Morris 1100 (ADO 16)

A little history

Though success was somewhat long to come for the Mini, its designer Alec Issigonis knew that he was on the right path and decided to follow the same lines for his next project, the compact ADO 16 saloon.

The car appeared in August 1962 as the Morris 1100. Its engine was placed at the front in a transversal position, and drove the front wheels. Coupled with a very short boot, this made for a compact yet extremely spacious car. Its most original technical feature was its Hydrolastic suspension, an advanced interconnected fluid system that reconciled comfort and handling. Disk brakes were fitted at the front, still a rare equipment on a popular car. For the ADO 16’s four-door body, BMC renewed its confidence to Pininfarina.

The Morris 1100 combined many qualities in a single package, and was rightly awarded a Car of Year prize in 1964. In the meantime, the original car had been rebadged to be included in the ranges of two more BMC manufacturers: Austin (again called the 1100), MG (a refined variant) and Vanden Plas (as the luxurious Princess). Choice later expanded even further with the versions proposed by Wolseley and Riley, and the addition of two-door saloons and estates. During spring of 1967, BLMC proposed the larger 1.3-litre engine, a detuned version of the Mini Cooper’s block, for its ADO 16. More surprising, an automatic transmission was a rare proposition. At the 1969 London Motor Show, Austin and Morris enjoyed new 1300 GT versions of their cars, as an answer to new sporty compact cars introduced by rivals Ford and GM in their Escort and Viva ranges, respectively.

After a long and successful career, the ADO 16 was succeeded by the Austin Allegro which, from the beginning, didn’t seem able to renew its predecessor’s achievements. Therefore the ADO 16’s production was continued for some times after the introduction of its successor, to finally end in June 1974.

About the model

Model: Morris 1100 Mark II
Year: 1967
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.86 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France

A very poor model by Ixo: no more than 8/20.

Austin FX4 “Black Cab”

A little history

The FX3 was already a legend when its replacement, the FX4, was introduced in July 1958. No one would guess back then that the new London taxi would become even more famous than its predecessor, and that its lifespan would be close to four times longer.

Still, there was nothing revolutionary about the FX4. On the contrary, this was an extremely conventional car, which used a chassis almost identical to the FX3’s one. Uncommon back then on European cars, but regarded as desirable on a taxi, the diesel engine and the automatic gearbox had already been pioneered by the FX3. Another trademark of Austin’s cabs that had remained was the very small turning radius – a London taxi “turns on a sixpence”, as the saying goes. Actually this characteristic is made mandatory by the British capital’s public transport authorities. As the legend has it, this is originally due to the narrow path with tight corners leading to the entrance of the Savoy, the most prestigious palace hotel in London.

Though the passenger compartment of the FX4, which body had been designed by Carbodies, can now be looked as typical, it was then common in taxis from most European countries: the driver was separated from its customers by a divider, the absence of a seat near him allowed to carry bulky luggage, while additional passengers could take place on two jump seats.

Designed as a very conventional vehicle as we have said, the FX4 changed little over the years. The only two conspicuous evolutions were the use of rear lights borrowed from the new ADO 16 for the sake of standardization (1968) and the replacement of the original 2.2-litre engine by a larger 2.5-litre (1971). A noteworthy trait of the car was that, due to its very long life expectancy (many FX4s’ milometers were able to approach two millions kilometres), older cars could generally be retrofitted with most small improvements later brought to the original car.

As we mentioned every time we discuss a Seventies British car, the country’s automotive industry was struggling then simply to survive. Austin had much more important things to do than caring for the relatively low-volume FX4. Would the traditional London cab simply vanish, to be replaced by converted family saloons? Fortunately this didn’t happen: in 1982, it sold all its productions dies and intellectual rights to Carbodies. The small manufacturer faced a problem nonetheless: Austin simultaneously stopped the production of its diesel engine, so a new plant had to be found. Carbodies thought an ideal replacement would be the 2.3-litre block from the Land Rover. Unfortunately FX4s so equipped didn’t give satisfaction to their operators.

In 1984, the FX4 saw yet another nameplate affixed onto it: LTI. The new company, which name stands for London Taxis International, had been created by the merger of Carbodies and the major London cabs’ operator, both companies being under the same ownership. Soon LTI addressed the car’s engine problem by replacing the 2.3-litre by a 2.5-litre, also provided by Land Rover but distinctly sturdier. Nonetheless this still wasn’t enough and – a sign of changing times – LTI turned to a Japanese engine from 1989 on, namely a 2.7-litre Nissan diesel. This larger block not only improved reliability, but also gave higher performances, which prompted the need for a new disk brakes system. Under this latest guise, the FX4 carried on for ten more years, addressing as it could the multiplying environmental rules. While prototypes for a replacement had been proposed since the Eighties by various manufacturers, it was finally LTI itself which provided the new London “black cab”, the TX, after the very last FX4 left the factory in October 1997.

