The Austin Maxi is the Epitome of British Leyland's Genius and Failure
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- Опубліковано 23 жов 2021
- Of all British Leyland's weird and wonderful cars, none quite epitomise the simultaneous genius and failure as Alec Issigonis' last car - the Austin Maxi.
With its transverse engine, front-wheel drive, Hydrolastic suspension, five-speed gearbox, and five-door hatchback body style, the Maxi was ten years ahead of all the competition, providing part of the blueprint of the modern family car.
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A presenter that is more interested in showing off the car than himself. Carefully researched, accurate, unbiased and interesting. Makes you realise how over-paid and gormless some of the mainstream presenters are. This guy has a real talent.
Thanks mate.
We had a Maxi 1750HL in the '80s and used it to drive from Bristol to Lappeenranta in Finland, mostly trouble free apart from shedding one of its windscreen wipers on the M4 on the way home.
Agreed.
And it doesn't hurt that he's a bit cute too...
I drove my Dads Dark Blue Austin Maxi (1996 - 1998) during my Uni years, my Dad had a company car and the Maxi just sat in the garage for years with very little use. I was a bit embarrassed at first, thinking I would get the royal mick taken out of me but the amount of people that loved it both young and old really made me appreciate it. I saw one parked in town a month ago and the smile was so big it hurt my face. Wish I still had it.
I ran a Maxi for 3 years, never let me down once, acres of space, very comfortable & nice to drive.
It certainly was a far better car all round than the awful Marina I had later.
The Marina was an amazingly crap car even for its day.
@@halfbakedproductions7887 I would disagree. Back in the day I drove a good many miles in a Mk3 Cortina 1.6, 1.3 & 1.8 Marinas, and 1500 & 1600 Avengers. They all had their good points and not so good, but in my experience there wasn't much between them.
What went wrong with the Marina?
@@McVaio Mechanically fine, but It rusted away at an alarming rate, all four door bottoms, front wings & sills!
It also had terrible handling....
@@markpirateuk That's unfortunate. I always liked the looks of them.
Excellently produced doco. It is a pity more writers don't adopt this format without loud obtrusive music and unnecessary overdone sound FX. Take note young film makers of this man's style.
Agree
@@buster6093 Me too!
That's so true.
Take note top gear, you wankers
Don't care what people say, I have always liked the Maxi. Just sooooo different.
Don't worry. People think I'm mad for liking the Scimitar GTE rip-off Allegro estate.
I had a 1750hl 5 speed British racing green, cream interior:magic car
Enjoyed the one i had too as did my friend who bought it off me when i got bored ( something that i was afflicted with), such a roomy practical car. I had a landcrab too
Mee too, always liked IT...
Absolutely brilliant car with absolute crap engines and drive train,
ive been watching this channel from day one , its so nice to see a young lad not just doing super cars but classic english motors , one day this lad will have his own show on tele fingers crossed, mum and dad must be so proud, keep up the good work mate.
100% Agreed Ian. Makes a refreshing change. We do not need yet another boring young Clarkson wannabee where British Automotive product is involved. This fella knows good stuff and how best to present it with very limited facilities. Keep up the good work.
I clearly remember parking my company car Maxi alongside a MK1 Golf same red colour. They look very similar from the front profile or those two did back then about forty years ago. Drove both those cars and the Maxi was by far the better on most counts, even reliability.
Finally. I have always driven mainly the product of Longbridge, Cowley and Abingdon be they private new or used purchases, or company cars when given the choice,.
Never had an unreliable British Car! Bought my first one back in the glorious days when you could do a "ton" on the North circular and cop cars in their Jags and Daimler SP250 Darts would move over and cheerfully wave you past.
Automotively speaking, youngsters today don't know theyze born... .. No rose tinteds involved either... 👍👍...😉
NIce review. I learnt to drive in my dads maxi.. so we experienced it as a family car, which tbh even with hindsight it seemed very good at.
The Maxi was a great car, super smooth in its day and really big and comfortable inside.
Got one myself hls
the mini, 1100, and the maxi were good cars I like the size and comfort, it was always going on strike I think industrial relations were so bad Britain was know as the sickman of europe.
@@stevenemsley5185 stock up on the green fluid!
Growing up, Maxi was and still is my fav car. A wheel in each corner, stable, bench seats and easy to work on. I had it for so long that it fell apart through rust. Headlights fell out, seats fell through the floor and the door hinges held on by weld after weld. But the dear old thing still drove itself to the scrapper...lol
I bought a 79 maxi (1750) in 84 on HP believe it or not and then abused it as a young roofer carrying ladders, tools ,matériels, and rubbish ...no rust probs but pushed the hydrogas system to thé max ! Great work horse though
Snag was that in those days it wasn't that long before rust killed cars. I had a 1972 Maxi as my first car, Despite liberal application of Hammerite and similar things I couldn't get is past its MOT at 12 years old and it went to the scrapyard. My current cars are 17 and 22 years old respectively and have not needed any welding - yet.
