1977 finished any hope of a recovery. To have the “Car of the Year” and not be able to sell it as there wasn’t any is the most British Leyland thing of all.

[@philipsudron]

"Down tools tea break lads...: "But we've just 'ad wun!" "Well now we're 'avin' annuver...come on and hey lad, leave those bits off, it's Friday afternoon customers won't notice til next week." "Right Guv haha"

[@bentullett6068]

You want to see what some of the strikes were over. Some were over petty things like a change of tea bags in the canteen or someone had put the wrong parts in the wrong parts bin and other petty small things that upset staff. I have got a book stating these incidents on BL history.

[@nicktaylor5819]

Well when you've got a work force that will strike over the type of coffee available in the canteen just so they can watch football on TV it was always going to end bad.

[@herseem]

And just to point out, I've been keeping an eye outt for this video constantly after watching parts 1 and 2, as well as many of you previous videos. I don't know how you do it.

[@macjim]

My dad and I had experienced how bad BL cars were when he bought a Morris Ital… in the short period he owned it, it wept rust from the panel seams… it was promptly traded in.

[@davidt-rex2062]

Looking forward to the next episode. Really interesting stuff as always.

[@TheWombatmoon]

Whole series is superb work… 🎉

[@madcarew5168]

For years used to get involved in the grand prix on Friday evenings leaving Longbridge,Birmingham and going into town....week after it shut had a fairly quiet run,then remembered why...kinda missed it!!!

[@ethimself5064]

So this is what a full blown Monty Python Movie looks like.

[@ErectedGasCan]

A simply brilliant series! Would love to see a similar series about microcomputers and companies of the 80s.

[@zeddeka]

Theft is one of the issues that bedevilled industrial Britain back then and it isn't discussed enough. I remember my dad telling me how he worked in a factory in the 1970s that made radiators. Theft was rampant - so much so that one man had made himself a garden fence out of the radiators he had stolen (!!!) He later worked in a factory that made filaments for light bulbs - he said the factory was raided and several of the management were arrested because they'd been stealing tungsten on a massive scale.

[@Daniel-OConnell]

Thank you for this most interesting series, which is well researched and presented and as good as any TV documentary series. I assume there will be a part IV which will continue the story to its final abysmal end.

[@majorberk4647]

Very informative. Thanks

[@matthewrees4449]

Incredible how it all lasted so long given the awful management and unions. The lack of pride shown by the workforce (I noticed many of them driving non-BL cars to the factory) is a symptom. Such a shame given the gems that we have seen in the Mini, the SD1 and TR7.

[@charliebrown4573]

As a ex Rover worker (who was there at the end) Robbo was not a commie he was stitched up by his own union the AEU, it was all to do with some letter that was handed out by him, which he was told to do by his union. the problem being his union had already agreed not to put this out, they turned him into a scapegoat.

[@MarineAqua45]

He was a Commie as he was a member of The Communist Party Of Great Britain.

[@tetchuma]

“How do we keep our prestigious British brands while, partnering with a Japanese maker? Let’s re-badge a Honda Civic and Accord!” We’re there any former GM executives employed at BL?

[@davidty2006]

Rebadging is quite common.

[@Telecolor-in3cl]

They should have had done a partenership earlier.

[@DiRF]

Looking forward to Part 4. Fantastic series!

[@mikew742]

Really really interesting, thank you for putting this series together

[@tkyap2524]

As the saying goes, don't rest on your laurels. We know business is a cut-throat affair. To stay in the game, we must invent and reinvent to catch up with the times

[@SteveBueche1027]

The overuse of strikes killed them. Then as a spiteful addition, they ruined the quality even more. This idea that all cars should need tinkering every weekend was another false acceptance.

[@aker1993]

Hey im for collective bargaining but hated Unions due being the one is temporary but unions are permanent.

[@_Ben4810]

That single word sums up the Longbridge unions perfectly ''spiteful''...They were obsessed, crazed & diseased by it....

[@smithy3520]

brilliant series ..very sad the demise of the british car industry

[@Hattonbank]

Some demise, the UK car industry up to 2016 Brexit vote then Covid/supply issues/Ukraine produced about 1.7 million cars, as good as the peak days of the 1970's. Where are the shipbuilding/aircraft/computer/motorcycle/machine tool/power generation industries by comparison, dead and buried almost.

