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19 hours ago, adw1977 said:

The trouble with the 1800 Landcrab as a replacement for the A60 Cambridge was that it was bigger, more powerful and about £100 more expensive, so it wasn't really in the same class.

Screenshot_20241011_220807_Flickr.jpg.d5924b9ea15c9387be8fe1da086d3b74.jpg

Oct 1966 price list

The A60 Cambridge was 8 inches longer and over an inch taller than the Austin 1800.

BMC 1800 development story – ADO17, the Landcrab that failed to sell (aronline.co.uk)

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But when the ADO17 was launched in October 1964, what emerged from Longbridge was, therefore, a car that was faster, heavier, much wider and more expensive than the car it was designed to replace. With that in mind, BMC quite sensibly kept the Farinas in production, although that was not an expedient move as there was little profit in these cars and, being a product of a bygone era, they did not fit-in readily with the rest of the range.

 

BMC were ahead of the game in trying to replace a car with something a bit bigger and more powerful. Pretty much all replacement models from all manufacturers have been like this for the last 30 to 40 years.

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5 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

The A60 Cambridge was 8 inches longer and over an inch taller than the Austin 1800.

BMC 1800 development story – ADO17, the Landcrab that failed to sell (aronline.co.uk)

 

BMC were ahead of the game in trying to replace a car with something a bit bigger and more powerful. Pretty much all replacement models from all manufacturers have been like this for the last 30 to 40 years.

But by that point the British middle class and 'executive' and business car market was saturated - and not finding any significant export market - the 1800 had some very stiff competition from the likes of the Cortina 1600, Corsair, Zephyr, Victor, Ventora, Triumph 2000, Rover 2000, Humber Hawk, Jaguar 240  - and even in-house the existing 1600cc Farina range and bigger Wolseley 6/110, not to mention burgeoning imports like Peugeot 404, Renault 16, Citroen ID and Mercedes 200.

Self-evidently a better car than many of those - but it was also perceived to be thirsty, unreliable, ugly, difficult to drive and austere.

It was also probably quite expensive to build - leading to a low profit per unit cost. Given the development cost and low numbers sold it's unlikely BMC ever made a profit on it.

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Another decent Issigonis concept ruined by Issigonis' arrogance, terrible aesthetics, shitty detailing and BMC penny pinching. It ought to have been Maxi-sized to compete directly with all the other mid-size saloons, the attention paid to packaging would have given class-leading interior space in a car light enough to be powered by a 1.6 B series and not have shit economy.

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On 11/10/2024 at 01:06, Bfg said:

^  a clue behind that may be in that it was also a Post Office. 

Having been brought up with the word Chemist., I'd thought Pharmacy was an Franco-Americanism, but it appears to have derived from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Greek pharmakeia  "a healing or harmful medicine, a healing or poisonous herb; a drug, poisonous potion; magic (potion), dye, raw material for physical or chemical processing." This is from pharmakeus (fem. pharmakis) "a preparer of drugs, a poisoner, a sorcerer" from pharmakon "a drug, a poison, philter (love potion), charm, spell, enchantment."   

However one defines it :shock:  ..they sound like a really dangerous places.

 

 

Boots dropped “the chemist” from their official name in 2007 although the parent company is now Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

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1 hour ago, Remspoor said:

leeds police.jpg

Leeds

The past often look so much more interesting.

Round building in the background is an old bank now a bar - constructed in 1899 and designed by W W Gwyther for the Yorkshire District Banking Company.

Ham-fisted recladding of the tower to the left - now a hotel.

Early BMC Farina with rarer square rear number plate and the 1948-57 Humber Hawk looking antedeluvian compared to the svelte little Herald.

Picture taken after September 1962 - when the Cortina was introduced.

Screenshot_20241013_084843_GoogleEarth.jpg.dbbadd9bb34c60bb94b2fceb00351fcb.jpg

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On 11/10/2024 at 22:12, adw1977 said:

The trouble with the 1800 Landcrab as a replacement for the A60 Cambridge was that it was bigger, more powerful and about £100 more expensive, so it wasn't really in the same class.

Screenshot_20241011_220807_Flickr.jpg.d5924b9ea15c9387be8fe1da086d3b74.jpg

Oct 1966 price list

Adjusted for inflation, the 1100 cost the equivalent of £10K in todays money, though I suppose it would be as rotten as a pear after 5 years in typical use. The radio in the Princess 1100 would be £600!  

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1 hour ago, Fat_Pirate said:

Adjusted for inflation, the 1100 cost the equivalent of £10K in todays money, though I suppose it would be as rotten as a pear after 5 years in typical use. The radio in the Princess 1100 would be £600!  

Seems they were still selling cars without heaters too! BMC prices were all over the place - it's reported that they had little idea what the cars really cost to produce - and set rates in comparison to other manufacturers.

Diesel is an (expensive) option on the A60 - cars were probably individually fitted off the main production line run.

1100 with leather seat option  - and a little later in October 1967 the 1300 arrived.

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3 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Seems they were still selling cars without heaters too! BMC prices were all over the place - it's reported that they had little idea what the cars really cost to produce - and set rates in comparison to other manufacturers.

Diesel is an (expensive) option on the A60 - cars were probably individually fitted off the main production line run.

1100 with leather seat option  - and a little later in October 1967 the 1300 arrived.

I remember my dad saying he’d paid extra for the heater in his 1962 Ford Pop.  On his next new “car” , a Bedford CA minibus , 1969, the interior rear view mirror always an extra. The next a Mk111 Cortina, 1976, actually had a fitted radio! He had finally hit the big time!

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Heater became a legal requirement. Well front windscreen de misting became a legal requirement. I cannot find when that date was. We used to have some 'Rovers without a heater in use with the Army, in the mid 70s. There was a "fight" to get the ones with heaters. The older 'Rovers could have been at least 10 years old by then.

The Cortina is often quoted as the first to have flow through ventilation. One would imaging they had heaters as standard.

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By the time you've purchased say 50,000 'Smiths Heaters' or whatever and run the vehicles down the product line - some with and some without - but still had to put the unions and fixings in so one could be fitted later - it's making so little difference to the bottom line. Madness to have no demisting in winter.

But there was probably a cohort of homburg-hatted drivers who preferred driving in an overcoat and gloves and thought a heater for sissies.

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9 hours ago, lesapandre said:

By the time you've purchased say 50,000 'Smiths Heaters' or whatever and run the vehicles down the product line - some with and some without - but still had to put the unions and fixings in so one could be fitted later - it's making so little difference to the bottom line. Madness to have no demisting in winter.

But there was probably a cohort of homburg-hatted drivers who preferred driving in an overcoat and gloves and thought a heater for sissies.

Their descendants probably drive round with a misted up windscreen because “ it’s ridiculous using the a/c in winter”.

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On 15/10/2024 at 11:34, lesapandre said:

There was really nothing that Crayford would not saw the roof off. 

Some sag already 😂

Screenshot_20241015_113119_Chrome.jpg.90cc937ee86afdf17cfdd5d01729143e.jpg

The rear chrome trim is an add on sat on top of rear wing, where as the door piece is original  & top edge is level with panel.

So more a bad design than sag.

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IMG_1252.jpeg.c6980f67087305f78f7fef2d9ef674d5.jpeg

Man ahead of his time takes photo of dog doing human activity; realises Facebook hasn’t been invented yet and so has nowhere to post it.

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3 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

IMG_1252.jpeg.c6980f67087305f78f7fef2d9ef674d5.jpeg

Man ahead of his time takes photo of dog doing human activity; realises Facebook hasn’t been invented yet and so has nowhere to post it.

"I off honey, just going Dogging"

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20 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Push.jpg.07107d6e7fbc39ffccd64c243ba4556f.jpg

I guessed Weymouth and checking I was correct.

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