Interestingly I attended a seminar years ago held by BL for the industry. An interesting fact came up in a question that was posed which car of the range cost the least in warranty claims. Quite a few people thought it would be the Triumph Acclaim including myself as a workshop forman in a large Austin rover dealership. It turned out it was Austin Maxi.
In the 70's my dad worked as a travelling sales rep. He had 3 maxis in succesion, a mustard, a green and a brown one, all 1750's. They did everything, to this day he says the maxi was way ahead of its time. After the maxis he got a Princess which just didn't cut the mustard... Maxi.
That's why he had 3
My Dad had a Princess after driving a Maxi. It was a far heavier car with no hatchback. Cutting the mustard was never what it was going to do.
We had the green one too. Loved it.
But did it cut, the cheese?
Mad to think that these days that styling - with the wheels to the edges - is downright desirable and that overall the design has aged rather well. Also, can add my parents to the list of people that actually slept in a Maxi. They were just talking about how useful it was last night!
It was 30 years ahead of its time: inner space, practicality and light as a substitute for aesthetics. Excellent video, well presented.
Thanks Timothy 🙂
I worked on an drove loads of maxis brilliant car in every respect the only thing that didn’t like was the engine sound if anyones thinking. About buying one as a classic buy one you won’t be disappointed
Ahead of its time in many ways, but fell down in others. An engineer's car, but the styling didn't appeal to the general public. And the original cable gearchange and the oversquare non-revving engine were serious problems. Even the later rod gearchange wasn't great. The five speed gearbox, internal space and even seats that converted to a bed were great.
Great video!
Ive always quite liked the Maxi, unlike most people I've never found the styling ugly or offensive and always found the space inside very impressive!👍
I seem to remember an ad for the Maxi in which the front seats' ability to be reclined flat, in line (or co-planar?) with the rear ones, was vaunted as "Making the car ideal for a young man about to start a family"
@@robertlawson8572
Yes indeed, it all folded down into a fully sprung double bed which I often used when camping and couldn't be bothered putting up the tent. I would wake up after a comfortable and refreshing nights sleep and put on the radio to listen to the news before breakfast. Happy days!👍😎
We loved it, we liked the shape and the size
@Robert Lawson I wonder if the advert had sex machine, by James Brown as a backing track 😂
An old friend had one as teens in the early 90s.
I can confirm space for 7 in the back 😂
Took my HLS Maxi to Europe several times on winter sports holidays - absolutely fabulous in the snow leaving Mercs, Beemers and Volvos in its wake . Locals could not believe that it was not 4 wheel drive. When passing stranded Beemer once in about 15 cm of snow my wife asked why we were still progressing regally and I just replied " Because we are British"
The Austin Maxi always brings back good memories for me. In our family, we had a blue 1978 MKII 'base model, a 1980 MKII HL, and a 1982 Maxi 2 two-tone (not original paint job, but very convincing). Lovely, underrated cars
My friend's dad had one and let him borrow it one weekend when they were away. I spent an afternoon with him touring the Yorkshire dales. I have to say it really was a good car, much to my surprise. It wasn't pretty but it was well made and well thought out, capable and adaptable. It was ahead of its time but it was too late for BL.
I’ve come to appreciate the Maxi more and more - it really was a cleverly designed and packaged car. Aimed as a practical car for the family motorist. It was never going to compete on the fleet market, but as an inexpensive, rugged and practical family car, once the early quality nibbles were ironed out, this became a much loved family car. I liked the car in this video - my next door neighbour (who worked for BL) had an identical one.
If you iron out nibbles you burn them, and the BL management buffet will be spoiled!
Is it just me or do more of us old gits now think thèse cars Landcrab/Maxis wernt so bad , just shocking qualité control that made it a lotterie if you got a good one ?
We owned 2 Maxis back in the day, both 1750s (K-reg and V-reg) with the later gear change and they coped well with everything asked of them, a severely underrated car. Not often I find myself agreeing 100% with a car review video but you've called this one spot on! I believe today's BMW Mini is bigger than the Maxi in all 3 dimensions (Height/Width/Length) so just goes to show how bloated today's cars are.
The Maxi and similar designs are _pure_ and _minimalist_ - with latest engine, braking, production line and driveline technologies can you imagine how amazing they would be? A 2023 Maxi would kick arse!
I bought a second hand Maxi when I moved into a new house, I used and abused that car and it still did not give up, I had 250 house bricks in it once and four loads of concrete building blocks (9x4x15),One night I had twelve 4"x6"x10ft wooden joists for my new floor hanging out of the back. I used the car for two and a half tears to and from work, a fifty mile round trip and finally blew the engine up because I was using waste hydraulic from a machining centre in the engine. I paid £350 for it and got £750 for against another car, the deal was it had to be driven onto the dealers for court which I managed to do with a very very loud knocking from under the bonnet.
I had a 1750 Maxi from new in 1974. One of the best family cars I ever owned.
Loved the Maxi. A few friends' families had them, and a trip in one was always a pleasure. Nice to see you found one, as it makes a great follow-up to the brochure video.
