Three Litre
Producer
Oscar 24
Posts: 3,414
Online Status:
|
Post by Three Litre on Aug 22, 2020 11:31:13 GMT
On Radio tomorrow, Sunday 23 Aug at 11 am there is an edition of The Reunion which this week is about BL. There's union guys as well as management on so could be an interesting discussion, about why so many of their cars were a bit rubbish!
|
|
Del Boy
Moderator
Posts: 9,895
Online Status:
|
Post by Del Boy on Aug 22, 2020 20:16:13 GMT
Most of the cars were pony to be fair. They just didn't keep pace with the competition. The Jap stuff nicked a large slice of thier market share in the 70s. Be interested in this documentary. Cheers Three.
|
|
Three Litre
Producer
Oscar 24
Posts: 3,414
Online Status:
|
Post by Three Litre on Aug 22, 2020 20:40:00 GMT
Be interested to hear what they say about quality.
Very poor industrial relations were part of the problem.
The country seemed to stop caring about doing a good job from the 60's onwards.
|
|
Cartman
Producer
Posts: 4,011
Online Status:
|
Post by Cartman on Aug 23, 2020 9:44:39 GMT
Poor product planning was as much of the problem. A good book on this is British Leyland, The truth about the cars by Jeff Daniel s
|
|
|
Post by Brown Granada on Aug 23, 2020 16:17:17 GMT
The trouble with BL stuff was it was outdated and old even when it was new. Build quality was crap and they didn't stand a chance against better looking cars like the MK3 Cortina or great shaped Datsuns and Toyotas. The Marinas suspension was based on the Morris Minor which had been around for ages. The build quality was so poor I've heard stories of cars turning up to dealerships with trim not fitted down one side. Sadly the truth is most of their cars weren't desirable enough and the got left behind.
|
|
Cartman
Producer
Posts: 4,011
Online Status:
|
Post by Cartman on Aug 23, 2020 18:52:29 GMT
Also the Marinas suspension was designed for the Minor, a much smaller, lighter and lower powered car.
|
|
Three Litre
Producer
Oscar 24
Posts: 3,414
Online Status:
|
Post by Three Litre on Aug 24, 2020 19:58:10 GMT
It was an interesting programme. The union rep and senior manager were really going at it! Which told you everything you needed to know, well some of it I guess. Apart from bad relations they had too many factories, too many models and were focussed on production efficiency rather than good products.
As others have mentioned on this thread the cars didn't compare well to others, didn't look good, I mean who would want a Marina as opposed to a Cortina.
They mentioned Derek "Red Robbo", one guest knew him and said he wasn't as bad as portrayed, which I can believe as I'm sure the management caused some the bad feeling by being rubbish themselves. Don't think they treated the workforce with enough respect, yes they had to reduce wastage but you need to listen and act on their grievances where relevant.
|
|
Del Boy
Moderator
Posts: 9,895
Online Status:
|
Post by Del Boy on Aug 25, 2020 12:52:51 GMT
What station was this on Three? I'll see if I can get a link.
|
|
Three Litre
Producer
Oscar 24
Posts: 3,414
Online Status:
|
Post by Three Litre on Aug 25, 2020 12:56:12 GMT
What station was this on Three? I'll see if I can get a link. BBC Radio 4
|
|
Del Boy
Moderator
Posts: 9,895
Online Status:
|
Post by Del Boy on Aug 25, 2020 13:09:18 GMT
I had a look on the BBC sounds app at the available podcasts but cant find that specific programme which is annoying.
|
|