A vintage car!

I noticed this Morris Minor car on the street outside a garage. I stopped and admired its elegant appearance and aesthetic state. Most of its looked original. I was keen to meet the owner to get a sense of his reason for interest in the vintage car. But he or she was not available. 

From the little of the history I could pick out about this vintage car lineage, I remember that Sir William Morris designed and manufactured the series of Morris Minor cars from 1928-30 in his Oxford factory in Britain. It first appeared as a two door car with with 810 cc engine, which became an instant successor. This car was sold at 100 pounds and this series of cars acquired 41 percent of the car market in Britain. 

 

It is from this generation of cars the model I spotted evolved. I found the original drawing of the two door car in the internet which I copied below to give a glimpse of the concept car which changed the history of car manufacturing in Britain with a car of 1000 cc available under 200 pounds.

This two door model evolved to Morris eight family model to Morris-Austin after Sir William Morris acquired the Austin car company which was the largest car manufacturer in Britain at that time. 

Sir William Richard Morris (!877-1963) Ist viscount Nuffield, GBE, CH, FRS was an English Motor manufacturer and Philanthropist, who founded the Morris Motors Limited, Nuffield origination, Nuffield Foundation, and Nuffield college, Oxford. Upon leaving the school at 15 years Sir Morris began his first ob as a bi-cycle seller and repairer. Nine months later he set up a garage behind his parent's home to repair bi-cycles. He began to work with Motor cycles in 1901 and designed Morris motor cycle. This led him to expand to sell and repair cars.  He developed the Morris Garage and designed the first car in 1912 and the yearly car manufacturing reached in 1919 to a level of 56000 cars. The gave him confidence to acquire the Austin car company from its creator Herbert Austin and went on to manufacture Morris Minor brand series of cars in 1928.

This car was manufactured in India by the Hindustan Motors and exported to Britain from 1950's. 

Morris was the 'most famous industrialist of his age' in Britain. The Morris Motors merged with Austin Motor company to create a new holding company, the British Motor corporation. He retired from all his former positions at the age of 75 years and went on to live till 85 years. He was known as a philanthropist of great repute. I remember seeing a plaque in Guy's hospital in London referring to his contribution to the development of the hospital after Second World War. He was childless and lived to promote wellness and benefits to the disadvantaged. In 1938 a serial blackmailer attempted to kidnap him, which the police prevented by arresting the plotter early enough. Sir Morris had several challenges as a car manufacturing was hampered by two world wars.  He lived with a vision and translated it into a reality in his life time.

When I see the new generation of cars on Indian roads under the brand MG, I feel nostalgic because the dream of cycle repairer to make cars ended in creating many bench marks in car  manufacturing. 
 

I have been interested to meet owners of vintage cars who are a first owner or a second owner. The reason being, such people would have considerable interest in a particular brand and model of a car. Such owners are also people with interest in retaining the history and bringing it alive for people who still have an interest in connecting with technology from which we have moved on to to arrive here. 

Our history is what anchors us in the story of humanity and narrates our journey thus far. 

I feel fascinated by the story of yesteryear's of automobile evolution- it is all about pioneering and innovating when the outcome was not well known! It is inspirational ! Those who innovated did so knowing that they would be replaced by new innovators! They shared their knowledge with others in order to continue the journey into more innovation!

What others have done are important than what we strive to do now. They did all that without access to all the modern technology which we have now. Our forerunners had a lot to endure and they did so knowing that with the best they could do, they were showing the way for others in the future to do better. 

Three cheers who were our earlier torch bearers and path finders!

M.C.Mathew (photo and text)