The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized 5-door hatchback car manufactured by Austin and then British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It is the first five-door British hatchback equipped with five speed transmissions.
Video Austin Maxi
Histori
The Maxi (code name ADO14) is the latest car designed under British Motor Corporation (BMC) before being incorporated into the new British Leyland group, and is the latest production car designed by renowned designer Alec Issigonis. Originally under the BMC plan for a variety of new models, which have been developed since 1965, Maxi has been called "Austin 1500" at the spring launch of 1969, and the "Morris 1500" sedan version is to follow the fall.
However, after the incorporation of BMC and Leyland the new management left a notchback four-door sedan and developed Morris Marina instead. Marina, launched in April 1971, is a rear-wheel drive car available as a saloon, coupe, or estate.
The new Chairman Lord Stokes decided to also change the name of the hatchback to Maxi as a tribute to the Mini 10 years earlier. All Maxis are manufactured at the Cowley plant in Oxford, although the E-Series machine is manufactured at the new plant at Cofton Hackett in Longbridge.
Launched in Oporto, Portugal, on April 24, 1969 in a blaze of publicity, became one of the first cars to appear on BBC's new Wheelbase car program, the pioneer for Top Gear (who debuted in 1977). It was also the first car launched after the creation of Leyland England. It was one of the first hatchback models produced in the world, and the first in the UK; the five-door hatchback boasts a French-made Renault 16, which is the European Car of the Year after it was launched in 1965; this type of car increased in popularity rapidly during the 1970s and during the 1980s became the most popular car in most European markets.
Under the practical and wide bodyshell Maxi put the all-new front-wheel drive chassis, which is interconnected with an innovative five-speed manual transmission, another rarity in family cars in 1969 and one that many manufacturers did not adopt much more than a decade later. The latter suffers from well-known problems with control relationships, especially in early models that have cable-operated connections prone to stretching cables and other problems. It's recorded by autotesters like Vicar at Today's Driver (1969), who writes: "This might be a great idea that just takes a little work." This criticism actually came as a result of a two-month road test before the car officially went on sale. The attachment of the stem then is less problematic. All models are susceptible to problems caused by the "wheel on the sides" layout where gearboxes and engines share common oil supplies. The clutch oil seals are also vulnerable to leakage.
Power comes from a 1485cc E-Series gasoline engine which will then find its way into other British Leyland products like Austin Allegro. The 1750 model and twin-carburetor 1750 HL, added to the range in 1971, offer good performance with this era standard, with a top speed of 97 mph, while smaller engine versions may exceed 90 mph.
Despite the new platform, Maxi styling suffers from the decision to save on tooling costs by bringing more of the door panels of the Austin 1800 "Landcrab", which gives Maxi a very long wheelbase in relation to its length, coupled with the fact that the rest of the door makes Maxi resemble a reduced version from 1800 (and indeed, Austin 3-Liter, which also uses the same door) - a design that was at the time of the age of five, at the time of the bottle styling manu (typed by contemporaries like Ford Cortina Mk III and Hillman Avenger) is very popular, in stark contrast to Maxi's very clear appearance in the mid-1960s. Another styling ambition for cars is a four-door sedan version, to compete directly with Ford Cortina. A prototype was built, labeled as Morris, but not put into production, since the boot extension made Maxi almost the same as the 1800 model, which was itself replaced in March 1975 by the 18-22 series model (renamed). Princess just months after its release).
In Australia due to a recent increase in local content assembly rates that will result in Maxi being uneconomical to build, Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia developed in the UK, Morris Nomad is effectively hybrid, utilizing the Maxi E-series engine and transmission truck and rear tailgate fitting them into the body of Morris 1100 which is currently assembled. Ironically, for the time being, Nomad (under the name Austin) is exported to New Zealand and offered with locally assembled Maxi.
The Maxi features spacious interiors, comfortable passenger accommodations, competitive prices and reasonable operating costs, but it is let down by dull interiors and poor building quality, although it is not so well known for its failures such as Austin Allegro and Morris Marina during the 1970s -an.
Maxi acquired a number of similar new competitors during the 1970s, including Volkswagen Passat (1973) and Chrysler Alpine (1975), although its best-selling rivals from Ford and Vauxhall did not adopt hatchbacks until the early 1980s.
One unusual feature of this car is that the rear rear seats, as well as folding forward like on a conventional hatchback, are also folded backwards. In combination with fully lying front seats this provides a satisfactory sleeping accommodation, if spartan.
Towards the end of Maxi's life, in 1980, the lightweight revision model was marketed as "Maxi 2", although current sales are declining and new cars to replace Allegro and Maxi are being developed - although its launch was delayed due to the additional investment needed to develop Metro Austin, October 1980.
End of production
On July 8, 1981, production of 12 years of Austin Maxi production ended. His successor, Austin Maestro, who also succeeded the smaller Allegro, was introduced in March 1983. Shortly after Maxi's death, BL fulfilled a request for a larger family hatchback with a revamp of Princess and changed his name to Ambassador Austin, though this is a short-lived model which only lasted until 1984, when Austin Montego was launched. This complements BL rationalization, as there is now only one model competing in this market sector, five years after offering four similar-sized cars.
Maxi production line at Cowley is delivered for Triumph Acclaim production, which was launched in September 1981.
