Notable quotes
A randomly-presented selection of memorable quotes from people connected with BMC and its successors, all of which say something about the company, its management or its products...
Donald Stokes, in 1968 on how to get product launches right...
Alec Issigonis
Donald Stokes, tells the nation in 1974, that BLMC's troubles were merely temporary.
George Harriman, to Roland Fox
"At Longbridge press preview [of the Vanden Plas 4-litre R] in the summer of 1964, Llewelyn Smith of Rolls-Royce and I were sitting with George Harriman on the top table in the exhibition hall. Someone asked how many we were going to make, and Harriman said, 'Two hundred a week.' Just like that. The Press hand-out said we would produce 100 a week so they naturally wanted to know which was the correct figure. 'Two-hundred a week,' re-affirmed Harriman. When he sat down, I said to him quietly, 'I can only do 100 a week.' He said, 'BMC can do anything, old boy.'"
Roland Fox, former MD of Vanden Plas, as quoted by Barney Sharratt in The Men and Motors of "The Austin".
Stephen Bayley describing the merger of Austin and Morris in 1952 to form BMC.
Donald Stokes, defending himself against the repeated attacks on the products and policies of BLMC.
“I was not and I have never pretended to be a manufacturing expert, ever. I have no pretensions as to that. I am an engineer by training but I think that my strength lies in selling, and I think that it is worth recalling that we did sell, until the oil crisis, everything that BMC could make.”
Michael Edwardes, on how he felt when offered the post of Chairman and Managing Director of British Leyland.
Leonard Lord, in response to criticism that BMC was cutting its own throat with the pricing of the Mini.
John Barber, on the Mini pricing fiasco.
"We priced it at what the market could stand. Then, almost as an afterthought, we would cost it and if it showed a loss, we would have to cost it again. BMC should have said: 'Where do we slot into the market? We’ve got the most sophisticated car in the world. We can afford to charge £100 more than the wretched Ford runabout'. Then, having got the Mini into the wrong slot, they did the same with the 1100's successor."
George Harriman, explaining why after appearing to have stalled, Leyland and BMC then resumed merger discussions – with a little help from the Government.
Alec Issigonis, in response to the observation that the stark facia panel of the Austin 1800 might remind women drivers of their domestic appliances.
Spen King
“When I first went to Triumph in 1967, I said to bosses Donald Stokes and George Turnbull, ‘I think we ought to watch Japanese cars, because the quality is so good.’ They didn’t show any interest”
Donald Stokes, speaking on the future of British Leyland at the launch of the Allegro in 1973.
"This is the beginning of a very exciting era for British Leyland, and I think our designers, engineers and production men are going to provide you with a British motor industry of which you will be very proud."
Michael Edwardes giving odds on the future of BL.
Harry Webster's assessment of a glassy Pininfarina proposal for project ADO28, the Morris Marina.
Roy Haynes, designer of the Morris Marina and Mini Clubman.
Leonard Lord
Aurelio Lampredi
John Cooper was fond of telling a story about taking a prototype Mini to the 1959 Italian Grand Prix, where he met former Ferrari designer Aurelio Lampredi, then working for Fiat. Lampredi took a Mini for a test drive and was away for ages. When he came back he said, "If it wasn't so ugly, I would shoot myself"!
Contributed by Ian Nicholls
Joe Edwards, making what he later described as "a statement which I may regret forever".
It was with these words, at a meeting on 14 January 1968, that Edwards reluctantly agreed to the merger with Leyland Motors.
“I believed it when I was told that the Rover V8 wouldn’t fit into the Triumph Stag. I’m sure the car would have been a great success with an engine more reliable than the Triumph V8 we fitted instead.”
Alec Issigonis, echoing Henry Ford's famous line that "history is bunk".
Kevin Morley
“Seat of the pants decisions are dead. I could quote you examples of cars which have researched badly, but somebody said, ‘let’s do it anyway’. They bombed”.
Michael Edwardes, on the shop stewards.
Alec Issigonis, gleefully acknowledging the nickname he had earned at Cowley.
Donald Stokes
Harold Wilson, Prime Minister, at the 1966 Labour Conference in Brighton
Wilson had arranged to meet a delegation of six BMC shop stewards, but instead, twelve marched it. It held equally true with regard to overmanning in the company at the time.
A senior BMH sales executive commenting on the company's sprawling network of sales and service outlets.
Alec Issigonis recalled that Leonard Lord had intiated the Mini development project with the words: "God damn these bloody awful bubble-cars. We must drive them off the streets by designing a proper miniature car."
Michael Edwardes’ description of BL.
Graham Day, on why the Austin badges were removed from Metros, Maestros and Montegos during 1987.
Unrecorded motoring journalist’s comments regarding Leyland’s takeover of BMC.
Giorgetto Giugiaro (allegedly), on viewing the TR7 for the first time.
On his first viewing of the Triumph TR7 at the Geneva Motor Show in 1975, Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro paused to take a long look at the car. Pondering its styling, he is said to have looked at it in a puzzled way and then walked around the car, only to say, “Oh my God! They've done it to the other side as well.” This was no doubt a reference to the fact that during the development of a new model, different styling solutions are often tried out on each side of a full-size clay model of the car – and Giugiaro obviously thought that the TR7 looked so bizarre that it could in no way be a production car!
Donald Stokes, on the original design for the Maxi interior.
Bernd Pischetsrieder, on hearing in 1993 that BMW's new acquisition, Rover, was still building the Maestro and Montego.
Issigonis firmly believed that 'if you style a car, it goes out of date.' When his friend, the distinguished motoring journalist Laurence Pomeroy pointed out that however much he might dislike the fact, many buyers rated styling above functional qualities like economy, ease of parking and cornering power, Issigonis replied "Yes, my dear Pom, I know there are tens of thousands of such people, but I will not design cars for them."
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