Amazing isn't it. Despite all the haters the car still managed to shine through.
I had a mate who had a succession of them - he was a mobile mechanic and used them was a works van then at weekends as a keen camper and rally marshal they were great for going away in. When in a cold Lake District forest stage he would set it up as an albeit bumpy double bed and the minute he wasn't needed it was in the maxi in the sleeping bag with a duvet pulled over and sorted. Mornings the ciggy lighter and one of those kettle type heating elements and hot coffee was soon on the go then off to some local caff for a breakfast
@@darrenwilson8042 Perfect demonstration of the versatility and practicality, excellent. Would love a car like that now.
My dad had a '69 1500 and liked it, I drove a partially armoured 1750 about 10 yrs later in N. Ireland and enjoyed driving it.
Owned two Maxis. Almost a great car.
Great mile eaters, comfortable and spacious with the lowest boot sill I’ve ever seen, and superb handling
And you can Kip in it.
Shame about the rust and engine reliability
They had a reputation for rust, as all BMC and BL cars of the Era, but in my opinion, this was unfounded. All cars of that period suffered from rust. I had a MK2 ford Cortina1600 GT and a Later, MK1 Escort 1300. These were terrible cars for rusting. I believe the BL bashing was political from the Southern press, because they wanted to Bring Red Robbo down. Not that i was a fan of his, or what he stood for, but the bad reputation of BL was more political than the quality of there cars.
Highly under rated car. I had three of these, the last one the same colour and model as the one in your video. Versatile, smooth, and powerful engine especially in HL form. All cars in this era had their problems and rust. Great job on the review!
In many ways it was a great car my mum had a 1850Hl and it was really nice to drive.
What I’m surprised at is that no one’s mentioned fuel consumption, it literally drank petrol. I had to fuel it myself when I used it and no matter how carefully I drive it , you would just watch the fuel gauge go down. I’ve had range rovers that did similar mileage.
I remember driving a Maxi in 1974. It was a desirable car back then. Drove quite well and nice suspension. I drove the Austin 1800 also. Hindsight a fabulous thing. Today they are museum pieces
BL I would describe as misguides genius! The Maxi was years ahead of its time and a for runner of the Ford Sierra. Very solidly built too.
This Maxi is Beautiful ! Great appraisal as always. (:
Not ahead of its time in terms of safety. Way behind Volvo!
@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 True but they were always a very safe car.
BL was run by a very weak management, put in by government, when BL was losing money. it just went from bad to worse.What should have happened, was to shut down all
the plants and start from scratch somewhere else, together with imprisoning "Red Robbo" I know because I lived through this period, had to watch as car after car got a bad name,
wasn't surprising really but to say it was a good car was stretching it.The idea like the mini was to put the engine sideways and leave loads of room BUT you have to build it professionally and they certainly did not.
@@johnchristmas7522 Derisive comment . You get that the management and upper management were put in place by government , Lord Stokes haha ! My father wrote a letter to him in person describing a design fault in the constant velocity drive and he did not even acknowledge it . Then you proceed to impute the lack of competence was all due to strikes led by "Red Robo" , expecting everybody to be naive enough to believe you . Red Robo was just a trade mark symbol used by the Sun news paper to trick simple minded people .
I have proved Lord Stokes was incompetent once I will prove he was incompetent twice . Every single bodyshell coming out of Longbridge had hole drilling AFTER it was spray painted , who fault is that and how dumb is that ?
@@johnchristmas7522 where do you get your information from and don't lie otherwise your comment will be reported as hate.
It's a real joy to listen to this chap's enthusiasm and knowledge about the cars he so obviously admires!
I agree. I like this channel because the presenter keeps focus on cars instead of making it all about him. I know this guy’s name is Ed, but I don’t know anything else about him and that’s how a channel devoted to car history should be. My opinion.
I had a Maxi and loved it. Spacious and comfortable. Quite easy to work on and you could change the clutch in an hour. My only gripe was the build quality causing behind panel rusting.
One of the first cars I ever drove. My dad had one for a few years, the 1750cc 5 speed gear box was a delight. It was incredibly comfortable had a wonderful suspension.
I had a 79 V reg bought in 84 on hire purchase for 1500 quid , it was immaculate and I worked it to death unfortunately as a young roofer working for a roofing firm who discouraged us from having vans in case we nicked Gear from the Yard . Great motor used as a van on my private work, even drove ok when the hydrogas suspension went down on one side ,still got me from London to Brighton before I had to bite thé bullet for a re pump at a BL friendly garage in Lewes. Great work young man , plenty of would have/could have British cars 60s70s to ponder over.....
I had a maxi in the early 1980s. Loved it. The boot was amazing - wide and huge. Also, when you closed the doors there was a really satisfying ‘clunk’ - it felt like it was built as a tank.
I loved the Maxi! practical, comfortable and in my experience pretty reliable.
You've relaxed so much into producing videos over the last while. Really enjoyable to watch & professional 👍
Yeah, I presume Ed. puts this together himself without the aid of a camera person. Pretty impressive.
