:Jerry: wrote:
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Steve Firth wrote:
I didn't say that, but if you want an up dated Minor the Marina
does
fit the bill
Errm wasn't the Marina more of an Austin Cambridge than a Minor?
Not really. The basic one (1300) was more Minor - engine and
suspension,
etc. The larger one (1800) had a B Series engine.

In terms of interior space it was closer to the Farina range. The
estate
especially was pretty spacious.


The silly thing is, with a bit more refinement [1], such as using
either the Midget or MGB front axle, a better gearbox and better
method of securing / suspending the rear axle the Marina could have
been a good car. Both the Maxi and the later Marina are prime examples
of what went wrong with B(L)MC. :~(


Not really. MGB and Midget front axles were high maintenance abortions:
McPherson struts were cheap and OK, and a live rear axle was no worse
than an escort.

The real problem wasn't design per se, but manufacturing quality.

They rusted faster than an escort, and all the switches and knobs broke
(off)

At the time when the Europeans were coming in with galvanized bodies,
full underseal etc etc it simply wasn't acceptable enough (for a private
buy)or cheap enough (for fleet use).


Its amazing that in a world of "me too" cars you juts have to be
slightly cheaper or slightly better to capture a huge slice of the
market. The Ford Escort was slightly cheaper and slightly better IIRC.

So was the Vauxhall Viva. A very decent little McPherson strut live rear
axle thing. Or its bigger brother..the one before the cavalier..


[1] relitive to what was then current.