[@heinkle1]

The British productivity problem, which we still haven’t solved in 2023

[@steviesteve750]

Actually, the UK automotive sector has better productivity than most, if nit at times all of Europe. It's other sectors that drag the national figures down.

[@rogerk6180]

It did rather good in the late 90s 2000s, catching up quickly with the rest of europe. But everything fell apart again after 2008.

[@stevejelly3161]

They were a totally fascinating company !!! . It's only now i learn that the Maxi was a great rally car !!! . The TR7 on launch ..... Everybody wanted one !!! . The Montego diesel estate ...... (ok 0-60mph took maybe 4 minutes)..... but nobody knew on the motorway they crept up to 70 mph with "intergalactic" mpg !!! . .... ... I worked at a "Rover" dealership where pensioners used to drive in to pump up the tyres on their cars as the staff just argued ................. 🙂....... Happy Days !!!

[@johnburns4017]

It took some guts to buy such an ugly car like the Maxi. Car looks for philistines.

[@stevejelly3161]

@@johnburns4017 John we had one new in 1973 and a "HL" and it cost £1250 i think ? . It was a 1750 TC with the chrome exhaust piece but somehow the car was "dated" in design from new !!! . I remember the carbs used to "drift" constantly and it used to stall !!! . Then 3 years later the Honda Accord was launched and looked as great here as it did in the USA . The Maxi had virtues... but i never saw them 🙂

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

The saddest part was UK productivity had fallen below the Italians😂😂

[@Quebecoisegal]

During my residence in the UK, I needed a large estate car as I had two large dogs and was offered a Montego estate, perhaps I was lucky, but I had no bad issues with it.

[@Mitch-Hendren]

They had got the Montego estate just about perfect towards the end of the run . Specially the diesel version they were still on sale way after the demise of the saloons

[@Hattonbank]

I had one too, a 2 litre petrol, spacious, fast enough, better roadholding than Cortinas, and I never had an issue with it.

[@bvaux]

so sad, there should be an inquest today - excellent video

[@drstevenrey]

Austin, Morris, BMC, BMH, British Leyland, Austin-Rover or whatever they think of, is like calling a turd from tomorrow a poop. The Rover 100 from 1998 is, underneath the steel body noting more than a 1959 Mini. You can name it what ever you want it still is abysmal.

[@plunder1956]

I used to ride my Honda motorbike past the Cowley plant in this early part of this period. It was depressing.

[@popefang]

Hondas will do that

[@Hattonbank]

What did you expect, an apple orchard in full blossom mode?

[@The-Tall-Photographer]

All those idiotic strikes with everyone losing their jobs eventually.

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

And the poor products and 1800 management style !

[@yellowgreen5229]

You believe Clarkson propaganda. The FACT is there was a class war and the Tories (and red tories) defeated the working class to save capitalism and the workers in EVERY INDUSTRY allowed themselves to be divided and lost. The workers failed to support the USSR while their government attacked it and as soon as the capitalists won they started the neoliberal march to Dickensianism.

[@FaustoTheBoozehound]

Yeah, how dare workers demand better conditions and pay!

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

@@FaustoTheBoozehound to be fair they did hold many industries to ransoms in the 70s , but the management approach was confrontational, unlike the German and the Japanese

[@The-Tall-Photographer]

@@FaustoTheBoozehound well true but the unions were clumsy and failed to realise they’d already killed the industry.

[@golfy808]

I'm really loving these videos... will there be a part 4 ?? What a crazy time with all those strikes...

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

The K series engine was only ever good for a boat. As an anchor. Whether meticulously maintained or thoroughly neglected, those head gaskets let go without warning Regardless of which car Rover put it in, the public quickly learned to walk away from the K series. Because walking away is what you'd end up doing to call for a tow truck

[@CharlesStearman]

I had two Rover 214s with the K series engine and it never gave me any trouble - it was the gearbox that failed on both of them.

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

@@CharlesStearman I worked for an independent Rover specialist and we ended up with what we called the "K Bay" cos we were doing so many Gearbox failures weren't uncommon either,, as you found out The only 2 parts of a that always want to work are the engine and drive train and Rover managed to cock up both I can't think why Rover weren't more successful 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Wish I still had me SD1 though

[@ianclegg9572]

Bull I had a rover 200 for. 16 years never had hgf atall

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

@@ianclegg9572 I don't think I said EVERY K series blew the head gasket but it had more failures than it should. I didn't give the K series a bad reputation it did that all on it's own

[@borderlands6606]

I owned one, an absolute money pit. No wonder the garage sent me a calendar and card every Christmas. It also handled like a pig on skates.