I do agree it’s impressive, obviously takes loads of time and effort to talk for that length of time. However, the countless little cuts during camera facing monologues were a little annoying once I had noticed them.
Agreed. this lad is very professional, and keeps it content-based without having annoying music and graphics ruin it. Excellent job.
That packaging is amazing for such a small car. And I really miss those clear all round views you used to get from all cars back then. Some things about modern car design seem to have gone backwards.
Memories of the Maxi.
When I was a spotty apprentice, one of our sales reps was given an early model as his company car. When asked about the five speed gearbox, he remarked; 'If you throw the gearlever hard enough in any direction, you may find one of them!'
Several years later, a chap who did most of our site work had one as his daily transport, plus he used it to fill with tools and equipment to carry all over the UK. His verdict was it had been the best car he had ever owned!
First car I owned was a second, well actually fifth, hand Maxi, as you say load carrying was exceptional and I found it a good performer even in snow. Rust got her in the end!
Your informed take and your rational assessment of everything is just so damn refreshing, and your presentation is top-rate (editing is flakey in places but that can be easily outsourced; no one's good at everything) - you're basically the Brian Cox of motoring documentaries, and that's an extremely good thing. And you changed my mind about a BL product, so job done.
A very enjoyable and informative presentation without stupid music, silly graphics and unnecessary verbage. Well Done. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
One of my fave old cars, the Maxi. I had one like the above- a MKII HL...
The gear selector never bothered me, the HL went like a bomb, was crazy comfy, super roomy and pretty fuel efficient.
The engine was a peach also... Fabulous car...
I've owned a couple of Maxis, the first was an early model, and I suppose it was on it's way out when I bought it.
The second was the model in your video, I seem to remember it was a 'T' reg.
It really was one of the most practical cars I've owned. It had a reasonable amount of power, impressive handling, gave a good ride over most roads, and was big enough for my growing family.
Unfortunately I fall in line with the majority of owners and admit that I never actually slept in it. I did fold the seats down to see what it looked like, but never tried it out.
Thanks for another great video. An under-appreciated vehicle. We had one (early1500 model, with the soggy cable gear change) as our family car when I was in my mid to late teens. Carried the family, two dogs and piles of luggage faithfully all over the country for years. I passed my test in it. Some years later, I had a 1750, with the better rod operated gear change. Tough, spacious, reliable and easy to work on. Reg. was SAM 207S, so no prizes for guessing its name. I was one of those who did use it as a bed on wheels on fishing trips.
My dad's friend Roy had a maxi, and as a teenager he loved it. Back then seemed a great motor. If honest I remember it being quiet and smooth. RIP Roy giving me fantastic memories.
One of the few cars at the time having 5 gears.A very underrated car with bags of room and a smooth ride.
I loved my Maxi. The inside was so big it was like being in a sitting room. The gear change was bloody awful but when I came to replace the clutch it was simply a matter of loosening a few bolts and the thing just dropped out. It was simplicity itself.
I'm a complete imbecile when it comes to car mechanics, but even I managed to change the clutch on mine.
Humans always appreciate things in hindsight. These cars like the Maxi and all, are immensely practical and useful. Sadly, people always value form and gizmos over functionality. And then crib about the lack of functionality in the cars they choose to buy. Your work as always is first class, well researched and well presented. Though there are a couple of places I noticed in this video where a couple of disjointed ghosts appear on account of slightly non synchronised editing.
Disagree-a good idea-but thats where it stopped. BL insured it would be built the worst possible way by letting "Red Robbo" rule the roost. The management was pathetic. Like all the cars that came out of BL. Except for the mini but they couldn't even get the price right and lost millions!
@@johnchristmas7522 perhaps. But the car’s design is indeed both practical and useful.
@@shankarbalan3813 I lived through that period and remember all to well the faults and union strikes; the public began to see the foreign imports and realised that cars could be built with good electrics, fine gearboxes and good fitting components, and were reliable and not rust buckets. I bought a maxi, thinking the same way you do and paid for it dearly. One problem after another, so no I don't have the same good eyes of the video maker-hes to young to know the reality. Never heard the expression "Friday Afternoon Car"? It came from BL
@@johnchristmas7522 So sad. What a waste. But yes Sir you are right that the labour unions of those days really murdered the British car industry.
That young man will go much, much further on UTUBE , his speech and knowledge of his subject is excellent.
When I was a child my mum and dad used to fold the seats rear seats down and we would go home sleeping as kids on the back seats fully folded flat😃. It was a treat and normally showing off to whoever would be interested to listen to it🤣
I remember adverts showing a couple lying down in a Maxi in their nightwear. The possibility of sleeping in a Maxi was one of its selling features.
One of the best cars I ever owned, agile, comfortable, capacious and solid. I have owned better cars since, but there was nothing on the market to touch it at the time. I commuted weekly between Shropshire and Devon for a year, and thoroughly enjoyed every mile.
