50 Years Of Morris Cars

Press, Volume CI, Issue 30005, 14 December 1962, Page 11

50 Years Of Morris Cars

TOURING this year occurred the jubilee of Morris Motors, Ltd., now part of the British Motor Corporation.

William Robert Morris, the founder of Morris Motors, was born in 1877, the son of an Oxfordshire farmer. In 1901 he described himself as a “practical cycle maker and repairer”; two years later he was able to say “Motor Repairs a Speciality,” and in 1905 he was operating a successful car hire service, and was toying with the idea of building a car of his own from parts made by specialists but designed by himself.

By 1910 he had expanded his premises in Longwall, Oxford, and felt that he was able to go ahead with designing his first car. To keep his motor manufacturing business entirely separate from his garage activities a new company—W. R. M. Motors Ltd.—was registered in August 1912 with William Richard Morris as the managing director and sole ordinary shareholder. First Model The first model—the Morris-Oxford light car—was a two-seater with an 8.9 h.p. engine and priced at £165. Morris was certain he must keep the price low but was even more convinced that he must ensure reliability and low running expenses. Though he designed his own cars, they were not manufactured at Oxford. His premises were, indeed, an assembly plant, practically all the components being manufactured elsewhere to specifications and upon jigs supplied by W. R. M. Motors Ltd. Engines, gearboxes, and carburetters came from White and Poppe, of Coventry, axles and other components from E. G. Wrigley and Co. of Birmingham, wheels from Sankey, while the bodies were made in Oxford by the coach-building firm of Raworth. Not Ready Morris had hoped to announce his car at the 1912 motor show, but delays inevitably occured and the vehicle was not ready. Un-

deterred, he went to the show armed only with his blueprints and unbounded confidence. The story of Gordon Stewart’s order for 400 cars solely from the drawings, and his subsequent appointment as distributor for the London area is legendary, and the firm of Stewart and Arden bears witness to this day to the perspicacity of Morris and the prescience of Gordon Stewart. Cowley Morris’s intention to build 1500 of the first MorrisOxford, coupled with the firm order for 400 of them, convinced him of the need for larger premises and the move to Cowley took place before the first car was built. Cowley has been the home of Morris cars ever since. So popular was the original car that by January, 1914, the catalogue offered six variations, including a coupe and a delivery van, and Morris was planning another model—the Morris-Cowley to be. Although production of this car commenced—mainly using components of American manufacture (including the engine, which was of 11.9 h.p.)—the war proved a serious setback. The factory was turned over to munitions production and it was while engaged in this that methods of “flowline” assembly were introduced. These were to be developed in the post-war years and led to the introduction of conveyor systems whereby the assemblers remained at one station while the product moved past them.

Morris Motors' In 1919 W. R. M. Motors Ltd. was succeeded by Morris Motors Ltd. and the use of the original 8.9 h.p. engine discontinued. Both the Morris-Oxford and the Morris-Cowley were thenceforward fitted with the 11.9 engine, which was now being manufactured for Morris at Coventry by the Hotchkiss Company. Also at Coventry, the coach-building firm of Rollick and Pratt was building the bodies, though increased demand necessitated some body construction at Cowley. The firm making radiators opened a branch in Oxford and names which are now familiar the world over began to be assocated with Morris —Dunlop for tyres, Lucas for “electrics”, Smiths for instruments. The immediate post-war trade boom of 1919/20 was followed by a serious slump —particularly in the motor trade. Morris personally was convinced that this slump would not be of long duration and continued with his production programme. His sales, however, dropped disastrously. Price Cut He made a drastic reduction in prices in February—£loo off the £525 for the four-seater Cowley and £9O off the £485 for the twoseater model. The effect upon his sales surprised even him. During the summer of 1921 other manufacturers made price reductions comparable with those of Morris, so at the motor show in October he startled the industry by making further big reductions. In this way he established himself as the leading figure in the industry. He acquired the Hotchkiss Company, Osberton Radiators, and Hollick and Pratt, who made his bodies They were renamed Morris Motors Ltd radiators branch and bodies branch respectively while the Hotchkiss Company became engines branch. Later the S.U. Carburettor Company was also purchased.

During this period the export side of the business was developed by the opening of an export department in 1924 Morris also became interested in the all-steel body, and helped to finance the setting up of the Pressed Steel Company. The location of this company at Cowley was not fortuitous as its primary object was to supply bodies for Morris cars. Depression After the slump of 1929 came the depression of the early thirties. The market for large cars fell away and this hit Morris Motors particularly hard

Prices could not be lowered as they had been 10 years previously, so Morris decided to produce a car that would sell for £lOO. The engine of the Minor was changed to a side-valve in order to bring the price down and in 1931 the company was able to advertise a car for £lOO w’hich did 100 m.p.h. and 100 m.p.g., both these feats having been actually performed—the one at Brooklands with a supercharged version of the car and the other at about 15 m.p.h. on a road circuit between Birmingham and Coventry. Apart from the Minor, the Isis had been developed In the 1929'30 period and four other cars were developed between 1929 and 1932. The 16 h.p. and 25 h.p. Oxfords were next to appear, together with the Morris 10, and in 1933 Morris were able to offer cars of eight. 10, 12, 14, 16. 18, and 25 h.p., all. except the 16 h.p., being available as saloons, coupes, and tourers. Nuffield In 1938 Morris pressings branch (now Nuffield Metal Products) was established in Birmingham to produce bodies for Morris cars as well as Wolseley and Riley (which was purchased in the same year). By now the manufacturer had the means of production of all his major components in his own control. His services to the country had been recognised by the conferment of a barony in 1934, and in 1938 the first Baron Nuffiield was created a viscount. The original small Morris Motors had expanded into the vast Nuffield Organisation producing Morris, Riley, Wolseley, and M.G cars as well as Morris commercial vehicles. In 1939, on May 22, the millionth Morris car was completed, and less than four months later September saw the cessation of car production and the factory at Cowley turned over to munitions of war once again. Immediate post-war production was concentrated upon the eight and 10 h.p. cars, and in 1948 there appeared the first post-war-designed Morris Minor, the small car which has sold more than a million. The eight and 10 h.p. cars were discontinued and the range completed with the 13.5 h.p. Oxford and the 20.5 h.p. Morris Six. In 1952, with the formation of the British Motor Corporation, the interests of Nuffield and Austin were merged and development has proceeded on a joint basis. Lord Nuffield retired from active participation in the affairs of the organisation but is honorary president of the British Motor Corporation.