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Post by D.C. Burtonshaw on Feb 8, 2021 16:33:53 GMT
Great to see the comparisons of the two car dealers with the same locations in modern times, although sad to see the old houses and original Ford garage long gone, the area looks completely unrecognisable now. The Cortinas all parked together reminds one of the scene from Carry on Cabby.
Nice to see the old VW dealer building not being much different though.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Feb 8, 2021 19:02:44 GMT
The ADO71 Morris 1800.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Feb 8, 2021 20:13:22 GMT
Big heavy, ugly things the 1800/2200, but very strongly made cars with a lot of interior space. They just look so...............ordinary and boring compared to a Cortina/Granada/Victor. My dad almost bought one in '72 but thankfully went for the Victor!
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Post by Cartman on Feb 8, 2021 23:17:48 GMT
It was a massive cock up by BMC. The 1800 was intended to replace the Austin A60/Morris Oxford by expanding the 1100, about the same step up as the 1100 had been from the Mini, and using a transverse version of the 1622cc engine. However, the B series had just been enlarged to 1798cc for the MGB, so they decided to use the new version instead, which gave Issigonis scope to design a bigger car than was needed, and the weight was increased, so the extra muscle of the 1.8 litre engine could cope. 1800cc was also more than the middle range car needed and it left a big gap in the range.
Sales flopped so much that BMC had to keep the A60/Oxford in production alongside the new car, and the A60 easily outsold its intended replacement.
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Post by Three Litre on Feb 9, 2021 8:08:39 GMT
It was a massive cock up by BMC. The 1800 was intended to replace the Austin A60/Morris Oxford The A60 was a much nicer looking beast, I'm sure my grandad had one. Most of UK motor industry seemed to make serious mistakes, IMO. I guess a lot of industries do but the country went through a bad patch after the war, poorly led and disruptive union troubles. Both sides at fault, along with the government. We not that good at working together except in a sudden real crisis like a world war. Or maybe, to a lesser extent, a pandemic. Good input as usual Carty, thanks!
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Post by Cartman on Feb 9, 2021 11:58:12 GMT
The A60 was a better car, I drove one a few times. BMC actually went from bad to worse with their next attempt to replace it, as when they realised that the 1800 wouldn't do the job, their next idea was to cut the 1800 down to something a bit smaller, which resulted in the Maxi. They insisted on using the 1800s doors though, which meant it couldn't be made that much smaller.
This was even more of a sales flop than the 1800 had been, so, once more, the A60 had to be kept going along its second attempted replacement and it was left to the Marina to finally kill it off in 1971
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Post by Sam Tyler on Feb 9, 2021 22:19:35 GMT
The A60 and its variants were a solid and comfy car. My brother first had the Morris Oxford version in 1979 then after accidentally beaching it (literally on a stony beach off of a promenade) he replaced it with the Wolseley 16/60. This was a column change auto and was the second car that I ever drove. The first was the driving school Fiesta, then I borrowed the Wolseley to drive Annie back to her parent's home one snowy night.
To say that it was better appointed after driving the Fiesta would be an understatement, supple leather seats, polished wood dash, smooth automatic transmission - it certainly made an impression on young master Tyler and would get borrowed at a moment's notice.
Sam.
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Post by Cartman on Feb 10, 2021 14:34:36 GMT
The 1800 and Maxi weren't the end of BMC incompetence either, the doors for it were used once again in another development, the Austin 3 litre, which was another sales fiasco. This time it was used as the basis of a replacement for the big Austin A110 Westminster/Wolseley. The 3 litre straight six was fitted in an extended 1800 body with a longer boot, driving the rear wheels. By the time it was ready the Rover and Triumph 2000s had the market for these cars sewn up and less than 10000 of the 3 litre cars were sold in three years. There seemed to be doubts about it right at the start as it didn't go on sale after the launch, instead a small group of selected customers ran them as a kind of proving exercise.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Feb 10, 2021 19:28:24 GMT
ADO 28 - Morris Marina. 1.3 Fast? 0 - 60 in 15.8 seconds & Top Speed 84MPH 1.8 Faster? 0 - 60 in 13.8 seconds & Top Speed 95MPH 1.8TC Good Morning Officer? 0 - 60 in 11.7 seconds & Top Speed 100MPH
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Post by Cartman on Feb 10, 2021 20:04:04 GMT
I actually like Marinas a bit. I drove a 1.3 once and they were reasonable sellers and were easy to work on. I thought the 2 door version was quite stylish
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