[@macjim]

Nearly choked on my cereal when I saw that ‘made in the uk’ label in the car windscreen… an advert for shoddy work… and it’s back again! It was one way to stop people buying products back then: and now!

[@davesclassicgaragetours]

Another excellently researched film.

[@markevans2280]

How funny that about 12 mins in , the narrator said BL had only a 24% market share, any motor company would dream of achieving that figure today 😆

[@DolleHengst]

The Volkswagen group had an overall European market share of 25% in 2021

[@natehill8069]

in 1967, GM had a 50% market share (of the US market). the US government was considering breaking them up as a monopoly, like they later did with AT&T.

[@dcanmore]

in 1971 BL had 40% share of the UK market.

[@declanbrady5172]

My second car as a 20 year old was a mk2 Rover 820SLI. God I loved that car until Alan Partridge got a Rover and my mates wrote Cock Piss Partridge all over my car. I was going to replace it with a Lexus, until Alan Partridge got a lexus. 😂😂😂😂

[@Polecat54941]

Dan............Dan................DAN!

[@nathanbowers6364]

My Dad delivered some sand to Cowley during this period. He asked someone if they could move a forklift or something out of the way so he could tip, only to be told if he did, there would be trouble as he would be doing someone eles' job.

[@johnburns4017]

Only forklift drivers can drive forklifts. In the hands of others they are dangerous.

[@nathanbowers6364]

@@johnburns4017 I agree but this "worker" actually said he could but it wasn't his job and then gave the usual rubbish about taking someone elses' job. Anyway, good riddance to rubbish BL/Rover got what they deserved in the end.

[@LandersWorkshop]

That sort of remark was common back then for lorry guys going to car plants and factories I've heard. If the workers were disgruntled they just wouldn't do any bloody work.

[@railtrolley]

The name Speke sounded familiar. It was also the name of an iron-hulled 3 masted ship that wrecked in 1906, at Philip Island, Victoria, Australia.

[@street-level]

On Merseyside, it is pronounced as speak rather than spake. 😁

[@Andrewjg_89]

My dad used to have that car and he said that it was so reliable and easier to fix. Shame that these cars are no longer available and most people now have a Mini and Aston Martin which are still going strong.

[@LiquidAudio]

I miss my SD1... well, not really, but it was an interesting car, just terribly built!

[@telcobilly]

I was 19 when the SD1 came out in '77 and I thought it was the most beautiful car made at the time. I was living in South Africa then.

[@TSR1989FF]

We can blame the regional BL manager that oversaw Rover at the time. He was from Morris and infamously said "You rover lot are all the same; we want quantity, not quality!". The result was inevitable. Unfinished cars were rushed out the factory into the car parks outside, where they started to deteriorate. Bad management spoiled the SD1's debit, combined with typical BL penny pinching on component quality, made worse by Jaguar being out to keep Rover from having a car comparable to theirs in quality, as had been the case in the past.

[@tilerman]

@@telcobilly I think one of the best looking cars ever. The Vitesse with red paint was a beautiful thing.

[@TSR1989FF]

@Busyboy 42 Amen. Paired with the right wheels she's still a sight to be seen on the roads today 🙂 . The SD1 also looked really good in British Racing Green, Metallic Blue & in black.

[@das5813]

The truth from someone who worked in BL. After much investigation I can conclude that the demise of the uk car industry was caused in the main by the corruption that grew between the executives and government officials who both took the country for feeble minded idiots. Whilst the motor industry executives were screwing the taxpayers, threatened to throw people out of work if the government didn't pay up to the workers who kept refusing to work for the pittances that allowed the greedy management to pocket so much of the money and funding. Take the takeover of triumph motors. At the time when the motor executives were negotiating with the government to save it, it was worthless and about to go bankrupt. They conspired to inflate the cost of saving the company and join it to British Leyland Group. This bloated price was increased by the crooked executives writing in fake invoices as bogus creditors for money under false accounting. Just like modern day carillon. After the agreement, many executives retired millionairs especially ex triumph motors management. Fancy being screwed ? Investigate BL , you'll enjoy it.

