What Has Happened To The Famous British Car Manufacturers?

The Great British Empire used to rule the world and then became the richest nation in the world. But of course time moves on and we would expect change and wealth to be spread throughout other nations. But one of the major blunders of last century has got be the creation of famous motoring marques and the inability to keep these famous car manufacturing brands afloat.

Can you imaging Ford, Chrysler, GM motors in the USA ever stop making cars? Could you imaging the Japanese such as Honda, Nissan, and Mazda ever stop making cars? Then when you come back to Europe, could you imagine Italy allowing Fiat or Ferrari to close down and stop making cars? Of course you couldn't and the fact is, it just wouldn't happen and this would be the case in several other nations around the world.

Several manufacturers in the States have at time been in financial trouble, have got through those time because it was essential to survive. Fiat in recent times, have been in trouble because of unreliable cars, but they are still here.

However in the UK we don't seem to see the value in maintaining our motoring heritage, if it can't be profitable, then it must die, it does not matter about the marque or how the world sees the UK. Ironically from a nation that has so much history within such a small island, you would also think that it would mean much more.

Here are some examples

Austin 1905 to 1986

Hilman 1907 to 1976

Lagonda 1906 to 1990

Alvis 1920 to 1967

MG 1923 to 2005

Morris 1913 to 1984

Riley 1906 to 1969

Triumph 1923 to 1984

Sunbeam 1899 to 1976

There are some names still around, Lotus owned by GM motors, Mini owned by BMW, Land Rover owned by BMW, Jaguar owned by Ford and of course James Bond's favourite car the Aston Martin, which has just been bought by a consortium back from Ford. Lets hope it remains in the UK!

The MG may also find its way back on to the UK roads but owned by a Chinese company, Nanjing Automobile, which is quite a horrifying thought as these cars will probably be made in China, but from a positive point of view, I doubt Nanjing will ever go bust. The Chinese just won't let it.

Ironically in Sunderland in the North East of England there is a Nissan factory that produces some of Nissans smaller cars. This factory regularly beats other Nissan factories around the world in quantity and quality, so the issue in the UK is not about the workforce, within the right environment we can match anyone.

The issue is around management, controlling costs and the support from the government, that all large businesses need a hand from time to time. A lot of British Marques disappeared in the seventies when many of the brand names came together as British Leyland. This was probably the biggest mistake in British car manufacturing, as cars were badly made, suffered from strikes for bad working conditions and benefits and there was just no pride in the brand.

Yet in the 21st century we can make foreign brands with a pride and a high standard for other brands. Lets hope we hold on to the names that have survived, even if they are owned by foreign manufacturers, at least there is a chance, just like Aston Martin they may eventually return to British ownership.

Mark is webmaster for Car Breakdown Recovery Service and includes Car Roadside Assistance and Cheap Car Or Vehicle Breakdown Insurance

Chuck Norris - A Famous Star of Action Films

Chuck Norris is an Executive Producer of "Walker, Texas Ranger" as well as the star. Norris is familiar to fans worldwide as the star of action films such as The Hitman (1991), The Delta Force (1986) and Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990). He also starred in Missing in Action (1984) and its sequels, Firewalker (1986) and Sidekicks (1992). Norris was born Carlos Ray in Ryan, the eldest of three children, he helped his mother raise his two younger brothers in Torrance, CA, where his family moved when he was 12. Norris joined the Air Force after graduating from high school. During a stint in Korea, he began to study the Asian martial art of Tang Soo Do. After returning home, he worked for Northrop Aviation and moonlighted as a karate instructor. Two years later he was teaching full-time and running a number of martial-arts schools. His students included Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley and the Osmonds. In 1968, he became the Professional World Middleweight Karate Champion, holding the title undefeated until he retired in 1974. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwan Do, both Korean fighting arts, and knows all forms of the martial arts. In 1969, he earned the Triple Crown for the highest number of tournament wins, and was named Fighter of the Year by "Black Belt" magazine. By the time he was 34; Norris had established 32 karate schools and had been a champion for six years. In 1996, he became the first Westerner to be awarded an eighth-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do.

Norris, who was urged to get into acting by his friend Steve McQueen, skillfully incorporates his martial-arts knowledge into his series and feature film projects, stressing action and technique over violence. He is the author of the books "The Secret of Inner Strength" and "The Secret Power Within - Zen Solutions to Real Problems". He works for many charities, including the Funds for Kids, Veterans Administration National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, the United Way, Make-a-Wish Foundation and KickStart, a nonprofit organization he created to help battle drugs and violence in schools. He also starred in the television movie Bound by Honor (1993), broadcast on CBS. He lives on a ranch when not filming.

Chuck Norris's fight career lasted from 1964-1974. Norris started off by losing his first three tournaments but, by 1966, he was almost unbeatable. Among the numerous titles he won were The National Karate Championships (1966), All-Star Championships (1966), World Middleweight Karate Championship (1967), All-American Karate Championship (1967), Internationals (1968), World Professional Middleweight Karate Championship (defeating Louis Delgado on 24 November 1968), All-American Championship (1968), National Tournament of Champions (1968), American Tang Soo Championship, and the North American Karate Championship. Norris compiled a fight record of 65-5 with wins over champions Joe Lewis, Skipper Mullins, Arnold Urquidez, Ronald L. Marchini, Victor Moore, Louis Delgado, and Steve Sanders. Of the five men to beat Norris, three were Allen Steen, Joe Lewis, and Norris's last career defeat to Louis Delgado in 1968. Norris retired as undefeated Professional Full-Contact Middleweight Champion in 1974.

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