BIRMINGHAM'S INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SITE
MORRIS CARS, VANS & NUFFIELD TRACTORS
William Morris started as a cycle manufacturer in Oxford and introduced his first car, the "Bullnose" Oxford, in 1913. Morris cars were known for being well built and reliable.
By the end of the 1920's Morris held a 51% share of the UK car manufacturing market. During the 1930s and 40s William Morris began to aquire other manufacturers such as Riley, Wolseley and S.U. Carburetors. He also set up a sporting marque known as MG which stood for Morris Garages.
It was the purchase of Wolseley and SU that brought Morris to Birmingham.
After the war the group became known as the Nuffield Corporation. In 1948 the Morris Minor made its debut and together with the later Morris and Austin Mini became car legends.
In 1952 Nuffield Motors (Morris) and Austin amalgamated to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC)
William Morris, (Lord Nuffield) at age 75, was made President of BMC, but the post of Chairman and Managing Director went to the then head of Austin, Leonard Lord. Herbert Austin had died 11 years previous to the merger.
There was some rationalization but mainly the operation was kept very much as it had been before the merger but there was also 'badge engineering' (same car, different badge)
In September 1958 the first car designed by the Italian Pininfarina design group appeared to inject some vitality into what had become a very lack lustre range. The A40 Farino was powered by the enlarged 948cc 'A' series engine.
In 1959 Alex Issigonis, who designed the Minor, designed the first Mini car. It was initially called the Austin 7 and then the Morris Mini Minor, the first signs of the breakdown and demise of the BMC management.
Although the Mini was a innovative and very successful car it did not form part of any coherent strategy, it was a pedigree amongst mongrels and it never made any money for BMC due to poor management and accounting.
The diversity of ranges and models within the two groups in the 60s was indicative of the lack of management direction and in 1968 the company became British Leyland after a short period in limbo as British Motor Holdings.
The last car produced under the Morris banner was the Morris Marina and the less said about that the better!