Old British cars were shit. Discuss.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I firmly believe that Mrs Thatcher was right to offload BL, and correct in allowing the Japanese to set up factories here. It seems that our manufacturers just never learned from their mistakes and the build quality - particularly BL - was nothing short of a scandal.

I bought 100+ 1970's Popular Motorist mags last week. Reading those reminds you just how bad British cars were. The 1975 Austin 2200HL Wedge where, after the customary failures of the alternator, starter, heater blower (including a small wiring fire), head gasket, power steering pump etc in the first two months, the steering rack fell off resulting in a near accident. The retaining bolts actually fell out. Then the gearbox input shaft nut unwound, machining a hole in the transfer case resulting in a massive oil leak.

All within a year.

[Jerzy Woking]

British motorcycles went through a similar decline, just sat back on their laurels. The bikes produced weren't inherently bad, such as the Triumph Trident, just badly built and with shocking senior management.

[mercrocker]

Putting talented engineers such as Turner and Issigonis in charge of men and finances was a bad move.

[AutoshiteBoy]

I firmly believe that Mrs Thatcher was right to offload BL, and correct in allowing the Japanese to set up factories here. It seems that our manufacturers just never learned from their mistakes and the build quality - particularly BL - was nothing short of a scandal.

I bought 100+ 1970's Popular Motorist mags last week. Reading those reminds you just how bad British cars were. The 1975 Austin 2200HL Wedge where, after the customary failures of the alternator, starter, heater blower (including a small wiring fire), head gasket, power steering pump etc in the first two months, the steering rack fell off resulting in a near accident. The retaining bolts actually fell out. Then the gearbox input shaft nut unwound, machining a hole in the transfer case resulting in a massive oil leak.

All within a year.

Reading the current JLR woes, nothing has changed. I've spoken with a senior Toyota man and he tells me JLR don't check components with any sense of getting cars right first time. Dreadful.

My old boss, who has sold cars from the late '60s to the present day said the absolute high water mark was Honda involvement. Obviously this came and went. Like Longbridge. No aspect of British cars were immune, ROLLS ROYCE was same.

[AutoshiteBoy]

I think the only man who was prepared to tackle it was Sir John Egan.

[SiC]

But was American cars of that era any better? I have read that they fell apart in the 70s badly. My dad used to be in the US for long periods in the 80s and he always says that the hire cars he had out there were all falling to bits or broken in the space of a few months. By the 90s and 00s they really started turning out durable products again. Recently it appears (like many other Western manufacturers) that quality is sliding again.

French cars in the late 90s and 00s were pretty dreadful too. They've for the most part turned it around now.

Difference between other countries and the UK, they had the cash (whether from past success in the bank or government bailout) and willing public to keep buying their products and so they could start to turn it around. Problem is that now in the UK the know-how to build vehicles is disappearing and it's going to be incredibly unlikely we'd ever have a new British car maker appear here again. Not least Europe is starting to see the Chinese automotive invasion that has a lot of similarities with the Japanese automotive invasion.

Look at BYD, excellent value cars that are built decently and drive reasonably well. Tbh the remaining European car manufacturers need to get themselves in order quick as they'll be shat all over by foreign competition.

I see similarities with Europe/German manufacturers clinging on to their combustion engine technologies rather than the confidence to move to full electric propulsion. Like British manufacturers were still clinging onto SU carbs, leaded fuel and no catalytics while Europe/USA was rapidly moving to fuel injection and newer more advanced engines.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

US stuff was mechanically robust though.

I give Ford ten years before they fold and becomes a badge on something Stellantis. They have no USP.

Getting back to British stuff, the other BL stuff was just as bad. There was a letter from some guy who bought a new Dolomite 1850 auto that had three new gearboxes under warranty

I’ll have to screenshot and post some.

[SiC]

There were similar I've read on Dolomite Sprints. Two new gearboxes at under 30k iirc.

There were durable drivetrains out there, the Dolomite being a bit more exotic than most of the BL stuff of the time.

[LynehamHerc]

The MGB had a durable drivetrain.

[Warren t claim]

The Dagenham built 1300 base model Mk3 Cortinas Grandad_Claim bought for his reps always ran faultlessly for their three year/60000 mile tour of duty.