Ex-Coventry car workers sought for book

That was most likely the hole in the doors that I was told about. The funniest thing ever to come out of Ryton was the cartoon in the CET showing four European car workers representing the largest makers sprinkling water on the parking lots of the Ryton plant after the guys who drove the cars off the end of the track had striked because they were getting their feet wet. A guy who worked at the Canley Triumph told me that he had spent all day breaking new headlights. When I asked why, and I just had to know, he said that they were obliged to take in continual deliveries from Lucas and they had run out of room as the plant was on strike and there were no cars being produced. Is it any wonder that the British car industry went the way that it did.

Living very close to the factory, I heard very similar stories from a shop steward in the spares dept. This bit is really sad, I was once taken to task by a development engineer at Canley for suggesting that the average British customer preferred the features of a Japanese import to the typical British offering at the time. And what was the last car ever to bear a Triumph badge, a Japanese designed Honda!

Yes. Features like 'starting up every morning'. It was the first Triumph where you didn't have to live within pushing distance of the dealerships. The CD model had every gadget imaginable on it and was a decent car, but the Acclaim was never a Triumph in my eyes, despite the badging.