1982 austin rover commercial

[Doomsday2060]

FAMILY CAR.

LUXURY CAR.

COME DOWN TO TERRY TIBBS AUTOCADE.

[sgb300]

Isn't he in Emmerdale now?

[Paddy075]

Well its said in some quarters that the merger of Austin and Morris was a huge mistake. Okay hindsight is easy and what is really clear is that if Austin alone was allowed to go with Ford and Morris with GM it would have consolidated the skills of the British Engineers with a viable global operation. The car industry is important as it employs a lot of people and after housing ourselves the next biggest thing we spend out money on is some form of transport.

[kernals12]

here are all the bad car choices BL made

Morris Minor Replaced by Morris Marina

Austin 1100 Replaced by Austin Allegro

Jaguar E Type Replaced by Jaguar XJS

but the worst one was the one that thank god didn't happen

Mini almost replaced by Metro

[themaneatingchimp]

@kernals12 Sorry to correct you, the Morris Marina was never ever a replacement for the Morris Minor, the Marina was a replacement for the Farina range of cars, Morris Oxford, Austin A60 Cambridge, Wolseley 16/60 all finished production in 1971 [ Riley 4/68, MG Magnette IV, ceased production in 1969]

This is a common myth that is perpetuated by Wikipedia [and lazy journalists] The Morris Minor became simply absorbed into the other cars from British Leyland and never ever directly replaced.

[Paddy075]

@themaneatingchimp You are probabbly right, the thing is the way the Marina was just a square Minor. Minor suspension, trunnions and torsion, dangerous handeling. The gearbox couldn't take 1300cc never mind 1800cc, they were known for breaking the gearboxes and the prop-shafts. The engines were out of date too, long pushrods and a recessed combustion chamber. When you compare to an Avenger there is no competition.

[themaneatingchimp]

@Paddy075 Thanks for the reply, in "A" series 1.3 form the engine wore pretty well (discontinued in 2000) but the "B" series1.8 was really on borrowed time even from the cars launch.

If the Marina had only been the stop gap it was first intended to be (5/6 years production at best) then perhaps the critics would have looked more kindly on the car, in truth it lasted to long the "O" series OHC engine didn't arrive untill 78, at least 2 years after the car was originally set to finish production.

[rich17279]

@kernals12 You're right, BL really wanted to stop production of the mini as it was quite a difficult car to build compared to the metro

[kernals12]

@rich17279 and because they were idiots

[timpriddy73]

HE WAS IN THE SWEENEY

[PGPyramid1]

That car showroom looks like a scrapyard now.



[MrDischargeandi]

so ashamed i love the TR7. its a bit like saying your HIV positve after swingers do; when your a mechanic it makes you want to hide!!!!

[linkinpark53236]

i love mini

[radleytube]

BRILLIANT!  quality British cars

[radleytube]

BRILLANT! quality British cars

[vincelockyer]

he never mentioned the lovely Morris Ital, I wonder why :)

[orlando318]

even then, the design looked hopelessly outdated......No wonder the british car industry is buried now......

[discocreator76]

@orlando318 If you look at other cars from other makers at the time, they weren't that outdated, they weren't even as badly made as everyone made out (apart from the Metro that rusted like hell)...

[joluqa]

These cars were a beauty we use to see them in every road in Malta and there are still some running.thanks for the upload.

[mrspivvy]

In their defence, Itals-although old fashioned- were dirt cheap at the time. a cortina sized car for basic escort money

[kazimann]

Does anyone else think the front of the Ambassador looks like the front of a Ford Escort Mk3?

[vitorskoda]

That Ambassador trunk makes quite a clunk when closing...! And the Ital in the end must be in the worst color in a car I've ever seen and doesn't help the old Ital one bit!! I didn't mind to have any of them though...!

[jemimallah]

@vitorskoda they called it "mercury poisoning grey"

[horracewimp]

Great video thanks for uploading

[mrspivvy]

People are quick to knock these cars, but having been there at the time, they DID sell. the streets were full of Metros, it was a genuinely desireable car at the time. it was a good few years before rusting became a major issue

[1100HondaCB]

@rendton What was good about the engines? The design was a bit outdated, considering it was basically the old Marina. The vinyl roof on some models was gastly. Why did they do that?

[1100HondaCB]

1982 was the last year of the TR7. The Ital was gastly. The MG Metro could have been fun if it didn't fall apart. The Acclaim was a nippy little number with its twin carb 1275cc Honda unit. The Maestro that came out a year later was a rust bucket. The turbo version was frightingly fast, but rusted like hell.

[meowthx1985]

Rodney Blackstock advertising Austin cars wow!

[jaggass]

it looked like that triumph acclaim red (honda ballade) was going to crash into that beige metro before they cut that scene.

[drc911]

@jaggass With the quality of the breaks I don´t think so :)

[BillznDealz]

lol the ital disgusting

[carzmine9]

NICE !!!!!!!!

[RetroCool73]

Rodney Blackstock flogged British Leyland cars for years did he....

[kazimann]

The Triumph Acclaim was the only decent car in this, mainly because it was a Honda Ballade.

[LaugermanPROductions]

Wasen't the Triumph Acclaim the only relaible British Leyland car of the 80s?

[Glenn1967ful]

@LaugermanPROductions

And the Honda engined Rover 213, light years ahead of anything else they made, although the Rover V8 was tempting if you had the cash.

[1100HondaCB]

@LaugermanPROductions Yes, I think so. My dad had one and it was a superb car, but not particularly attractive to look at, but was good fun to drive.

[thesupahfly]

Patrick Mower?

[darrowby1972]

Sadly yes!

[PatrickIngham21]

im proud to own 2 Austin Rover cars at the moment, the Ambassador & an MG Montego :) fab cars i love them!

[joh2]

The dressed up SD1 at the end was no gimmick - they were regularly used as touring cars on European racetracks in the 80s...

[bajabusta]

hahaha, the 'acclaim' is just a rebadged Honda. I did not know this...

[supertrix101]

@bajabusta But at least it was reliable, perhaps it should have been sold as a Morris or an Austin

[GRAHAM5020]

@supertrix101 I used to work in a Austin/Rover dealership in the early eighties, and i can honestly say the Triumph Acclaim was a very reliable small saloon...i liked them, and they sold well, it was what buyers wanted. 

[kazimann]

@bajabusta Yeah, but no doubt the most reliable 'Triumph' ever made!

[uzzle65]

@kazimann the Triumph Acclaim wasn't a real Triumph. The best Triumph was the Mark 2 2000/2500TC I jnow I had several!