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Originally Posted by marinabrian
Take a look HERE
It may be something you've read before, but nonetheless interesting, including the comments left by the readers of the article.
If nothing else, MGJohn will find a lot which resonates.
Brian  |
Can't remember the title but some years ago I read a revealing book about the merger of our motor industry into British Leyland. The conclusion was that Donald Stokes had the impossible task of combining and rationalising some 40 separate plants from Austin and Morris to Land Rover and Leyland trucks into a cohesive whole. None of the chiefs would relinquish their segment - William Lyons undersold the Jag and the Mini made a profit of £35 on each one sold. I may be wrong here but I don't believe that Red Robbo or anyone else from the union side ever was involved in design investment decisions - appalling management must take the major share of the blame. (I recently ran a Stag which should of course have had the Buick bought-in RV8 but internal marque competition stopped it.) Need I go on?
But then the UK has never valued engineering, at least since the steam age. Look at today: so called
British Steel in administration as I write. Is the City going to step up to the plate? Is it . . . Some Turkish fund may or may not buy it. And now we're immersed in B . . . t.