Great interview; fond memories of Mr. Crook as my father and I visited the showroom in London, when I was say 14 years old, and wore my hair little longer than most, Mr. Crook mistook me for a girl (!) as my father inspected a Brigand... Looking back it still puts a smile on my face. Shame my father didn't bite the bullet that day, and to this very day me and my father are still looking for an opportunity to own a Bristol and go for a good road trip up to, say, Scotland... One day!
My great great grandfather Ralph Miller Crook and Tony's grandfather Eli were brothers. I never got to meet Tony so I am really glad to see this interview and learn about his wonderful career and commitment to the development of the great British car industry!
Tony Crook: absolute iconoclast! Wonderful recollections of the road less travelled by Crook, White and Bristol Cars over 60+ years. Marvellous man, can’t imagine Bristol without him.
What a wonderful interview with an extraordinary man. Whilst a schoolboy, I would go to the motorshow at Earls court on an overnight coach from Merseyside and always wander down the road to Bristol Car's showroom after leaving Earls Court. Such classic cars in the true sense of the words.
I had worked on Bristol car in the early sixties as an apprentice mechanic, I had the task of stripping a 404 for parts it was written off after hitting a steel pole at very high speed. It made me appreciate how incredibly well they were built. Thank you for this very informative interview with this remarkable man.
Great and important interview , good overview of a long well lived life and career by a man still in full control of his reflections ... Very Good Work!!
I'm Tony Crook! Lol. 46 yrs old residing in Atlanta Ga. First time seeing this. Thank you Mr. Crook for keeping up the family name. You seem like a good ol chap
We have to respect these gentlemen of the past. What an essential part of history they are. And what brilliant practical engineers and sportsmen and gentlemen drivers they were...
A piece of history, automotive history as well. What a man. Fantastic interview. Captivated by the characters, cars and business of the age he describes. What a treasure. Thank you.
What a wonderful interview. Any record of Tony Crook and his stories is important to preserve. Such an eventful life he lived, and such great cars his company produced. I dream of owning a Bristol someday.
I have been a great car enthusiast from an early age and have owned some interesting cars, but always loved the idea of owning a Bristol. I fell in love with a pale blue Bristol Brigand that was featured in, I think Motorsport, back in the early/mid 80s. Ever since then, there has always been this thing in the back of my mind thinking...one day...one day. I was very fortunate to visit the showroom on several occasions through the 80s and 90s, and was very politely tolerated by Tony who answered my questions, even though he knew I wasn't in a position to buy one! A great man of the UK racing and motoring industry.
Great film, I did meet the great man once being in the trade myself, wonderful man and great car company. Never been in a Bristol but love them As they are classy under stated cars that define good taste in a world of bling.
i met mr. crook on the bristol stand at the '68 earls court; i had no idea he was the head of the company. i wound up ordering a 410 and he absolutely refused to paint it dark green! he let me have that color in the sidespear. the car itself was medium gray. it's still around tulsa, oklahoma. a decade ago i bought a 408 with a 340c.i. tri-carb setup. i sold it a few years later. i was divinely inspired to look for the 407 zagato in late '85; i've has it since summer '86 and had it in europe where my wife and i encountered another bristol owner in a small town in france! it's been at pebble beach twice in zagato-feature years--not for judging as it was an almost-daily driver. i found a bulletin with my letter in it in which i said bristol should build a car with the big dodge (chrysler) v10...someday i hope to own a bristol fighter
The earlier ones were special to their contempories with their lighter weight. After that it was more about exclusitivity. Surprising the marque lasted as long as it did. The saving grace was never becoming a badged tarted up BMC on being made in Europe or Asia.
Bristol might be exclusive but the Blenheim like buying a 1970's looking car in the 21st century and not even a good looking 1970's car. A 1970's Aston Martin DBS is far better looking. Bristol Motors is an example of what would have happened to Manufacturers like Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Bentley if they hadn't been bought out and invested in by the much bigger manufacturers.
@Professor McClaine Not so sure about that as its become more expensive to develop new cars that meet the latest safety requirements, being taken over by larger companies gave them access to investment for new models and access to their parts bin, as the Directors of Aston said at the time it was sold to Ford they didnt even have the money to develop an Airbag which is why as small independent companies they would have likely gone the way of Bristol with increasingly out of date models appealing to a very limited market. This will be even more true in the future with the end of Petrol cars Rolls are going to need access to BMW technology, and Bentley VW technology. Yes it would have been nice if British Leyland could have really sorted itself out properly with really good cars that would have even allowed such Rolls to be part of its portfolio and been a major player in the Automotive industry, instead of it mostly going down the pan with bits of it owned foreign companies but unfortunately it didn't happen, I had 2 x 1990's Rovers and they were very good cars for me but by then reputation was really too tarnished for many.
Great interview; fond memories of Mr. Crook as my father and I visited the showroom in London, when I was say 14 years old, and wore my hair little longer than most, Mr. Crook mistook me for a girl (!) as my father inspected a Brigand... Looking back it still puts a smile on my face. Shame my father didn't bite the bullet that day, and to this very day me and my father are still looking for an opportunity to own a Bristol and go for a good road trip up to, say, Scotland... One day!