About the models

Model: Austin FX4
Year: 1965
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.4 of its Taxis du Monde press series
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in October 2007, through mail from a fellow collector from Rouziers de Touraine, France

A die-cast I really wanted but had to wait for long before I put my hands onto one. No regrets when I opened the package: this is a nice model Ixo made. Nothing fancy (door handles and rear lights are moulded with the body then painted, for example), but correct all around. It's just a pity silver paint materializing the chromed rim around the windows has been applied to only five out of the car's eight windows - why? My rating is 12/20.







Model: LTI FX4
Year: 2000 (see below)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.60 of its Taxis du Monde press series
Acquired: brand new, in July 2004, in Souillac, France

Today the FX4 remains the most iconic London taxi, and many second-hand vehicles have been exported, some for collectors, other for publicity purposes. This is the case of this LTI, that can be approximately dated from the Nineties, and which Altaya chose to reproduce as a Singapore taxi - though probably authentic, not necessarily typical from the South-Asian metropolis. Anyway the model is original and... colourful! My main reproach is that though the model is recent (note the black grille, bumpers and door handles), unwilling to modify its mould Ixo kept the little round rear lights of the pre-1968 cars. This detail is nevertheless discreet so I'll still give 11/20 to it.

Triumph TR7

A little history

To replace the beautiful TR6, its iconic roadster, Triumph unveiled the TR7 coupe in September 1974. Nonetheless the TR6 would remain available until 1976 on its home market, all of the new TR7s produced heading at first to the United States, where the high demand and the income it generated were much welcomed by the faltering British Leyland corporation. Alas, this would not last. Though the wedge-shaped design of the TR7 was appreciated, its limited performances, poor building quality and increasingly high price tag due to the problematic exchange rate of the sterling pound soon capped its sales.

Triumph did its best to boost its car’s sales, but its rally racing involvement, the addition of a convertible version and a TR8 variant powered by Rover’s 3.5 litre V8 didn’t help much. The last TR7 was produced in October 1981, and wasn’t replaced. Triumph itself was sadly agonizing. Within a few months, the old company was reduce to producing a rebadged Honda, the Acclaim, which wasn’t as well received as its name could have let hope. When the Acclaim was retired in mid-1984, its replacement would be the Rover 200: Triumph was gone.

About the model

Model: Triumph TR7 V8
Year: 1978
Event: 1978 Manx Rally, driven by Tony Pond, navigator Fred Gallagher (finished 1st overall, thanks to José António for the info)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.24 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: second hand with stand but without box, in November 2007, from a fellow collector from Marseilles, France

Far from the Stratos and Escort, another late-Seventies rally car that is rather forgotten today. Correct, though not extraordinary. My rating is 12/20.

Austin 1800 and 2200 (ADO 17)

A little history

Shortly before the merger that would create the unfortunate British Leyland conglomerate, BMC was still a very successful carmaker. The company had released the Mini, then the 1100, two very strong sellers on the home market and, at least for the former, in foreign lands. BMC’s staff supposed that the basic recipes which had make these cars the hits they were could be applied throughout the range. This is how the ADO 17 was born.

The larger family saloons offered by BMC had been rather conventional up to then. When introduced, the ADO 17 proposed an incredibly roomy passenger compartment - thanks to the fact that it had all four wheels pushed to its corners -, front-wheel-drive and Hydrolastic suspension. Even with the help of Pininfarina, Alec Issigonic seems to have struggled to make the car presentable: it appeared as a ridiculously outgrown Mini, not exactly the kind of things BMC’s conservative customers wanted to be seen riding in.

The ADO 17 was unveiled in September 1964 as the 4-cylinder Austin 1800 and 6-cylinder Austin 2200. Despite its many qualities (comfort, handling, extreme structural rigidity), the car’s look played against it. While the Austin 1800 received the coveted European Car of the Year award in 1965, its sales were disappointing and it soon gained the ungraceful nickname “landcrab”.

Morris stuck for a time to the conventional Oxford model, but an ADO 17-based replacement was scheduled for it too. It appeared in 1966 as the Morris 1800 and 2200. During the following year, the Wolseley 18/85 and Six were launched, featuring higher quality standards and the traditional Wolseley front grille, but few other differences whatsoever. An automobile’s development spanning years, BMC was the victim of its programs’ inertia and the same mistakes were repeated again in the 3-Litre, its new top-of-the-line saloon presented at the London motor show in October 1967. Despite the fact that it retained a traditional rear-wheel-drive transmission, the 3-Litre inherited the central section of the ADO 17 and its Hydrolastic suspension arrangement – it ended in complete disaster and was soon removed from the market.

