Leyland
Not their finest hour : Guy Wulfrunian
Mike Humble From personal experience, there is no customer more difficult to trade with or educate for that matter than a Bus or Coach operator. Your average road haulier for example will look for overall cost and network support before driver acceptance and a typical average car buyer tends to look for reliability and a [...]
May 1, 2013
· 
Mike Humble · 
24 Comments
Commercial Vehicles : Your help needed
Mike Humble They say that time flies, and how true is that sentiment? This month marks the 20th anniversary of the collapse of Europe’s largest truck builder – Leyland DAF. Way back in 1987, the two brands of DAF and Leyland were merged into one following the Conservative Government’s decision to start privatising the State owned-Rover [...]
February 23, 2013
· Mike Humble · 15 Comments
Commercial Vehicles : Leyland Marathon
Mike Humble tells the story of the hugely influential Leyland Marathon The start of the fightback Adapting to market changes – and fast After all the trials and tribulations over the past three decades, one of the key members of the British Leyland Motor Corporation still prospers and survives. Leyland trucks based in the Lancashire [...]
August 18, 2012
· Mike Humble · 9 Comments
Unsung Heroes : Leyland-DAF/LDV 400 – vantastic success!
A variation on a theme of our popular Unsung Heroes section. This time we pay respect to what was once ‘The biggest selling and biggest sized van in the UK’. Words: Mike Humble It’s Britain’s biggest van! Funny as it seems, but to feature a commercial vehicle in the ‘Unsung Heroes’ section actually makes perfect [...]
July 26, 2012
· Mike Humble · 22 Comments
News : LDV ‘Maxus’ goes on sale in Oz
They say Sherpa vans don’t quit… and neither do their drivers – well, here’s the proof. Vans from China’s biggest motor manufacturer are locked and loaded for launch in Australia in October after a formal sign-off ceremony in China this week. Words: Ron Hammerton A shipment of 120 LDV V80 vehicles produced by SAIC subsidiary [...]
July 24, 2012
· Keith Adams · 31 Comments
The Commercials : Leyland T45 Constructor
AROnline gets down in the dirt as we take another look at the T45 cab system Leyland introduced back in the early 80′s. Another big seller in the commercial vehicle sector was the Leyland Constructor – a range of 6 or 8 wheel vehicles up to 30 tons GVW. Mike Humble gets into gear and takes [...]
January 25, 2012
· Mike Humble · 11 Comments
The commercials : Leyland T45 Freighter
Leyland’s medium weight Freighter was the company’s bright new hope of the 1980s, combining two previous ranges into one – and putting in a strong performance in what became the fast growing sector up to 17 tons GVW. Mike Humble takes up the story. The Boxer is beaten by a new middleweight Even those unaware [...]
January 23, 2012
· Mike Humble · 22 Comments
The Commercials : Leyland T45 Cruiser
Hot on the heels of the stylish Roadtrain, and replacing the Buffalo 2 range of meduim weight artics, was the T45 Cruiser launched in 1982. Differing from the Roadtrain by only being offered with in-house power units and 4×2 axle configuration, Mike Humble tells the story. Cruising the UK’s mean streets The Leyland truck portfolio [...]
January 22, 2012
· Mike Humble · 5 Comments
The commercials : Leyland T45 Roadtrain
Many see 1980 as the start of the big product led recovery plan instigated by Sir Michael Edwardes, notably with the Austin Metro. But a few junctions up the M6 in Lancashire, another revolution was also starting. Mike Humble takes a look at the heavy end of BL with the multi-award winning Leyland Roadtrain Keep [...]
January 21, 2012
· Mike Humble · 34 Comments
The Torcars Sherpa
For those who wanted a home-from-home when they went on holiday, Torcars offered these two Sherpa-based campers. Suntor Sherpa Folllowing on from the success of their Marina-based models, Torcars introduced this full-size camper van, taking the Sherpa 215 as its basis. A fully insulated, fibreglass elevating roof, complete with side windows and ventilation grilles, gave [...]
August 5, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
BMC Sanayi TM 30 Kapali / Kamyonet
In 1964 a Turkish truck-building company (BMC Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.) was set up at Izmir (birthplace of Alec Issigonis, incidentally) in partnership with BMC to build Austin and Morris trucks under licence. The company later became independent of British Leyland, but has retained its BMC name; indeed, its recent establishment of a distribution network [...]
August 5, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Purpose built vans and pick-ups
Following the 1952 merger, BMC rationalised its van range by concentrating on the Morris models. However, in order to keep their spearate Austin and Morris dealer chains supplied, they turned again to badge engineering, with certain vans being offered under both marques with just the badges and grilles differentiating them. In August 1968, the fledgling [...]
August 5, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
The commercials : Leyland Sherpa and descendents
We all know and love it from the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, but Leyland’s Sherpa had a vitally important role in life – to beat Ford’s all-conquering Transit. And given the resources available at the time, it was a fantastic effort. Leyland’s Transit BY the late 1960s, BLMC’s offerings in the [...]
July 22, 2011
· Keith Adams · 9 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : LDV 201
The Sherpa/LDV 200/400/Pilot Convoy was a perfect example of British industry make-do-and-mend. In an ideal world, the boxy JU/J4-based van would have been replaced sometime in the early 1980s, but it ended up going on a whole lot longer… Here’s the fascinating story of one aborted attempt at replacement, and how it went on to [...]
January 5, 2010
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Sad times
Keith Adams So, it looks like it could be the end for LDV and I, for one, can’t help but feel that these are increasingly looking like desperate times for the automotive industry in the UK. I suppose that cash-strapped vehicle makers looking after their bottom lines are always going to close overseas operations (just [...]
February 24, 2009
· Keith Adams · 15 Comments
