Austin cars are a now defunct British motor car manufacturer having first been formed in the early days of motorcar manufacture and coming into existence from 1905 and achieving the status of large car manufacturer with the later Austin motor company merger with the British Morris motor car company in 1952.
Austin motor company was formed by the later knighted Sir Herbert Austin in 1905 Herbert Austin was the then manager of the Wolseley Tool and Motor Company based in Worcestershire.
Early Austin motorcars were of a standard for the day design consisting of a four-cylinder five-litre engine with a chain driven transmission.
Only 200 or so Austin motor cars were built in the early days from 1905 to 1914 but with the advent of World War 1 production was expanded enormously due to government backed orders for all kinds of thins from Aircraft to Artillery.
Shortly after the end of WW1 Herbert Austin went into mass production of one model starting with a design based around a 3620cc engine. The order book was however never enough to fill the capacity of the large Austin factory as it had been built during the war and Austin faced an uncertain time eventually falling into receivership in 1921. However the company was saved and restructured and went on to become a much stronger and more successful motor car manufacturer a lot of Austin's success during in this period has been attributed to the appointment of Ernest Payton as the new finance director. And Carl Engelbach as works director.
Austin Motorcar Company expanded their range to include small and more economical cars for a growing market and branched out into America with the formation of the US based subsidiary American Austin Car Company. Austin as well as all companies had to weather the storm that was the great depression but by the end of the 1930s sales were growing especially with the introduction of the very successful Austin seven models and its spin offs.
Austin continued to make cars throughout World War 2 but branched out into making military vehicles and trucks for the war effort.
By the early 1960s Austin had decided on creating a range of small economical cars to cater for the growing car market but by the start of the 1970s Austin along with many other British carmakers had been part nationalised and run under the banner of British Leyland. By the end of the seventies Austin along with British Leyland were in trouble however Austin regained some ground by the design and manufacture of the innovative Austin Metro again by the late 1980s Austin had merged with Rover to create Austin Rover but it wasn't long before Austin was removed leaving only Rover as the makers name.
Many people will remember with affection Austin motorcars and there are still many whom collect and restore for these people it is essential to find the best. Austin insurance
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