That was the best, most enthousiastic well researched video on anything that I have ever seen in my 74 years on the planet. I rode in a Maxi once, and always fancied one, but was put off by naysayers. Now too late I see I should have had one. Great video thank you.
Do some research, look around, contact owners clubs etc and get your Dream Car ....
I'm cleaning my recording studio and I have youtube streaming. This video came on about ten minutes ago. I didn't pick the video, it just came on. I live in the USA, I have no interest in the topic, subject matter...none of it has any application to my life. This video is so well executed, thought out, put together, that I watched and enjoyed every minute of it. Although you put this presentation out for people that have an interest in the topic, it is so good that I found it interesting, educational and enlightening. Thank you.
Thanks mate, that's very kind of you to say :)
Absolutely superb balanced and fair presentation of the Maxi.
I always wondered why the Maxi looked so similar to the Landcrab.... Now I know. What a Brilliant video, cheers!
Essential Sunday viewing.
You two should try presenting something together, it could be hilarious.
@@johnf5817 I've met Ed once before when I filmed his car. I think he's got better things to do than collaborate with me but you never know!
@@MattysCars Possibly, but it's always worth a try. Personally I'd love to see such a collaboration.
One of my best cars. I had two of the 1750 Maxis and loved every moment of them, even when I had to change the clutch so easy as unlike my earlier minis the flywheel was on straight splines not tapered.
Stumbled upon this Video, I completed in 79 a 5 day course on the Maxi Engine and its 5 speed Gearbox at the Allesley site, shimming the tappetts a pain I remember.
Another cracking video Ed, well done!
I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Maxi.
If never have believed it was smaller than the current Fiesta though!
I know!! I remember mine as a big car even by today’s standards
@@stevewhite1444 Remember mine too, it was a big pile of s....t and was brown to boot.
Even the Mini Clubman is larger...;)
Absolutely brilliant work Ed, that was a truly immersive experience, and whilst I have absolutely no idea if a single word of it was true, I was hooked till the very end.
A damn shame. So much on offer. Aside from everything mentioned in the video, the Maxi was a victim of the whims of fashion.
Now, bend your mind and go to the early nineties - think of a mid-size five door hatchback, which could be specced with a 1.8 litre engine, five speed gearbox, non-metallic suspension - and looong doors. Yep, the Citroen Xantia was the first car I related the Maxi to, as incongruous as it seems.
The Xantia appeared as sleek as the Maxi appeared frumpy. There was a flaw in the Xantia's body design however - a nasty blind spot in the rear quarters that the Maxi's design escaped. The Maxi was truly a triumph of function over form.
I drove a landcrab company car and I was thrilled with it, but a friend had a Maxi and she used it to travel around the UK giving recitals on her harpsichord. she could remove the legs and pedal plinth and the whole instrument would fit into the back of her Maxi. I didn't believe her until I actually saw it!!
Excellent as ever.. The Maxi was one of those "Marmite cars", A far better car than most people ever gave it credit for BUT at the same time with looks that only its own mother could love.?
Your videos keep getting better and better. You are really engaging in front of the camera, keep it up!
Just watched a couple of your videos and they were great.
Your unique approach is giving so much history behind the company and the creation of the car - don't lose that!
In the '60s through '80s, the U.S. automakers had the same track record of introducing new cars with design flaws they already knew about, but neglected to fix because it would cost too much, take too long, or they just thought it wasn't that big of a deal. And by the time they did fix the problems, the model had already gained a bad reputation they were never able to shake off.
I personally like the Maxi's styling, although the Maxi 2 facelift should've come a few years earlier and been more extensive, like the transformation of the Morris Marina into the Ital. Speaking of which, we never got the Maxi here in the U.S. -- instead they gave us the Marina, badged as an Austin, maybe because they thought it was more similar to the low-tech RWD cars that Americans were accustomed to buying.
My dad bought one of the first ever maxis, the early 1500cc model (1970) he was a builder and pretty much used it as a van carrying bricks, cement, plaster and wood. I remember one particular occasion when he loaded a full pack of bricks in the back, about 3/4 of a ton, and the old girl didn't break sweat. He owned that car for about 10 years and covered over 250000 miles and the only things it ever needed were tyres and brake shoes and pads, it never needed a new clutch! It was a plain old work horse, probably the best car he ever had, and I don't get why people never have a good word to say about the maxi, given what other cars were available in the uk at the time in the same price range I would challenge anyone to name a better motor! All the best from England.
Sam Brooks The main reason BL products had such a poor reputation was that almost every new model came to market with flaws, with the Maxi it was the gearchange, with Marina it was the awful handling with Autocar and Motor saying they would say the car was dangerous if BL didn't fix it and with the Princess it was an engine mount problem causing the driveshafts to bang against the monocoque couple that with bloody awful quality control and the well publicised industrial relations problems and I think you have your answer, I remember one customer bought a Rover SD1 from us and at its 1st 12000 m/s it needed pads, the car sat in our workshop for ten weeks because we couldn't get the part due to industrial action, within weeks of getting his car back he chopped it in at Perrys for a Granada and the small fleet of Marinas and Maxis he had also got changed for Ford products.
