Now widely seen as a joke car by the general public, who misunderstood the market it was aimed at, the Morris Marina sold well in comparison with its British Leyland stablemates. How successful […]
In the late-1970s, BL invested in its future by looking at the next step in engineering design. Under the leadership of Spen King, British Leyland Technology was created, and out of it came some fascinating projects, including the lightweight ECV3 prototype. […]
It’s the 20th anniversary of the MINI (R50) going on sale – how time flies – and, to mark the occasion, Keith Adams takes out 30 minutes to chat to […]
AROnline’s historian-in-residence, Ian Nicholls, dusts off his archive once again and plays devil’s advocate to discuss whether the late Tony Benn’s socialist plan for BL was right all along… Call […]
Bill McWilliam, a former Nissan UK and Nissan Motor GB employee, recounts the interesting and sometimes turbulent story of Octav Botnar’s reign at the top of the British motor industry. […]
The most comprehensive story you’ll ever read about the aborted 9X programme – the ill-fated Mini replacement, engineered by the man who created the original. […]
What’s left to be said about the Allegro – it never met sales predictions, earned a terrible reputation in the press and with buyers, and its fame far exceeded its influence in the automotive industry. British Leyland threw everything into making it a success, and yet failed dismally… […]
The Range Rover’s launch in 1970 came after a long lead-up as the company grappled with the issue of building an additional model that was more-road focused than the agricultural […]
Into the future, with Spen King ‘The next Rover model will be very much a Rover car. It will be better than previous Rovers. A lot better, actually.’ Rover-Triumph head […]
An interview with the man behind many of the company’s greatest cars – and a few that you might not immediately associate with him…. Interviewed by Keith Adams, 13th December […]
Ian Nicholls recounts the life and achievements of Rover engineering genius, Peter Wilks. […]
Featuring five-door supercar-aping styling, and one of the nicest engine notes ever to grace an executive car, the Rover SD1 has a place in the hearts of many car enthusiasts […]
Keith Adams recalls Sir Michael Edwardes, the Chairman and Chief Executive of British Leyland’s turbulent ride at the top of the company. It might have been a rough ride for […]
The Mini is 60 years old this week. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. […]
George Turnbull was a key player in the British Leyland story following its formation in 1968, but was never given the top job which he so richly deserved. His was […]
In this article dated 21 June 1971 from The Guardian, Lord Stokes gives vent about the present and future of British Leyland Motor Corporation. It’s more of a stream of consciousness […]
After enjoying a motor industry career spanning six decades – most of it with Rover – long-serving public relations boss, Denis Chick, has finally decided to hang up his automotive […]
Here’s an intriguing documentary on the early years of the Hyundai Motor Company, and how former Austin-Morris Managing Director, George Turnbull, spearheaded the creation of this car manufacturing giant in […]
Keith Adams gives the Internet’s most detailed account of the Triumph SD2. What it should have looked like, what lay under the skin and, ultimately, why it was cancelled so late […]
Sir Alec Issigonis: an insight into the great man, from an interview originally published in Autocar magazine to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Mini. […]
The Harold Musgrove interview is the one you’ve been waiting for. He was Chairman of the Austin Rover Group between 1982 and ’86, and now he shares his unique insight […]
AROnline is sad to report the passing of legendary Finnish rally driver Timo Makinen on 4 May 2017, aged 79. Among his achievements were a hat trick of wins in the […]
On 26 April 1977, the Ryder Report was submitted for government approval. In it, were detailed breakdowns of what funding British Leyland would need, both to survive in the short term, and then deliver in the more distant future. […]
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