The Most REBADGED Car in British History?

Comments · 138

• JO

  @JohnSmith-ky6hq · 2 months ago

  There weren’t 6 dealerships, Morris, MG, Wolseley & Riley were often in the same dealer, while Austin and Vanden Plas were also sold through the same showrooms.

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• JI

  @jimbrand2806 · 2 months ago

  If we are talking about ADO16, why are we seeing photos of other makes and models?

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• MA

  @MarkHerzog-k7h · 2 months ago

  Where do you think the VW group got the idea for Audi, Skoda, VW, SEAT etc all using the same basic car and selling the cars to different markets?

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• RB

  @RBAILEY57 · 2 months ago

  On its introduction in 1962, the ADO-16 was ahead of its time. In the long run, it was a casualty of the British Leyland merger.

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• JO

  @johnroach4291 · 2 months ago

  The badge engineering was the right thing to do, it traversed the British class system and sold a lot of cars. so clever its used today  by most manufacturers

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• SI

  @simonhodgetts6530 · 2 months ago

  It's basically what Stellantis are doing now. Admittedly, the differentiation between models goes deeper than just a grille and a badge, but, Peugeot, Citroen / DS, Opel, Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Lancia - all basically the same car with slightly different front and rear ends.

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• HO

  @homeideas2885 · 2 months ago

  The merger between Austin and Morris in 1952 was not forced on them by the government.......

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• TR

  @trevorchambers1812 · 2 months ago

  The caption "Austin and Morris virtually identical" ironically floats over an interior shot of the Series II Morris Cowley - a car that was entirely Morris in design but appeared after the BMC merger with the same engine as fitted to the contemporary A40 Cambridge.  It should not be forgotten that Rootes Group also followed the BMC pattern of "badge-engineering" similar designs and for largely the same reason, that of economics and the not insignificant consideration of keeping dealerships happy.  GMC, Chrysler and to a lesser extent Ford, did the same kind of thing in America.   Really, the offering of, say ADO16, in so many guises was no different to there being 27 versions of the Ford Capri, it was about enabling buyers to choose the level of sportiness, economy of purchase or equipment that they wanted, along with the badge they were comfortable buying.   As well as presaging "platforming" which is how most modern designs are packaged, the 1100/1300 represented an early example of a "World Car" lending itself to overseas production and overseas markets.

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• DA

  @davidbayley9588 · 1 month ago

  There was also the Italian version called Innocenti which makes 7 badges

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• PA

  @PatGlover-x3l · 2 months ago

  FOR THE TIME a truly great car.  When my friend left college, he hired one to go home, with me sharing the driving one way, and taking it back the same day.  It was the Morris Variant.  On the 300 mile journey, the needle on the speedo disappeared on the right and was never seen again!  Easily maintained 100mph+ (no motorway max speed at the time.

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• GR

  @GrumpyL5 · 1 month ago

  The Vanden Plas interior was truly beautiful. Superb quality and comfort, little fold down tables, walnut.

• JB

  @jb3222 · 2 months ago

  BMC also did pretty much the same with the last generation of the Morris Oxford / Austin Cambridge range ( A60 Farina? ), which also had MG, Riley, Wolseley and VP variants. &nbsp;I don&apos;t see an issue with the car being available with different badges, as they denoted different trim levels (with the possible exception of the Morris and Austin models). &nbsp; Each one came in one format, while rivals like Ford had different variants of their cars and called them L, GL, GLS, E, GT and so on. &nbsp;<br>Incidentally, there were no 2-door versions of the 1100 available in the UK until the Mk2 version was launched in 1967.

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