@@philnewstead5388 Rose tinted spectacles or the usual BS - ALL manufactures were the same back then and there was a reason that Fords were called Dagenham Dustbins. The company I worked for back in the late 80s early 90s used Ford Cortinas and Escorts and the one Capri and they went through engines and gearboxes as if they were wear and tear items and we tried to get the company to move away from Ford but they wouldn't because Ford sold their cars cheaper than everyone else to the company market to keep up their sales and our company did not care as long as the cars were getting fixed under warranty. When it came to us wanting to replace our Escort van with a bigger Transit Ford were on strike for months then and we ended up getting a diesel Sherpa van instead that ended up the most reliable vehicle we had compared to all of the Fords travelling all over the country for years away up to Aberdeen and all the way down to Portsmouth and everywhere in between with no problems at all. The Cavalier Sports Hatch that also replaced one of the Cortinas during another Ford strike was also a far superior and more reliable car as well. I have never bought a Ford since then even though they are much better cars than they were back then and I never had any problems with the 1978 Mk2 Marina 1.8 HL/TC or its handling and I drove that car hard and fast all the time or any of the other BL cars I owned back then either.
William Woods I wasn't suggesting that BL products were any worse than their contemporaries just that their problems were more widely publicised than most certainly there was nothing wrong with them in engineering terms and in many cases I felt the interiors were far superior to the Fords, Vauxhalls and Hillmans of the day. My father had three Marinas the best being the series two HL but the fact remains that the cars came to market underdeveloped and the early cars of whatever model were beset by problems. You are quite right other manufacturers of the day had their problems you almost guarantee that it would be the Fords that wouldn't start come the first frost, years later in a documentary the head of Ford development admitted that the starter motors were sub standard but the money they saved fitting cheap starters far outweighed any warranty claims and don't forget many cars back then only came with six months warranty and it was very much more limited that today's warranties, people go on about the way BL cars used to rust and again I don't remember them being any worse than anything else at the time I can well remember the body shop repairing or replacing wings on Granadas and Victors that were less than five years old. I think all cars ate gearboxes back then Marinas used to eat third gear, Minis,Allegro, and Maxis used to go through synchros and back then we were forever replacing or overhauling engines something almost unheard of today. You are right about the Sherpa van they were nowhere near as comfortable as the Transit and weren't that nice to drive but they were virtually bulletproof the only people that used to manage the break them were the police. I am a big fan of those seventies BL products but I know first hand how bad the quality control was for example every Rover SD1 for a while came off the production line and straight round to the body shop to have the bottoms of the doors filled and resprayed because the production line cradle was damaging the doors, I got a PDI on a Dolomite Sprint one day and it had Sprint stripes and alloys on one side and 1850 steel wheels, trims and stripe on the other and it had a 1500HL badge on the back, had a series two Marina badged and trimmed as an HL but with a 1300 under the bonnet, a Princess with three out of the four door card a different colour and so it went on. I know from the guys I went to college with that other marques had their problems but nothing like we were having but as you so rightly point out nobody from that era made particularly good cars and I think we forget in these days where we don't do anything for anything up to 15000 miles how much maintenance cars needed back then, every 3000 miles and the smallest service was more than a major service today.
@@philnewstead5388 you say that Phil but I myself had two marinas and they were faster and handled at least as well as anything similar that my mates owned at the time ( a couple of vauxhall vivas and a triumph toledo spring immediately to mind) I remember hearing about the notorious cable gear change on the maxi but the one my dad had never had a problem and it did silly miles and was worked hard even by todays standards. Also neither of my marinas or the maxi suffered from any rust problems but I remember very well that other cars in our street, mostly fords and vauxhalls, were absolute rot boxes. I will admit that industrial action by the unions meant that the build quality suffered badly but the same could be said for any British car from the mid to late 70s, with the earlier examples like we had they were better quality, I bought a 1980 1700 ital some time later as a work motor because having had the marinas I thought it would be the same? I was wrong, it was awful and nothing like them.
That Maxi is absolutely gleaming , looks like it's just rolled off the production line
Not convinced it looked that good when new tbh
@@JasperJanssen You may well be right. The ones off the production line usually had a half eaten, cheese sandwich behind the door cards and some Union propaganda paperwork.
Smashed it again Ed, another excellent video learning about the history of the Maxi.
I note that you reviewed this same car a couple of years ago. I've just watched the older one back-to-back with this, and it's really highlighted the quality of your presentations now - very professional. Very informative and entertaining. Thank you.
My Dad had one in grey,Mirage I think.It was huge to us kids back then.I remember it wasnt as unreliable as people made out,and my Dad still talks very fondly of it.
