The Mini was a hopeful sign

Yet British Leyland was still able to design interesting cars. The Mini when it came out in was innovative with a lot of interior space for its size and real car performance from its traverse engine. It was better than any of the baby cars on the market at the time – such as the Fiat 500, or the Isetta.

The Mini (no one now remembers that you could either buy a Morris or an Austin Mini – the Austin was cheaper!) - was a likeable and stylish car and it stayed a design icon throughout the 1960s and 1970s and even today. But it never became a world beater.

2008-05-13