[@johang7498]

So thoroughly well-researched, this and yet also entertaining to watch if you have even the slightest of interest in the topic. Well done! I always felt the marketing strategy of the early 1980s with Austin being the brand of volume models, Rover the one for upscale mid-size cars and executive cars, MG for the sporty models and Land Rover for, well Land and range rovers worked quite well as the 4 brands complemented each other and that way, Austin-Rover covered the whole market. Also, if you put the maestro in the context of 1983, I'd say it was quite a competitive car and not as old-fashioned as is often suggested later. Would the company have succeeded if they held on to that 1980s-strategy a little longer? Because it seems a lot was happening within a very short timeframe then, many decissions being made and then withdrawn or changed, which gives the impression short-term thinking was the order of the day. Likely driven by results which were not immediately how they were envisioned beforehand. If you look for example at the German brands, their reputation is a consequence of following a certain path for many years and never really deviating from that (save for the last 15 years perhaps). Just my observation.

[@abum4595]

maybe, but all that should really have been done in the 60s, not the 80s

[@richardrowland2898]

​@@abum4595 Too little, too late.

[@bruceburns1672]

It wasn't just the death of the car industry, it was the death of the Uk as a manufacturing nation, every major manufacturing industry was wiped out in the civil war between capital and Labour, the implementation to post war Britain to become a Socialist Welfare State put an end to Britain being a competitive viable manufacturing nation.

[@philpryor7524]

The U K wasn't good enough, with social dislocation, upper class ignorance and indifference, worker's alienation and chronic discontent, poltical affronts, unawareness, inadequacy, pointless personal pomposity all over, a lack of sense and the future. I drive an old, reliable Toyota...

[@bruceburns1672]

@@philpryor7524 Germany and Japan had the same social problems but their common sense overuled all their divisions so they moved forward as nations , Britain's ingrained tribalism was their downfall , and their belief in Socialism rescuing them from their economic decline .

[@philpryor7524]

@@bruceburns1672 Yes. European, USA and Japanese firms have used basically the same work base in the U K, and successfully, by civilised, sensible approaches. Old U K divisions of class certainly were regressive. Motor bikes went, all plane companies have gone...

[@lg_believe333]

@@bruceburns1672 👍

[@reverendbarker650]

You cant blame it on the welfare state, the country was in long term decline after the war and loss of empire, we only need to look at how badly most erstwhile nationalised industries have been run to realize that there is something about the average brit that is often self destructive , between them , management and unions stuffed up things right royally , we often are our own worst enemies , British industry was often complacent , lacking in funds to develop new products and lacking in vision. I worked in both private and nationalised industries in the UK in the 70s and all of them were run woefully due to the ingrained British slack attitude towards the products they made . If you were a hard worker you were told to take it easy as it made everyone else look bad.

[@Suprahampton]

Ahh the Rover 213, my dad had a 213S as a company car...

[@danielalexander8588]

The idea of a factory workers bedroom being painted in beige or burgundy is pretty funny.

[@cambs0181]

I did own one of those old rover 213s. With the exception of the leaky sunroof, quite a reliable car.

[@newforestroadwarrior]

08:30 I think the SD1 in the background is an estate. Only 5 or so were built. They were never sold to the public, but Michael Edwardes had one as a firm's car for a while.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

my dad had used 1987 Sterling 825 SL for about 6 mos. in the early 90s though got fed up with it due to electrical issues he would eventually inherit a 1984 Chevrolet Caprice which he'd drive for about 6 years until spring 2000 mind you the Sterling only sold about 36,000 units in the united states in 5 years 1987-1991 where as the Toyota Corolla of the same era sold 1,000,000 units in the US in those same five years while the Camry over the same 5 years sold 1.2 million units granted the Corolla debuted here for the 1969 model year and has sold around 14 million units in the US alone while the Camry debuted here for the 83 model year and sells about 300,000 units per year in the US roughly half of it's worldwide annual volume of 680,000 units

[@johnburns4017]

US cars in the 1970/80s were no better than British.

[@donsolaris8477]

As a child, my Parents drove me in a brand new left hand drive white 1975 Morris Marina 1.3 saloon all the way from England to Greece to deliver it to my Grand Father. It got us there ok and amazingly the car served him well without any issues for over 20 years until he passed...the import tax was another story...Before that he had another Morris 1100...no rust on either...

[@Telecolor-in3cl]

Porbably, when where not strikes, people just did the job in a good manner.

