The British Motor Industry, 1945-94

Dr Timothy Whisler is in the Department of History at Saint Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania. He has a PhD from the London School of Economics and has contributed to many books and journals on the subject of the motor industry, including Wada and Shiomi, Fordism Transfomed (OUP, 1995).

• Introduction ; 1. Reconversion: confirming the inter-war course ; 2. Corporate Structure and Management Strategy: decision making and path dependence, 1945-68 ; 3. British Leyland and Chrysler UK: lock-in, path overlap, and dysfunction ; 4. The Final Stage in the Indigenous Path: British Leyland under Edwardes, 1977-9 ; 5. Design and Development: the practical man and the myth of engineering excellence ; 6. British Production Methods: the evolution of flexibility and failure of Fordism ; 7. Distribution Structures: dealers, agents, and self-interest ; 8. Domestic and Export Markets: demand, differentiation, and product characteristics ; 9. Product Quality and Reliability: the silver British lemon ; 10. U-Turn, New Path, or Market Failure? 1979-94 ; Conclusion

... interesting and insightful ... a convincing account of the causes of the decline in the UK car industry.