Another failure was to adapt the car to the Australasian market. After producing a virtually unchanged ADO 17 in Australia, two heavily modified Austin Tasman and Morris Kimberley were introduced in 1970. Unsurprisingly, the technologically refined cars couldn’t do much in a country which liked antiquated, American-style gas-guzzlers. These models disappeared in 1974, shortly before the British company’s Australian operations were definitely closed down.

If the luxury 3-Litre had been scuttled early on, BMC didn’t have such an easy way out with its more mainstream ADO 17. The company did what it could to improve the car, facelifting it in 1968 (Mark II version), adding further modifications in 1972 (Mark III), and trying to address the quality problems that were beginning to plague the British motor industry. All its efforts were to no avail. The whole ADO 17 range was retired in March 1975, when the wedge-shaped Princess on which rested most of BLMC’s hopes was introduced.

About the models

Model: Austin 1800 Mark II
Year: 1968
Maker: Corgi
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Vanguards
Acquired: brand new, in February 2008, in Manila, Philippines.

A very acceptable model of the Austin 1800. Rear lights are simply painted, but it’s so nicely done that no one will probably mind. The front end’s rendition is excellent. A Vanguards’ touch is the photo-etched wipers, a rarity in this price range. My rating is 13/20.





Model: Austin 1800 Mark II
Year: 1968
Maker: Corgi
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Vanguards
Acquired: brand new, in August 2007, through a friend from Shanghai, China.

Same model as the above, with a different decoration: 13/20 again.

Jaguar XJ6

A little history

One of the most famous cars in automobile history, the Jaguar XJ series was born out of the realization by the company’s management, some time during the mid-Sixties, that their range had to be rationalized. Apart from the top-of-the-line Mk.X, the fastest four-door saloon in the world at the time of its launch, and the famed E-Type coupes and convertibles, no less than three distinct (though related) cars were produced in the entry-level range. The smallest engines which powered these cars were either a 2.4-litre, 6-cylinder block by Jaguar or a 2.5-litre V8 provided by Daimler. Competition on the domestic market, most notably by Rover and Triumph, was becoming harsh in this field. Therefore Jaguar decided to aim higher, but such a replacement, with probably a 3.0 to 3.5-litre engine under its bonnet, would have been too close from the Mk.X. Therefore, it was decided to replace all saloons in production by a single offer, the XJ6.

For the time being, the project was called XJ4. There was nothing revolutionary about the car – Jaguar just included in it all what it knew how to do best. Power would come from a brand new 4.2-litre inline six good for 173 bhp. Aiming mostly at those foreign markets where high taxes were imposed on cars with large displacements, a 2.8-litre engine was also offered.

Sir William Lyons, founder and president of Jaguar, is credited with the XJ4 styling, as he personally oversaw the design of its body. On the outside, the XJ4 took most of its stylistic cues from the Mk.X, only as a lighter, elongated, updated package. The rear section, on the other hand, was inspired by the E-Type tail, with its end chopped off.

Finally named XJ6 in reference to its 6-cylinder engine (with V8 and V12 engines being scheduled, this would help for naming these variants when released), the new Jaguar saw its debut in September 1968. Though no road test was initially organized for the press, the company’s reputation and the word of mouth guaranteed a long waiting list to the XJ6. When journalists finally got their hands on the car, they praised what its first customers had found when they had taken delivery of theirs: excellent performance, good handling, and extraordinary comfort highlighted by almost complete quietness inside the passenger compartment. To make things even better the XJ6, continuing the long Jaguar tradition of offering the best car at the best price, was relatively cheap with regards to its competitors. On the long run though, XJ6 drivers would find that, as many other Jaguars, the construction quality of their cars left much to be desired.

In July 1972, Jaguar presented the XJ12, powered by a 5.3-litre V12. The V8 project had been axed shortly beforehand. Even more powerful and silent than the 6-cylinder block, the V12 was a bottomless pit when it came about fuel consumption. Nobody really cared in 1972, but less than one year and a half later…

Other variants added over time included a long-wheelbase saloon and a short-lived XJ-C coupe. Daimler, which was building a slightly more expensive XJ6 as the Sovereign, also added a XJ12 equivalent to its range, under the prestigious name Double Six. The look of the car also evolved. In September 1973, new American regulations induced a facelift, the front bumper, now too low to comply with U.S. rules, being set higher below a smaller grille.

