Comments by "Zetectic" (@zetectic7968) on "Number 27" channel.

  1. The British car industry was mismanaged into the grave. It was bad management that produced the militant unions. You are correct about the effects from WW2. There was a chronic lack of investment in all industries post war & especially the 1950s & 60s. The attitude of management was, we can continue producing the way we did before the war. The result was to treat the customer with contempt, you will buy what we produce or go without. When the Mini appeared it competed against the Ford Popular & the Morris Minor! With BL it was pure mismanagement and an obsession with making money out of the car buyer rather than produce good reliable vehicles, making them pay for extras i.e. a clock or radio. Because of import restrictions the Japanese manufacturers mainly imported the higher specification cars, so radios were standard. The other foolish decision for British made cars was the multitude of models & trim levels of just 1 car: engine 1100 cc, 1300, 1500 & 1800; basic trim, mid-level i.e. with a clock, top level with maybe leather seats & a radio & probably a rev counter and overdrive or a 5 speed gearbox. Heated rear windows being an extra or standard only on top models, and that ignores the choice of wheel trims. So many other examples which meant long delays getting the car you wanted from the factory to the dealership - 1,2 or 3 month's delay. Oh Ive forgotten all the paint colours & the extra fee to have metallic paint & that being limited to a few colours. Underseal was extra. Faced with a plethora of choices Brits picked the simpler option of getting a Japanese or German car knowing it was more reliable & better featured.
    1