The British Car Industry

James Ruppert explains why you can't buy a British built hatchback car for you and your family from a British owned company any more. James was really worried because in 1974 his Dad did a very strange thing and came home in an Audi 100LS. James wondered whether the rot set in from that point onwards. But his dad remained a fiercely loyal British car buyer, which sadly did not make any difference when in 1978 he accidently bought the single worst car British Leyland ever made. So where did it all go wrong and why is the British car industry in the scrapyard? Tracing the rise, mediocrity and fall from 1945 to 2005 James Ruppert, Independent newspaper and Autocar motoring correspondent, former car salesman and author of Bangernomics, gives a unique commentary on what happened, and all the cars his Dad bought, plus find out the following: . How the British Army saved VW. . Why the British car industry rejected VW. . How the industry relaunched itself with pilfered BMW plans. . How Triumph almost became the British BMW, but instead BMW ended up owning Triumph, and still do. . How a British poached egg sold a million . . . But not as many as a Beetle shaped car from Germany. . Oh yes and why the Cortina was almost callled the Ford Goats Dung . . .