Morris: Cars
Note: This is a sub-section of Morris
1913 A factory was opened in Cowley, Oxford and the company's first car, the 2-seat 10-hp Morris Oxford Bullnose was introduced. Nearly all the major components were bought-in, with only final assembly being undertaken in the Morris works.
1913-1917 For a list of the models and prices of the Cowley and Oxford see the 1917 Red Book.
1914 A coupe and van were added to the line-up but the chassis was too short and the 1,018 cc engine too small to make a much-needed 4-seat version of the car. White and Poppe, who made the engine, wanted more money than Morris was prepared to pay for a larger version, so the company turned to Continental of Detroit, Michigan, United States for supplies of a 1,548 cc unit. Gearboxes and axles were also sourced in the US.
WW1 In spite of the outbreak of the First World War the orders were maintained and, from mid-1915 a new larger car, the 2-seat and 4-seat Cowley was introduced.
After the war the Continental engine was no longer available, so Morris arranged for the French company Hotchkiss to make a near-copy in their Coventry factory. This was used to power new versions of the basic 'Cowley' and more up-market Morris 'Oxford' cars. With a reputation for producing high-quality cars and a policy of cutting prices, the Morris Motor Company continued to grow and increase its share of the British market.
1928 The small car market was entered with the Morris Minor, using an 847cc engine from the Wolseley Motor Company, a company which became part of Morris Motors Company in 1927. This helped the company through the economic depression of the time.
1934 The Minor was replaced at the London Motor Show by the Morris Eight, a direct response to the Ford Model Y and heavily based on it.
1939 Launched the Eight Series E
Production restarted after World War II, with the pre-war Eight and Ten designs.
In 1948 they were replaced by what is probably the Morris Minor designed by Alec Issigonis (who later went on to design the Mini) and reusing the small car name from 1928. The body styling was by Jack Daniels.
Also in 1948 was the Morris Oxford, styled like a larger version of the Minor.
1951 Exhibitor at the 1951 Motor Show in the Car Section.
1952 The Nuffield Organisation merged with its old rival the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC). Nuffield brought the Morris, MG, Riley and Wolseley marques into the merger. Leonard Lord was in charge, which led to Austin's domination of the organisation. Badge-engineering was important to the new company and for many years the several marques would be seen on several families of similar vehicles.
1956 A later Morris Oxford (the 1956 Morris Oxford III) was the basis for the design of India's famous Hindustan Ambassador which continues in production to the present day.
1961 Listed as a subsidiary of British Motor Corporation with operations in Birmingham, Coventry, Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxford, Llanelly and Wellingborough. Employ 38,800 persons. Makers of Morris, Wolseley, Riley and MG cars, Morris commercial vehicles, tractors, marine and industrial engines. [1]
1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Showed Oxford VI, 1100, Mini-Cooper S, Mini, Mini Traveller and Minor 1000. [2]
1968 In further rationalisations of the British motor industry, BMC became part of the newly-formed British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), and subsequently, in 1975, the nationalised British Leyland Limited (BL).
The Morris marque continued to be used until the early 1980s on cars such as the Morris Marina. The Morris Ital (essentially a face-lifted Marina) was the last Morris-badged passenger car, with production ending in 1984. The last Morris of all was a van variant of the Austin Metro. In the early 1980s, the former Morris assembly plant in Cowley was turned over to the production of Austin and Rover badged vehicles, and continued to be used by BL's Austin Rover Group and its successor the Rover Group, which was eventually bought by BMW, and then by a management consortium, leading to the creation of MG Rover.
The rights to the Morris marque are currently owned by MG Rover, but after that company's financial collapse, and partial purchase by one or more Chinese state businesses, it is not clear who will finally own the Morris marque. The Cowley assembly plant is still owned by BMW, who use it to assemble the new MINI.
List of Models
- Morris: Bullnose 1913-26 - (152,000 produced) - Oxford and Cowley models
- Morris: Flatnose 1926-35 - (272,000 produced) - Oxford, Cowley and 12/4 models
- Morris: Six 1948-53 - (12,400 produced)
- Morris: Eight 1935-38 (218,102 produced) - Series I and II
- Morris: Eight Series E 1938-48 - (120,434 produced)
- Morris: Ten 1933-48 (approx 200,000 produced) - 10/4, 10/6, 10 Series II and III, Ten Series M
- Morris: Twelve
- Morris: Fourteen
- Morris: 16 hp
- Morris: 18 hp
- Morris: 21 hp
- Morris: Twenty-Five - Series III
- Morris: Cowley 1954-59 - (22,000 produced) - Series I and II
- Morris: Isis 1955-58 - (12,155 produced) - Series I and II
- Morris: Marina 1971-80 - (810,000 produced)
- Morris: Minor (1928-1934) 1928-34 - (86,318 produced)
- Morris: Minor (1935-1947)
- Morris: Minor 1948-71 - (1,293,000 produced)
- Morris: Oxford 1948-71 - (602,000 produced) - MO and II/III/IV/V/VI
- Morris: 1000
- Morris: 1100/1300 1962-73 ADO16
- Morris: 1800 1966-73
- Morris: Traveller
- Morris: Mini
- Morris: Mini Moke
- Morris: 8 Series E 1938-48
- Morris: Ital 1980-84 - (175,276 produced)
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia