Auntie beeb does the classics.

[gforceg]

I wonder if someone at the Beeb reads this section of PH.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17693856

[anonymous-user]

As child of 60s Birmingham, and of a man who worked in the car industry from the early 60s to the early 90s, this is wonderful stuff, thanks!

[task]

Nice video, thanks

[felixlighter]

What ever happened to "robbo"?

[anonymous-user]

My dad almost punched him (true). They were pulled apart by colleagues on both sides.

[dave stew]

felixlighter said:

What ever happened to "robbo"?

C*nts like him destroyed the British motor industry.

[anonymous-user]

He was assisted in his task by Lord Stokes, by short term thinking by banks, and by shareholders demanding dividends instead of investment in retooling and the like. The industry was destroyed from both ends, not just by a few union agitators.

[LordBretSinclair]

Breadvan72 said:

He was assisted in his task by Lord Stokes, by short term thinking by banks, and by shareholders demanding dividends instead of investment in retooling and the like. The industry was destroyed from both ends, not just by a few union agitators.

Don't forget that baard Michael Edwardes, the hatchet man brought in to get rid of MG

[anonymous-user]

Edwardes was a skilled surgeon brought in too late to save the patient. MG should have been killed years before - it hadn't made a decent car for ages, and ended up as a sad bit of badge engineering. BL should have focussed on Triumph as the sporty brand. Selling Triumphs against MGs under one umbrella was mega daft.

[LordBretSinclair]

Breadvan72 said:

BL should have focussed on Triumph as the sporty brand.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

At least the MG brand is still alive and kicking, and winning BTCC races.

[anonymous-user]

Or they could have biffed Triumph and promoted MG, but to do that they would have needed something to replace the MGB and its variants, which had been kept in the marketplace without significant development for too long. Hotboxing and badging up Metros and Maestros and Montegos was not the answer. As it was, they let the Triumph marque fizzle out on a rebadged Honda Ballade, which then became a Rover, although the Honda alliance was a good idea and saved the factories for quite a while.

[PlayersNo6]

LordBretSinclair said:

Don't forget that baard Michael Edwardes, the hatchet man brought in to get rid of MG

He did save Jaguar though. There is a book with an excellent account of it - can't remember if it was the same one as 'Project XJ40' or not

[PlayersNo6]

"BL should have focussed on Triumph as the sporty brand"

Agreed. As a youngster, obviously putting actual performance aside, Triumph had a very cool range in the 70s - Spitfire, Dolomite Sprint, TR7, Stag and 2000 saloon. OK, the Toledo looked a bit pedestrian but looked a quality product next to a MkII Escort or Marina. Even the older GT6 still looked good (there was a powder blue K plate round the corner from me)

IMO they were the BMW of their day.

Even though I like them now - at the time, chrome bumpered MGs looked old fashioned and the rubber bumper versions just looked odd.

[anonymous-user]

The Dolomite was sold against the BMW 2002, and the Triumph 2000 against bigger BMWs and Audis of the era.