I love your enthusiasm for BL products, so many younger journalists dismiss them as rubbish because programmes like Top Gear say they were without bothering to find out for themselves. The truth is that they weren't bad products and as you so eloquently point out the Maxi was ahead of its time by about fifteen years. The problem was as with many BMC products and the Rover SD1 and Marina spring to mind they were brought to market underdeveloped and the early Maxi with that cable change was an awful thing to drive couple that with the terrible quality control and the fact that unlike today the dealer couldn't just fix problems found on PDI but had to get prior authority which involved filling out a form which was picked up by the BL internal mail van and then wait for written authority to come back that could take up to 48 hours which meant you had cars being released to the customers which weren't perfect you have a bit of a recipe for disaster. The car you have here is probably the best incarnation of the marque as the later car with the larger bumpers etc felt like they had just bolted bits on to freshen it up before the Maestro arrived and it is in probably one of the best colours, I do agree that the styling from some angles looks a bit awkward but really that's a subjective thing and it is far from a bad looking car. As was usual with BL they came to market too early with this car and in the two years it took to sort the problems out it gained such a poor reputation it never recovered which is a shame because by about 1973, quality control and industrial relations aside it had turned a really good car.
@ChryslerMan Amiga 1084 So correct!They only wet themselves over supercars,the snobs...
Great video Ed, production, script and content surpass broadcast standards. Oh, and you're not bad either📽️👌Thank you for all the research you put into this for your viewers benefit. Job well done bruv.
Great video Ed as always! I never realised how innovative the Maxi was! Glad I do now, I’ve a new found appreciation!
What a gem of a find! Great video, very interesting, clearly well researched and excellently delivered. Makes a change from the usual motoring journalism same old same old! I’m off to watch the triumph Dolomite one now!
That is one beautiful example Ed, stunning condition and I adore that colour. Well done
So good to have your regular Sunday videos again, and the last few have been top drawer in terms of both insight and presentation. Great work Ed! I can see why the Maxi was unloved in period, but as simple basic family transport it makes so much sense in hindsight.
Lovely underrated car , my Dad had one and when we used to travel to Scotland , it came into its own for space and comfort over the long journey.
Great video. Well put together & presented. And what a really nice Maxi!
This was my second ever car, got it when I was 16, had it for 6 months before getting caught for underage driving. To say it was a revelation is an understatement! The rear bench folded into the boot and the front seats didn’t have headrests, so when pulled forward and fully reclined it was a bed on wheels….those were the days 😎😎😎😂😂😂🤪🤪🤪
VW split window kombi was better :)
@@andrewallen9993 not as an underaged driver hahaha
Brilliantly researched, professionally presented, superbly edited, informative and 100% enjoyable! It was a tour de force that sets you among one of the top up-and-coming motoring stars! Well done! Rob B
Thanks Rob, that's very kind of you to say :)
Hello Ed,
I am very pleased you are producing regular content again.
This was a well researched, excellently presented and balanced account of the Maxi story. Your presentation style has become relaxed, comfortable and your research well thought through. Your words and grammatical choice with your pleasant, clear diction gets straight to the point .
Well done, more content like this is very desirable.
Many thanks for this trip. We had three of them (we had a BL garage in the village) alongside our Ford Granada 3.0 V6. It was my first ever car aged 17 - it was a Gold HL and the innovation of velour seats over the previous vinyl impressed us! I loved them, and they did everything, and would really have blossomed with some proper development. Never used the double bed unfortunately...
What a beautiful example of the Maxi! Credit to the owner.
This is the second Twin Cam vid I've seen and both have been immensely enjoyable. I learned to drive in my dad's company car, an 1800 land crab, and some years later when I first went self-employed I needed cheap, comfortable and reliable transport. A succession of Maxi's followed (none of which cost more than £400) culminating in a 1750 HL in baby-poo brown with sundym windows and impossibly plush velour upholstery.
Yes, they did have awful gearchanges but it was easy enough to work around it and I loved my Maxi's even though I had to suffer the derision of my Ford and Vauxhall-equipped mates. A lot of these BL cars are far better than people or history would have you believe, if only we'd had better management at the top of the UK car industry many of them would have seen their true potential unleashed onto the market.
Keep making these vids Ed, they're absolutely outstanding.
The management were abysmal, but it was red robbo and the Unions that bought it down
I knew an acquaintance whom had a Maxi in NZ, in an example in the same colour, not sure the official colour, but I will call it Burnt Orange, he had it for years and drove it for years.
The first true five speed. Door fabrication and pillar development is the most expensive part of car production, if ignored, it would suggest a price saving measure.
Getting back to my acquaintance, he was an electrician in the railways in Auckland in the early 80's.
We lost contact, found out later he moved to L.A in the states and set up a successful business as an I.T developer and software engineer, I knew his wife, also a "kiwi", completely lost contact, however was in social media, sadly died suddenly aged 63, I think only several months ago.
Thanks for the presentation.
I got my car license over 40 years ago in an Issigonis car 🚗 ❤
As a teenager we had a Maxi and it was a lovely car to travel in. The only problem I found was trying to get it into first gear. So nice to see your program and bring all those lovely memories back.
The Austin 1800 was quite popular in Australia, I had one within the last 10 years, a lovely car. Wish the Maxi had come here.
