Wolseley Motor Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Wolseley Motor Company was an automobile manufacturer in the United Kingdom from 1905.
History
Wolseley
began as the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Company before being spun off
(with financing from Vickers) as an independent concern in Birmingham
in 1901. The company had already manufactured its first automobile (in
1895) under the brilliant engineer, Herbert Austin. Austin managed the
new Wolseley company for a very short time before resigning and
embarking on a bicycle ride around then leafy Birmingham to form his
own concern at an old print works in Longbridge, the Austin Motor
Company was born in 1905.
Wolseley
purchased the Siddeley Autocar Company, with founder John Davenport
Siddeley in charge. Siddeley (later Baron Kenilworth) took control of
the merged concern, renaming the marque Wolseley-Siddeley until his
resignation in 1910. He went on to manage the Deasy Motor Company,
which became Siddeley-Deasy. This later merged with Armstrong-Whitworth
to become Armstrong-Siddeley.
Wolseley Motor Company
The
company officially became the Wolseley Motor Company in 1914. It also
began operations in Montreal and Toronto, Canada as Wolseley Motors
Limited. This became British and American Motors after World War I.
In
1918, Wolseley began a joint venture in Tokyo, Japan with Ishikawajiama
Ship Building and Engineering. The first Japanese-built Wolseley car
rolled off the line in 1922. After World War II, the Japan venture
reorganized, renaming itself Isuzu Motors in 1949. Today, Isuzu is part
of General Motors.
Wolseley
grew quickly selling upmarket cars, and even opened a lavish showroom,
Wolseley House, in Piccadilly Circus. Finances were strained, however,
and the company faced recievership in October, 1926.
Nuffield
Wolseley
was purchased by William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield for £730,000 in
1926. Other bidders included General Motors and the Austin Motor
Company. Morris renamed the company Wolseley Motors and consolidated
its production at the sprawling Ward End Works in Birmingham.
In
1935, Wolseley became a subsidiary of Morris' own Morris Motor Company
and the Wolseley models soon became based on Morris designs. It became
part of the Nuffield Organisation along with Morris and Riley/Autovia
in 1938.
After
the war, Morris and Wolseley production was consolidated at Cowley, and
badge engineering took hold. The first post-war Wolseleys, the similar
4/50 and 6/80, were based on the Morris Oxford MO. Later, Wolseleys
mainly shared with Riley, namely the 4/44 and 6/90.
Other
badge engineering exploits followed at BMC. In 1957 Wolseley 1500 was
based on the planned successor to the Morris Minor. The next year, the
Wolseley 15/60 debuted the new mid-sized BMC saloon design penned by
Pinin Farina. It was followed by similar vehicles from five marques
within the year.
The
tiny Wolseley Hornet was based on the Mini but was shared with Riley as
the Elf. Finally, a version of the Morris 1800 was launched in 1967 as
the Wolseley 18/85. The Riley marque, long overlapping with Wolseley,
was retired in 1969. Wolseley continued in diminished form with the
Wolseley Six of 1972, but it was finished just three years later with
the single-year Wolseley 18-22. Today, the Wolseley marque is owned by
the MG Rover Group.
List of Wolseley vehicles
Wolseley
long used a two-number system of model names. Until 1948, the numbers
reflected the vehicle's RAC horsepower and true horsepower output,
respectively. Thus, the 14/60 was rated at 14 hp (RAC) for tax purposes
but actually produced 60 hp (45 kW). Later, the first number equaled
the number of cylinders. After 1956, this number was changed to reflect
the engine's displacement for four-cylinder cars. Therefore, the
seminal 15/60 was a 1.5 L engine capable of producing 60 hp (45 kW).
Eventually, the entire naming system was abandoned.
* Four-cylinder
o 1948-1953 Wolseley 4/50 (Morris Oxford MO)
o 1952-1956 Wolseley 4/44 (MG Magnette ZA/ZB)
o 1956-1958 Wolseley 15/50 (MG Magnette ZB)
o 1957-1965 Wolseley 1500 (Riley One-Point-Five)
o 1965-1974 Wolseley 1100/1275/1300 (Morris 1100)
* Six-cylinder
o 1948-1954 Wolseley 6/80 (Morris Oxford MO)
o 1954-1959 Wolseley 6/90
o 1959-1961 Wolseley 6/99 (Austin A99 Westminster)
o 1961-1968 Wolseley 6/110 (Austin A110 Westminster)
o 1967-1971 Wolseley 18/85 (Austin 1800)
o 1972-1975 Wolseley Six (Austin 1800)
o March-October 1975 Wolseley 18-22
* Midsize
o 1958-1961 Wolseley 15/60 (midsized BMC Farina saloon)
o 1961-1971 Wolseley 16/60 (midsized BMC Farina saloon Mk.II)
* Compact
o 1961-1969 Wolseley Hornet (Mini)
o 1967-1969 Wolseley 1000 (Mini)
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