My great great grandfather Ralph Miller Crook and Tony's grandfather Eli were brothers. I never got to meet Tony so I am really glad to see this interview and learn about his wonderful career and commitment to the development of the great British car industry!
Tony Crook: absolute iconoclast! Wonderful recollections of the road less travelled by Crook, White and Bristol Cars over 60+ years. Marvellous man, can’t imagine Bristol without him.
What a wonderful interview with an extraordinary man. Whilst a schoolboy, I would go to the motorshow at Earls court on an overnight coach from Merseyside and always wander down the road to Bristol Car's showroom after leaving Earls Court. Such classic cars in the true sense of the words.
I had worked on Bristol car in the early sixties as an apprentice mechanic, I had the task of stripping a 404 for parts it was written off after hitting a steel pole at very high speed. It made me appreciate how incredibly well they were built.
Thank you for this very informative interview with this remarkable man.
Great and important interview , good overview of a long well lived life and career by a man still in full control of his reflections ... Very Good Work!!
I'm Tony Crook! Lol. 46 yrs old residing in Atlanta Ga. First time seeing this. Thank you Mr. Crook for keeping up the family name. You seem like a good ol chap
A delightful interview with the great man. I doubt we will see his like again. Well done and thank you
We have to respect these gentlemen of the past. What an essential part of history they are. And what brilliant practical engineers and sportsmen and gentlemen drivers they were...
A piece of history, automotive history as well.
What a man. Fantastic interview.
Captivated by the characters, cars and business of the age he describes. What a treasure.
Thank you.
What a wonderful interview. Any record of Tony Crook and his stories is important to preserve. Such an eventful life he lived, and such great cars his company produced. I dream of owning a Bristol someday.
I have been a great car enthusiast from an early age and have owned some interesting cars, but always loved the idea of owning a Bristol. I fell in love with a pale blue Bristol Brigand that was featured in, I think Motorsport, back in the early/mid 80s. Ever since then, there has always been this thing in the back of my mind thinking...one day...one day. I was very fortunate to visit the showroom on several occasions through the 80s and 90s, and was very politely tolerated by Tony who answered my questions, even though he knew I wasn't in a position to buy one! A great man of the UK racing and motoring industry.
An amazing man and an amazing story
Interesting interview and fascinating history
Great film, I did meet the great man once being in the trade myself, wonderful man and great car company. Never been in a Bristol but love them
As they are classy under stated cars that define good taste in a world of bling.
classy under stated cars that define good taste in a world of bling
so true
i met mr. crook on the bristol stand at the '68 earls court; i had no idea he was the head of the company. i wound up ordering a 410 and he absolutely refused to paint it dark green! he let me have that color in the sidespear. the car itself was medium gray. it's still around tulsa, oklahoma. a decade ago i bought a 408 with a 340c.i. tri-carb setup. i sold it a few years later. i was divinely inspired to look for the 407 zagato in late '85; i've has it since summer '86 and had it in europe where my wife and i encountered another bristol owner in a small town in france! it's been at pebble beach twice in zagato-feature years--not for judging as it was an almost-daily driver. i found a bulletin with my letter in it in which i said bristol should build a car with the big dodge (chrysler) v10...someday i hope to own a bristol fighter
Sounds like you have had some nice cars, and a bit of influence!
Hard to watch him suffering the same way as Christopher Hitchens in this interview. Another great speaker with so much to offer us all.
Shame to compare this decent man to a revolting drink sodden warmonger
What an amazing man
Bristol's seat must be really comfortable for an hour interview.
Makes me sad to see the state of our motor industry
There is bristol car of Winston Churchill here near by Marrakech since 1943
You did him dirty with the thumbnail 👀
The earlier ones were special to their contempories with their lighter weight. After that it was more about exclusitivity. Surprising the marque lasted as long as it did. The saving grace was never becoming a badged tarted up BMC on being made in Europe or Asia.
a british gent … when it meant something culturally, talking about his career passion, not himself.
So well said!
British is Best .
Crap audio again
Bristol might be exclusive but the Blenheim like buying a 1970's looking car in the 21st century and not even a good looking 1970's car. A 1970's Aston Martin DBS is far better looking. Bristol Motors is an example of what would have happened to Manufacturers like Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Bentley if they hadn't been bought out and invested in by the much bigger manufacturers.
@Professor McClaine Not so sure about that as its become more expensive to develop new cars that meet the latest safety requirements, being taken over by larger companies gave them access to investment for new models and access to their parts bin, as the Directors of Aston said at the time it was sold to Ford they didnt even have the money to develop an Airbag which is why as small independent companies they would have likely gone the way of Bristol with increasingly out of date models appealing to a very limited market. This will be even more true in the future with the end of Petrol cars Rolls are going to need access to BMW technology, and Bentley VW technology. Yes it would have been nice if British Leyland could have really sorted itself out properly with really good cars that would have even allowed such Rolls to be part of its portfolio and been a major player in the Automotive industry, instead of it mostly going down the pan with bits of it owned foreign companies but unfortunately it didn't happen, I had 2 x 1990's Rovers and they were very good cars for me but by then reputation was really too tarnished for many.
Being hostile to the motoring press didn’t help. Maybe open up more than one dealership? Now they’re so exclusive there aren’t any more. Happy now?
Why are people superstitious about green.
This is the reason Bristol cars are so nerdy and goofy. This interview says it all..