It came to NZ, i'm surprised it didn't make it to Aussie. Mind you, i think you dodged a bullet, imo, they are an appalling pile of crap :-)
Another quality video Ed, many thanks for your enthusiasm. Oh and 'palaver' a word that should be used a lot more.
I remember two lads in Brighton painting their Maxi in the Starsky and Hutch red with white flash colour scheme.🤔
We had a Maxi when I was a child in the early eighties. I've read quite a bit about them over the years, but I learned more in this video than from everything else I've seen/heard. Great work and I look forward to more.
I had one of these in the same colour as the example shown here. Even today I rate it as one of the best cars I ever owned, lovely ride, roomy, quiet and easy to work on. i was gutted when it was stolen, it was many years before I owned anything comparable to it.
My first car, a Maxi 1750HL. A really strange choice for a young lad, but when you live with mum and dad a car with seats that folded into a double bed was very handy. I loved the car and would love to get hold of another. Great review and factual history lesson.
With you there ! My first car was Mini van for the same reasons, second one was a Maxi.
Just part of the joys of a miss spent youth! My next car was a Mk3 Cortina 2000E estate, loads of space in the back, kind of a theme going on back then!
I remember sitting in the cinema many years ago and seeing adverts for the Maxi ! They pushed the five doors and five gears and being roomy. I seem to remember them being used in car rallies and doing quite well. I had one much later but it rusted out . I had a Maestro much later and they were very similar, including rust !
My boyfriend had one of these, the same colour and I drove it all the time. Bloody loved it, so reliable and comfy
Wonderful, Ed. Thank you so much.
I always loved the Landcrabs and I also had a real affection for the Maxi. They were pretty quick off the mark for the day too.
As I've said before, your research and presentation is spot on.
Cheers Ed.
I drove a Landcrab all over Australia on sealed, dirt and corrugations. It drove down roads that are now marked 4WD only. Between Alice and Adelaide it rained and I got stuck in the wheel ruts north and south. I drove 180 miles at 45 degrees. You cant break one of those buggers.
You should write a book about it Brian...Landcrab Goes Walkabout.
A great and informative video. Love the colour of that example, might it have been worth talking about the final Facelift (Maxi 2) which along with the Allegro 3 (my favourite incarnation) seemed to have quelled most of the issues that the cars had. Unfortunately they were too far gone by that point to make any difference, but they were competent cars
My dad had three maxis when I was growing up, absolutely brilliant cars and as you pointed out, extremely practical. I wouldn't mind having one now except for the notorious problem of rotting sills and getting the hydrolytic system pumped up! Good video, thanks for making it!
My ever first car was a Austin Maxi. Bought used in 1980. Incredible car. Loved its space and style plus its 5 speed gearbox 😊❤️
Great video blog. I do own one myself and just completed a running restoration on it. And small vlogs. They are a great car. Owning ford's in the past I do think the maxi is a very comfy car. Back in the day cars wer built for Practicality uses. Not like today all they want is a 0 to 60 times. Many thanks for a great video blog well done 👍
Thank you so much for yet another very interesting and informative video. I too always loved the Maxi despite so many people at the time saying they were rubbish. I saw one only a couple of months ago on the road and it looked fantastic and brought a smile to my face. Way more interesting to see than any modern car? The nearest we had to having a Maxi was when my Dad bought a six year old 1975 N reg Wolseley 6 in 1981 I thought that was a really cool car too and it seemed huge inside. I had never thought of the Mk 3 Cortina being described as coca cola bottle styling but you are absolutely right. Keep up the brilliant work.
Great presentation! The Maxi wasn't only practical and comfortable, it was fun to drive. Keep on rolling!
my uncle has two brand new maxi`s in his barn , he used to be a partner in a BL dealership that folded in the late 70`s and some of the inventory found its way into his barn and has been there ever since, ther`s also a mini van and an early xjs that still has the pre delivery wax on it !
This is a thoughtful and interesting piece about the Maxi. I enjoyed it. I reckon you are right about Issigonis - recognise his achievements, but accept that he didn't get everything right, especially towards the end.
I always thought the Maxi was a better car than everyone realised but the use of Land Crab doors does seem to have been a mistake. Leyland did the same with the Austin 3-Litre - helping to undermine what was also a better car than people thought, but was a commercial disaster with fewer than 10,000 built.
Hi Michael,
From what the lad said, the choice of doors was borne of financial necessity - BL were desperate to keep costs down and so they had to use existing doors from cars elsewhere in the range rather than manufacturing new ones just for the Maxi. I'm guessing the same was true of the Austin 3 litre as well.
Great review, the Maxi was a brilliant car, I owned a 1750 HL I loved driving it, really comfortable and the suspension was brilliant, hardly felt the bumps and acres of room inside
Another well produced vid. I love how your channel is progressing. Cheers.
This is like a mini Top Gear........good stuff. My dad had a Maxi in the eighties, I drove it after passing my test. And it was like driving a bus.