When the oil crisis erupted in late 1973, a Jaguar customer had to wait for two years and a half before his or her vehicle could be delivered. Though the company never encountered much trouble with unsold cars during the rest of the Seventies, various adverse elements played against it during that time, apart from the crisis itself. Rife throughout Britain, social unrest limited productivity. Jaguar's new boss, Geoffrey Robinson, tried to increase the company's production in order to satisfy the demand, which affected quality even further. Even more disturbing was the fact that, virtually bankrupt, struggling British Leyland could not afford to finance a replacement for the XJ, which had to carry on for a few more years, while the company’s main rivals, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, were enjoying increasing shares of the luxury car market. Afraid at a complete collapse of BLMC, supported by taxpayers’ money, the British government commissioned Sir Don Ryder to present a report on the group’s future: one measure that followed the publication of this report in April 1975 was the creation of British Leyland Cars, within which all BLMC companies lost their autonomy – a disastrous development for Jaguar. Fortunately this reorganization would be abolished in early 1978.

In March 1979, Jaguar had succeeded in gathering enough resources – actually, most of what was left – to introduce a Series 3 of its XJ. The third incarnation of the car featured a new roofline, due to Pininfarina. The tasteful update was just what the car needed to extend its career long enough for a successor to be designed. Though paint finish problems marred the Series 3’s debut, sales were soon following an ascendant curve. The venerable automobile would remain basically untouched during its last years in production, the only major improvement the XJ12 received being, in late 1981, high-compression cylinder heads that boosted the output to 299 bhp. This improvement was due to a Swiss engineer named Michael May; history has not been good to him as he is also credited for fitting the very first air wing to his own Porsche spyder in the mid-Fifties, and driving in Formula One during the early Sixties: a rather busy life dedicated to automobile!

Though a new XJ40 was finally introduced in 1986, the old XJ6/12 was kept in production. The XJ6 lingered until the new car had been introduced to all foreign markets, finally retiring in May 1987. The 12-cylinder variant was to be built even longer, as an equivalent version for the XJ40, named XJ81, still wasn’t ready for production. The project was cancelled after American giant Ford purchased Jaguar in late 1989, allowing the XJ12 and its cousin the Double Six to remain on the market until 1992.

Over close to a quarter of a century in production, the Jaguar XJ had become one of the most iconic automobiles Britain ever produced. One of the most meaningful signs of its success is the simple fact that, as only few other models did, it survived British Leyland’s disintegration during the Seventies and Eighties.

About the model

Model: Jaguar XJ6
Year: 1968
Maker: Vanguards - Corgi
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Vanguards
Acquired: brand new, in January 2007, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

An exceptional model throughout, particularly considering its price. From whatever angle you look at it, Vanguards' rendition of a first series XJ is beautiful. This would perhaps sounds even more credible if I'd confess that I've never been fond the real car! I'd easily give a 15/20 rating. Note that Vanguards also offers a Daimler Sovereign on the same base, fitted with a different radiator grille.

Austin Allegro

When I was 11, among my friends at school was a girl who, as I myself did, enjoyed drawing and, to some extent, cars. As we were discussing once, she asked me what car my parents had. After answering to her, I returned the same question. She suddenly looked highly embarrassed, and uttered: “Oh, just some crap… an Austin Allegro”.

Unlike the previous automobiles featured on this blog, I wasn’t able to write a complete post by memory, apart from the aforementioned anecdote and the basic facts about the Allegro, as I’m not particularly familiar with this car – my friend at least rode in the back seat of a very uncommon vehicle, as very few outside England were foolish enough to purchase one. As most of my books and magazines aren’t within reach, I therefore browsed the net looking for details. Though never the best source and quite often filled with inaccuracies, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Allegro#Reputation) nevertheless provided another anecdote that is worth inserting here:

In 2007, Sir Digby Jones [then British minister of Trade], in criticising the inefficiencies of the Learning and Skills Council, said, “It is what I call the British Leyland model - you put a lot of money in at the top, and an Austin Allegro comes out at the bottom.”

After these two short stories set the mood, it is now time to discuss about the car itself.

A little history

During the Sixties, BMC came up with one of its most successful products ever, the ADO 16, better known from motorists in Great Britain and elsewhere as the Austin / Morris 1100 and 1300. A compact vehicle following Alec Issigonis’ concepts about a popular car, the ADO 16 introduced the cunning Hydrolastic suspension and, within a few years, became the most popular car in its country.