[@freddieredding4565]

British Leyland has to be the most ghetto ass car company in history.

[@DoubleOSeven007]

BL had a Buick/Rover V8 on the shelf that could have gone in the Stag, but because the two sides of the shop competed with each other, they welded two Dolomite 4-cylinder engines together instead?!!

[@williampatrickfagan7590]

I remember chairman of B L telling Red Robbie that the Japanese were going to start selling cars in the UK. Red Robbie told that to the striking workers and got a great laugh from the strikers.

[@dcanmore]

I doubt if that is correct, Japanese were selling cars in the UK since the mid '60s, before BL was even a thing. Daihatsu (1964), Toyota (1966), Datsun (1971) and Honda (1972). And by that time Japanese motorbikes had crushed the British bike industry.

[@williampatrickfagan7590]

@@dcanmore Has time dimmed my mind. I do remember the strikes by show of hand and tne rebel rouser

[@dcanmore]

@@williampatrickfagan7590 oh yes that did happen, Red Robbo on his soapbox, but the Japanese anecdote was probably something else... perhaps "Japanese building cars in the UK" ... they probably laughed at that. Edit: then came the Honda deal and the Triumph Acclaim.

[@PJWey]

Ah the Montego, the car I had the pleasure of pushing through a Burger King drive through as a 14 year old.

[@irvhh143]

17:50 the CV carburetor. This was the initial response to emission controls. A steel spring balanced against air pressure in a diaphragm chamber. It works great when new, but any tiny leak or even partial blockage of internal passages will throw it off. This was one part of the great 1980s motorcycle glut. Combined with ethanol fuel and lean jetting, the engine never ran properly, if at all.

[@peterkirgan2921]

We had a great car industry in Australia @ the time but the problem with Leyland Australia was the reason they went under was a management issue there fore they nailed their own coffin !!! The products weren't bad !!!!

[@douglassummers5928]

You have a great channel

[@wellcomel4a]

I ordered a new Ford puma on 11th Sept 2022, it was built and gate released on the 20th Jan 2023. From there it took a month to get it to flushing in the Netherlands ready for shipping to Liverpool. It arrived in Liverpool on 5th May and I can collect it on 16th May. These times are beyond a joke. Even without the chip shortage why does it take 4 months to get a car from Romania to the UK?

[@bobbobbly7900]

my english wife had an aunt who'se job it was to drive the cars off the assembly lines...they were already rusty......they also were poor quality ,had many design flaws...so glad when the japanese showed the world how to build a reliable ,safe ,modern car..they had features that the crap euro cars didn't have for years

[@markotrieste]

31:21 official photo with burnt bulbs 😂 British quality on the front page

[@RichardDzien]

20:38 It's like a Cortina and a Montego had a baby.

[@SimonHollandfilms]

bit anti union at a time when Britain was descending into the personal greed of the thatcher years. land rover, range rover, mini, mg, rovers were all good cars. the rest were terrible.

[@kennethobrien6537]

Perfect timing! Hazaa!

[@macjim]

If memory serves, the Metro was a great success so much so that it saved BL… for a short while. It was actually a good car.

[@davidty2006]

Metro went from 1980 till 1998. Pretty decent production run and might of possibly even kept going if cars didn't become the size of bloody tanks.

[@PaulioBee]

Yes, watching this generally accurate commentary, you would be forgiven from thinking that the Metro came along, didn't make much of an impact, and so the sales of the Mini went on triumphantly. While the Mini would ultimately outlast the Metro, the latter had a good run during its peak.

[@victoryepik]

One the things i realized about this is that most of the other car industries are dying too: like the Australian Italian and South American car industries

[@Telecolor-in3cl]

Italy still haves a car indistry.

[@hissingsid3907]

the only thing that killed the British car industry was the union's continual demands for higher wages and the shoddy way they built the cars when they did decide to go to work.

[@tonydoggett7627]

When you eat your Australian beef steak or New Zealand Lamb Roast, just remember the British no longer export trucks, tractors, cars & 4WD’s to balance the trade. 🇦🇺🇳🇿

[@mikehunt8823]

The uk exports £10 billion of goods to Australia every year , I think we will be ok.

[@beagsx3]

Our first ever family car was a 1.7 beige Morris marina. It had a lot of issues 😅

[@bigyin2586]

7.20 Canley is IN Coventry, not “near” it.

[@stephmaccormick3195]

Amazing analysis.