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Braking Point
Why the once-superb British car industry has hit the skids
BY DAVID MENZIES
For a nation that once was home to a car company called Triumph, the sad fact is the British auto industry is perhaps best described as a tragedy. And today, what’s left of it is mostly in the hands of foreigners.
Decades ago, the Brits were hailed for sexy sports cars that featured ingenuity and superb styling. But things quickly devolved, and British sports cars were later best known for their hopeless designs, shoddy workmanship and mechanical unreliability of biblical proportions.
Pity. After all, British sports cars were once part of the pop culture milieu. Whether it was the Aston Martin DB5 in the 1964 James Bond flick Goldfinger or the Minis used in The Italian J ob (1969), Union Jack rides were part of the “Cool Britannia” movement.
But by the 1970s, when most U.K. auto manufacturing was under the umbrella of British Leyland, a gruesome one-two punch virtually annihilated the industry.
First up: Union entitlement. When the British auto unions were at their power-tripping worst, there was no grievance too trivial that wouldn’t result in the rank and file walking off the job.
Then there was idiotic management, which seemed to work according to the business acumen of “If things ever get really dire, we can always count on a government-funded bailout.” (Sound familiar?)
TRIUMPH A TRAGEDY
In a recent BBC documentary, Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson notes that the poster boy for everything that was wrong with the British auto industry during the Sad-Sack Seventies was the Triumph Stag sports car. True, there was much that was right about the Stag — it boasted splendid Italian styling, and its “slick gearbox” and “light steering” made it fun to drive.
Indeed, the Stag was perhaps the best car ever manufactured by British Leyland. But as Clarkson adroitly notes, such a compliment is along the lines of saying the best song Michael Batt ever recorded was Remember You’re a Womble. (Google that title to fully comprehend the horror.)
Clarkson notes that  the Stag was riddled with faults, “chief among which was that rather important component called simply ‘the engine.’”
When the Stag was designed, he noted, Triumph had access to a remarkable 3.5-liter Buick V8. But that power plant was inexplicably passed over for a couple of four-cylinder engines welded together. The engine that resulted was anemic and prone to overheating.
MARRY WISELY
Although British Leyland was the world’s fifth-largest car company in its heyday, a popular joke when it came to British-made cars was that if you planned to own one, make sure your spouse is a mechanic.
For all its might, British Leyland was dysfunctional because of infighting among its various divisions. Thus, the most deadly rival for the Triumph 2000 was its brother, the Rover 2000; the MG went head-to-head with its sister, the Triumph Spitfire; and so on. …
While British Leyland is long gone, in its wake is a British car industry characterized by non-British ownership, British-built “foreign” cars and various low-volume niche sports car manufacturers.
INVASION OF THE ISLES
Jaguar is now owned by India’s Tata Motors. Founded in 1922, Jaguar was also part of British Leyland in the 1970s, a time when Jag quality nose-dived. Sold to Ford in 1989, this sick cat remained unprofitable until Tata acquired the company in 2008. (The good news: Tata has promised to inject serious money into Jaguar to make it a player once again.)
Mini, meanwhile, is now a BMW brand. While the original was an example of swinging ’60s style, the Mini, too, was a victim of British Leyland mismanagement. But kudos to the folks at Bimmer: Today’s beefed-up MINI is a home run. Rolls-Royce is also now a BMW brand, and Bentley is Volkswagen property.
While the British auto industry still exists, much of it, alas, isn’t all that British anymore.
David Menzies writes about the auto industry for Boomer from Toronto. Contact him at
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Central Virginia British Car Club
“You don’t even need to own a British car to join,” says Jim Godwin, president of the area’s British Car Club. To be part of the group, you just need an interest in the different makes and models of European classics.
The club’s 200 members meet once a month and have exclusive access to expert advice and assistance with their vehicles. The club sponsors road rallies, afternoon cruises, weekend excursions and other events. Members are often invited to area garages for a mechanical or electrical demonstration on their cars.
The club’s signature event, Classics on the Green, will be held Sept. 19. The annual car show (formerly Classics on the James) has a new location at New Kent Winery, located off State Route 106, near Exit 211 of Interstate 64. Spectators can expect 3,000 to 4,000 British and European antique and classic cars on display.
If you’re interested in joining Central Virginia British Car Club, log on to www.cvbcc.com to download an application. The site also has a calendar of other car shows and events.
— Briana Easter
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