This month we turn the clock back
fifty years to the days when the British motor industry was a world
leader as witnessed by Morning Foods’ series of fifty black &
white photos of Modern Cars, only nine of which were foreign – and
none from Japan.
Among those made in the U.K. is the
Morris Minor. Conceived during the dark days of the Second World War by
Alec Issigonis, the Morris Minor made its debut at the 1948 Motor Show
and was an instant success. During the next 23 years more than 1.5
million were built. Also in this set we see Ford’s two new models,
the Consul and Zephyr, Vauxhall’s due Wyvern and Velox, Austin’s
A30 and A40, Humbers including the Pullman Limousine, as used by Mr
Churchill, the Rolls Royce, as supplied to General Franco and the
Renault 750. Yes, a Renault built in Britain (as a factory in London)
and priced at £470 to undercut the Austin A30 by a fiver! More
expensive – not surprisingly because it was hand-built – was
the Frazer Nash sports car and the MG Miget which, we are told, cost £530
(plus £221 19s 2d purchase tax) and was a major dollar-earner in
Britain’s export drive.
This set of Morning Foods 50 Modern Cars
1954 in finest collectable condition is catalogued at £20.00
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