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Austin Maxi
The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It was the first British five-door hatchback. British Leyland built and sold the Maxi alongside the 1971 Morris Marina and 1973 Austin Allegro. All three were replaced by the 1982 Austin Maestro. History The Maxi (code name ADO14) was the last car designed under the British Motor Corporation (BMC) before it was incorporated into the new British Leyland group, and the last production car designed by famed designer Alec Issigonis. It was the first car to be launched by British Leyland. Originally, under BMC's plan for its new model range, which it had been developing since 1965, the Maxi was to have been called the "Austin 1500" on its spring 1969 launch, and a saloon version the "Morris 1500" was to follow in the autumn. However, upon the merger of BMC and Leyland the new management abandoned the four-door saloon notchback and developed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited, keeping its separate identity. The marque Austin was used until 1987. The trademark is currently owned by the Chinese firm SAIC Motor, after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive which had acquired it with MG Rover Group in July 2005. History 1905–1918: Formation and development While running the original Wolseley business, which had a highly cyclical sales pattern, Herbert Austin searched for products with a steady demand. Starting in 1895, he built three cars in his free time. They were among Britain's first cars. The third car, a four-wheeler, was completed in 1899. By 1901 his fellow directors could not see future profit in motor vehicles and so with their blessing and the backing of the Vickers bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February 1952; pg. 9; Issue 52248 BMC acquired the shares in Morris Motors and the Austin Motor Company. Morris Motors, the holding company of the productive businesses of the Nuffield Organization, owned MG, Riley, and Wolseley. The agreed exchange of shares in Morris or Austin for shares in the new holding company, BMC, became effective in mid-April 1952. In September 1965, BMC took control of its major supplier of bodies, Pressed Steel, acquiring Jaguar's body supplier in the process. In September 1966, BMC absorbed with Jaguar Cars. In December 1966, BMC changed its name to British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH).British Motor Takes That New Label ''The Times'', Thursday, 15 December 1966; pg. 17; Issue 56815 BMH merged, in May 1968, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coke Bottle Styling
Coke bottle styling is an automotive body design with a narrow center surrounded by flaring fenders which bears a general resemblance to a Coca-Cola classic glass contour bottle design. It was introduced by industrial designer Raymond Loewy on the radical 1962 Studebaker Avanti gran turismo. The design was pioneered in fighter jets as a way of greatly reducing the sharp drag rise that occurs at transonic speed and supersonic speeds. Using this design often results in a pinch-waisted fuselage shape that National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labeled the design principle ' area rule,' and variously identified as coke bottle, wasp waist, or Marilyn Monroe shape. The area rule design technique is most effective between Mach 0.75 and 1.2, or at speeds in excess of . The design technique on automobiles provides a visual attraction but negligible performance improvement. Development The exotic shapes of early supersonic fighter jets had a dramatic influence on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin 3-Litre
The Austin 3-Litre is a British saloon car that was introduced by Austin at the London Motor Show in 1967. Codenamed ADO61, the car was intended to be BMC's offering in the 3-litre executive class and was originally designed in the early 1960s, before the British Leyland era. Unlike the visually similar (but smaller) front-wheel drive Morris 1800 range, the 125 bhp 3-litre engine (a 7- bearing modification of the BMC C-Series with twin SU carburettors) drove the rear wheels through a conventional 4-speed gearbox. The car used Hydrolastic suspension with self-levelling hydraulic rams at the rear and was praised for its excellent ride and handling. Alec Issigonis, who designed the front-wheel drive cars, had no part in the 3-Litre, which he was reportedly keen to point out. To cater for its intended market, the interior was luxurious, featuring wood veneers and cloth headlining (but leather upholstery was not available, being replaced with a good-quality vinyl) and the boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BMC ADO17
BMC ADO17 is the model code used by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) for a range of large family cars manufactured from September 1964 to 1975. The car was initially sold under the Austin marque as the Austin 1800, then by Morris as the Morris 1800, by Wolseley as the Wolseley 18/85, and later the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and Wolseley Six. The 1800 was voted European Car of the Year for 1965. Development The Austin 1800 was developed at BMC as a larger follow-up to the successful Mini and Austin 1100 under the ADO17 codename, ADO being an abbreviation for Amalgamated Drawing Office. Additional badge-engineered Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85 variants were launched in 1966 and 1967 respectively, catering for the BMC dealerships selling those marques. The 18/85 name had previously been used on the Wolseley 18/85 of 1938 to 1948. The car was unconventional in its appearance in 1964, with its large glasshouse and spacious, minimalist interior including leather, wood, and chrome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission system, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch (which is usually a foot pedal for cars or a hand lever for motorcycles). Early automobiles used ''sliding-mesh'' manual transmissions with up to three forward gear ratios. Since the 1950s, ''constant-mesh'' manual transmissions have become increasingly commonplace and the number of forward ratios has increased to 5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions for current vehicles. The alternative to a manual transmission is an automatic transmission; common types of automatic transmissions are the Automatic transmission#Hydraulic automatic transmissions, hydraulic automatic transmission (AT), and the continuously variable transmissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Front-wheel Drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles. Location of engine and transmission By far the most common layout for a front-wheel drive car is with the engine and transmission at the front of the car, mounted transversely. Other layouts of front-wheel drive that have been occasionally produced are a front-engine mounted longitudinally, a mid-engine layout and a rear-engine layout. History Prior to 1900 Experiments with front-wheel drive cars date to the early days of the automobile. The world's first self-propelled vehicle, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's 1769/1770 "fardier à vapeur", was a front-wheel driven three-wheeled steam-tractor. It then took at least a century, for the first e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Car Of The Year
The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Italy), '' Autocar'' (United Kingdom), '' Autopista'' (Spain), '' Autovisie'' (Netherlands), '' L'Automobile Magazine'' (France), '' Stern'' (Germany) and '' Vi Bilägare'' (Sweden). The voting jury consists of motoring journalists from publications throughout Europe. Representation from each country is based on the size of the country's car market, and car manufacturing industry. There are no categories or class winners — the stated objective is to find a "single, decisive winner" among all competing cars. The 2022 ECOTY was announced on 28 February, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland, the winner being the Kia EV6. Current rules Eligible cars are new models released in the twelve months prior to the award. The award is not restricted to Europ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renault 16
The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award. Market placement In the early 1960s Renault was building a series of small cars, like the hatchback Renault 4 and rear engine Renault Dauphine and aimed to replace its larger family car, the Renault Frégate model (1951–1960) which had managed a modest production total of 163,383 units. The R16 was a great success, with 1,845,959 R16s produced during a production run of 15 years. The car sold well in most of Europe, winning praise for its spacious and comfortable interior as well as the practicality offered by its effectively unique hatchback bodystyle. It was marketed in the United States, but was not successful and only a tiny number were sold. Design Under the skin, the layout of the R16 is similar to the Citroën Traction Avant – front-wheel drive, engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Gear (1977 TV Series)
''Top Gear'' was a British motoring magazine programme created by the BBC and aired on BBC Two between 22 April 1977 and 17 December 2001. The programme focused on a range of motoring topics, the most common being car reviews, road safety and consumer advice. Originally presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne, the show saw a range of different presenters and reporters front the programme's half-hourly slots, including Noel Edmonds, Jeremy Clarkson, Tiff Needell, William Woollard and Quentin Willson. The programme proved popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and launched a number of spin-offs, including its own magazine entitled ''Top Gear Magazine''. By 1999, viewing figures in ''Top Gear'' had declined after the departure of notable presenters, leading to the BBC cancelling the programme in 2001. While a number of presenters and production staff moved over to Channel 5 to produce a new motoring programme, Clarkson and fellow presenter Andy Wilman convinced the BBC to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheelbase (TV Series)
''Wheelbase'' is a BBC television series circling about cars, that was broadcast on BBC2 between 1964 and 1975. Presenters Amongst its presenters were Gordon Wilkins between 1964 and 1973 and Cliff Michelmore. The show was the predecessor of ''Top Gear''. History Wheelbase was amongst the first programmes in the United Kingdom to be shown in colour during BBC2's "colour launching period". ''Wheelbases coverage of Formula One motor racing in the late 1960s was repeated during 2007 on United Kingdom satellite channel ESPN Classic ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%). The channel was originally la .... The programmes were transmitted largely as originally broadcast, but with occasional captions to put period commentary into context. References External links 1964 British television series debuts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longbridge
Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire. Public Transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coaches and National Express West Midlands passing through it with destinations including Birmingham City Centre, West Bromwich and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston. West Midlands Railway serves Longbridge railway station on the Cross City Line, with destinations at Redditch or Bromsgrove and Four Oaks or Lichfield with connections to Hereford and Nottingham at University station or nationwide at Birmingham New Street station. In 2020 a large multi-storey carpark was built near Longbridge station as a park and ride facility to reduce car journeys into the city centre. Some improvements to Longbridge station were also carried out in 2020 though one side of the station remains without a lift facility. Situation Longbridge is surrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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