Things went so well with the ADO 16 that BMC personnel apparently believed success would last forever. After BMC became the nationalized group BLMC, also informally called British Leyland, the company’s new heads were surprised to discover that no replacement had been scheduled – actually, there was virtually no project at all ongoing at the time. Instructions were immediately given to develop not one, but two new cars to replace the ADO 16: Morris would build a conventional one, which became the Marina, while Austin would propose a more advanced vehicle more in line with its predecessor, the Allegro, known internally as ADO 67.

On the mechanical side, most of the components used by the Allegro would come from the previous ADO 16, apart from the brand new Hydrogas suspension, a technological marvel that was softer, quieter and better suited to bumpy roads than the Hydrolastic. The engine range would extend upwards, partly to use the 1500 and 1750 cc engines that were powering the Maxi – the car wasn’t selling, leaving largely underused the new facility in Cofton Hackett, dedicated to the production of these engines.

The body was designed by a team led by Harris Mann. That is, Mann drew the original blueprints – to the designer’s horror, engineers later deeply altered his project due to mechanical constraints. While the ADO 16 looked low and long, the ADO 67 grew stout. A compact V4 engine had been once considered but never developed; this, with the addition of a new and very tall heater, meant that the bonnet, and therefore the whole car’s lines, would have to be raised. Juggling with these limitations, engineers had to reduce the size of the windows and raise the overall height of the car, while increasing both the front and rear overhangs. When seen from the front, the narrow grille made the car look even bulkier. To make things as bad inside as they were outside, BLMC’s managing director George Turnbull imposed the use of an (almost) square steering wheel, dubbed “quartic”, which anyone disliked except himself. While the company had still great prospects about its newest product, some of its employees started to doubt.

The Allegro’s official birthdate was in May 1973, when this balloon of a car was finally unveiled. It was received with mixed reviews by the automotive press, to say the least. A rather generous standard equipment list was generally appreciated but, much more importantly, many critics fell upon the peculiar styling, the weird steering wheel, the weak brakes, the poor gearbox, the too-soft ride or the insufficient performances - in some respects the old ADO 16 even seemed superior to its successor. The public didn’t think much better of the newcomer, the “quartic” wheel soon becoming the butt of joke. Less funny was the car's tendency to lose its wheels while being driven, with potential dramatic results. In short, the Allegro was widely detested from the very start.

Not satisfied with having alienated the British press and public, BLMC decided to do the same abroad – after all, the Allegro had been designed at a very high cost and its maker now wanted its money back, so increasing its potential market was inevitable. In continental Europe, the Allegro was unanimously rejected. Innocenti, for long a BMC then BLMC partner, started to build the Allegro in Italy as the Regent. Only eighteen months later, production was stopped and, a short time later, Innocenti started building its own creations rather than un-saleable British ugly ducklings. Believe it or not, if the original Allegro looked repulsive, even worst was to come under the guises of an estate and a luxury derivative, the Vanden Plas 1500, both released in 1974.

From the very start sales were not what BLMC had expected. Over time they kept slipping down. The company tried to solve some of its many problems: the cars evolved into Series 2 and 3, respectively in 1975 and 1979. The latest Allegros were finally pleasant to drive if nothing more, but the main drawback of the car, its odd styling, could even less be addressed that BLMC, by this time, didn’t have any money left for retooling. By early 1982, while its successor, the Maestro, wasn’t even ready, someone finally did what most would have liked to do for the last nine years: press a button and stop the Allegro’s production.

A personal note

I like 1:43 as it offers very unglamorous cars that cannot be found in any other scale. I had read a short article about Vanguards’ Allegro around 2000, and though I wasn’t even collecting model cars at that time I was immediately attracted. Don’t ask me why I have so peculiar a taste!

A note for those of you who could question my mental integrity after reading my last remark: it’s the model of the Allegro I enjoy, not so much the real car...

About the model

Model: Austin Allegro 1750 SS
Year: c.1973
Maker: Vanguards - Corgi
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Vanguards, ref. VA04510
Acquired: brand new, in January 2007, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

Though a commercial failure – it peaked as the seventh bestseller on the British market shortly after its release, while its predecessor had reached the top of the list – the Allegro, designed as a popular car, nevertheless sold well enough to push a die-cast maker, namely Vanguards, to make a model out of it. Mine is a metallic blue 1750 SS, made easily recognizable by its honeycomb grille. It was the most potent version of the range back then, but was nevertheless disliked by the journalists for its lack of performances. Though not the best Vanguards around in my opinion, it is still quite attractive. The most noticeable error is that the chromed moulding that surrounds the grille of the original car is conspicuously missing, somewhat altering its appearance up front. Anyway, criticising would prove to be pointless: who else would be daring enough to put on the market a scale model to rival Vanguards’ one? My rating is 12/20.