AUSTIN CARS 1948 TO 1990: A PICTORIAL HISTORY
For many years, Austins were top-selling cars in New Zealand — my dad had a 1961 Mini, as well as a 1300 — so this new book from Veloce should find plenty of readers here.
As with the similar books on Rootes Group, Triumph, and Rover cars, this is a smallish softcover book, whose 112 pages cover every model of post-world War II Austin from the A40 Dorset and Devon to the last of the Montegos — although it doesn’t cover Austin-healeys.
Every variant has colour photos, taken at classic car shows in the UK, to go with the brief history of the model concerned, its detailed specifications, its colour schemes, and standard and optional equipment. Younger readers will be surprised to learn that, even into the 1980s, many cars had such a long list of additional-cost options, such as a heater, a radio, seat belts, and wing mirrors!
As well as being a very useful reference for owners and potential buyers of these Austins, a book like this brings back floods of memories. There are the finned Farina A55s and their bigger brothers — although the Pininfarinastyled A40 came out before them, and I don’t think it got the recognition it deserved as a car that was quite distinctive. For some years, Austin marketed a mixture of very conventional cars alongside much more radical approaches to motoring. This is also a reminder of the complications arising from the British Motor Corporation’s (BMC) badge-engineering of almost identical versions of various models.
Maybe not a book to read like a story, but it’s fascinating nonetheless, whether you want to remind yourself of the differences between A30 and A35, to know the dimensions of your A105 Westminster, or to learn the correct colour schemes for a 1970 Austin Maxi. I hope there will be more of these little books!