Austin-Healey 100 Sports

 

Nash Metropolitan

 

 

Austin A90 Six Westminister

But while all these records were being achieved, the Longbridge engineers were pursuing even further, plans for increasing production efficiency. A new car assembly building was being erected, which would be the most modern of its kind in the world. The aim was to make maximum possible use of electronic controls for the automatic selection, sequencing and feeding of parts to the assembly tracks. The problems \which had to be overcome to achieve this aim were immense, but under the guidance of G. W. Harriman, now Deputy Chairman, whose unique production engineering ability had proved so invaluable to the Company in its post-war reconstruction, success was achieved. The new building; sited on the old flying ground, and fed by a system of underground conveyors, was opened by the Minister of Supply on July 19th, 1951. With its four assembly tracks, it had an output potential of one vehicle every forty-five seconds and provided first-class working conditions for the employees.

The 1950 Motor Show saw the announcement of the A70 Hereford, and twelve months later came the A30 Seven. These models were followed early in 1952 by the A40 Somerset as successor to the popular Devon. At the 1952 Show a new sports car, with the A90s engine and other basic Austin units, was exhibited by the Donald Healey Motor Company. This led to an agreement with Donald Healey for the cars to be produced at Longbridge under the title of the Austin Healey Hundred. And so another famous model joined the Austin ranks.

By 1952, the Company's factory site covered 250 acres, over 19,000 men and women were employed and the Company had earned well over £150,000,000 in foreign currency since the end of the war.

In July, 1952, the British Motor Corporation came into being---a merger of the Austin and Nuffield Organisations, which enabled Britain's two leading manufacturers to pool experience and productive capacity to give the customer even finer motoring at competitive prices, supported by a comprehensive parts service.