Wheels of misfortune -- The rise and fall of the British Motor Industry

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

by Jonathan Wood. 91/2″ x 61/2″ . 250pp. (SidgwIck and Jackson Ltd, 1 Tavistock Chambers, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2SG. £15.95)

Symbolically picturing a punctured tyre, its dust-jacket proclaims this work to be the result of a quarter of a century of research, and it shows. Its author, a freelance journalist, has succeeded in squeezing the entire history of automobile manufacture in Britain, from the cycle-makers and coachbuilders of the nineteenth century to the present amalgamation of the home-owned sector under the Rover Group banner, into a volume whose sheer density of information is astonishing. As a result, perhaps, of having to fit so much into a limited amount of space, this solid-feeling tome does not always succeed in putting across answers to the many questions it poses.

The reasons for the industry’s growth and later decline are there, certainly, but are sometimes lost in the chronology. Since this is clearly a volume for the serious student of industry and economics, it concentrates unashamedly on the written word. Two sections of black-and-white photographic plates consist merely of portraits and stock pictures of the most significant cars— shapes which illustrate design advances but can add little for those already familiar with model lines.

As a straight historical account the book cannot be faulted. Every important entrepreneur, designer or manager merits a personal potted biography within the body of the text, every model range is evaluated, and Wood has all the production facts and figures the reader could ever require at his fingertips. Historically well-researched and also impressively up-to-date, this will clearly remain a vital reference source for many years to come. GT