Despite the exceptional practical design and space efficiency (shorter, narrower and lower than the Ford Fiesta sixth generation), Maxi never approached projected sales targets. The management decision of BL involving Maxi has significant influence on the rest of the line-up of the car. BL marketing determined that Maxi should be the only car in the range to feature hatchbacks. This attitude prevents Morris Marina models, Austin Allegro, and Princess getting hatchbacks even though all the designs are capable of accepting it. The policy was stopped with the arrival of R1 SD1 in 1976 and the rapidly growing popularity of hatchbacks during the 1970s and 1980s saw British Leyland launch a new hatchback model raft. The Austin Metro, launched in 1980, is only available as a hatchback, such as the Maestro Austin 1983, which itself becomes the basis for Montego's saloon and estate that was launched shortly thereafter. Although Rover SD1 has only been produced as a hatchback, its successor (Rover 800 Series) is sold as a saloon and hatchback.
Maps Austin Maxi
Popular culture
On July 1, 1969, John Lennon crashed a white Maxi on the single track A838 road near Loch Eriboll in the Scottish Highlands. She is on her way to visit her uncle in Durness with Yoko Ono, her son Julian and Yoko's daughter, Kyoko.
Initially they set out from Tittenhurst Park, home to Ascot in his Mini Cooper, but it soon became clear that it was too small to drive all the way to Scotland, so they spent the night at their relatives' home in Liverpool. where he called Apple Records and arranged for a driver to bring a "staff" car, which was recently acquired by Snowberry White Austin Maxi listed RLA668G. It featured a full-length white webasto roof and also had a silver apple mounted on top of the front radio speakers. path.
The next morning Yoko and John moved all their belongings and the driver brought the Mini back to Tittenhurst, and the four set off again to the north of Scotland, pausing at Windermere and Edinburgh. While driving the A838 narrow street, John panics when he sees another car approaching him and sends Maxi into the trench. While the children escaped relatively unharmed, John received a wound on his forehead and Yoko injured his back, resulting in staying in hospital at Lawson Memorial Golspie Hospital for five days where he was treated by Doctor Michael Simpson. After they returned to London, John arranged for Maxi to be placed on a pedestal outside Tittenhurst's home in honor of their luck, where he stayed for the next few years, during which time Julian took the silver apple from the dashboard and continued it as a memento, though it was auctioned off years later, as well as John's steering wheel was removed and it was hung in the pool room at home. When John and Yoko finally left the UK for New York City, John sold Tittenhurst to Ringo Starr which immediately made Maxi destroyed.
Also in 1969 Mars Confectionery UK ran a competition entitled "Maxis from Mars" where a number of white Austin Maxis were ridden all over the country with a number on the door. If the number inside the Mars bar wrapper matches Maxi, the customer will look around, then he or she wins the car. One lucky winner at Corby is delighted with winning a Maxi prize still surviving to this day.
In 1972, a married couple escaped from the Soviet Berlin residence at Checkpoint Charlie behind Maxi. Upon entering the western sector, the British Royal Military Police and West German Polizei were shocked that two people could enter the Maxi boot, which was later taken by Leyland West Germany and remade in television advertisements displayed worldwide. West Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Also in 1972 at the Earls Court Motor Show a competition was staged by The Daily Telegraph, Institute of British Coachbuilders and Motor Manufactures (later incorporated into the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) to design futuristic concepts. car based on Maxi. The winning design is done by talented young designer Chris Field, and the prize is that its design on paper turns into reality. The "Aquila" was built by Woodhall Nicolson, from Halifax with help from Lucas, Smiths (Motorcycle & Radiomobile Accessory Division) and Triplex. The resulting car was then exhibited at the 1973 show and then given to Field. He then continues the design cycle of speed with the help of Lotus and its design for high speed cycles has been used through the next Olympic team. The car itself still survives in Poole in Dorset.
In 1975 Dunlop Tyres, eager to prove his new "Worldbeater" tire, drove two white Maxi 1750HLs around the world, visiting Europe, the Middle East, India, Australia and the United States. Upon their return to England, Dunlop made an ad featuring the same Maxi using some footage of the recording on the trip, where the wife said to her husband that she "stopped by the shops" while she watched sports Saturday afternoon. He then proceeded to push Maxi into the hovercraft and past the Eiffel Tower, across Saint Peter's Square, along the Saudi Highway and onto the Taj Mahal. He then walks back to the house, while football results are in progress, bringing India's exotic shopping and her husband look shocked.
From 1975 to 1980, British Leyland supplied the Lawn Tennis Association every year with the official Maxis "Wimbledon". It is a standard 1750 single carburetor but comes with a HL velor seat trim and extra sound proofing. After that they are sold through a local Surrey dealer as an ex-demonstration car.
In November 1979 during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Martin Williams, First Secretary at the British Embassy in Tehran, rescued five American diplomats who escaped from the invaded US Embassy in his own window, a personal orange, Maxi complete with a GB- his.. After being rescued, the diplomat later discovered that the British Embassy had now been seized, and thus made a dangerous journey across Tehran north of the city to the Gholhak complex in England. Upon arriving at Gholhak, British diplomats and families smuggled Americans at Maxi again to the home of a Thai cook who worked for someone at the US embassy. Ten days later they moved to the home of Canada's No. 2 diplomat from which the CIA hatches a plot to rescue their diplomats using a Canadian passport and disguised as a filmmaker. This is the basis for the US film Argo (2012). However, in this dramatization, the British role (and later Maxi) was written, as director Ben Affleck stated he wanted to make the runaway diplomat look helpless and desperate to the studio audience.
In 1991, the Fabulous punk revival band used Maxi as their "Fab-Mobile" which is inscribed in a punk-art graffiti. The film also appeared in the closing version of The 1734 The Farm's The Human League's "Do not You Want Me" listed as FRK315T and according to the latest DVLA website was taxed in April 1993
At Christmas 1995 Paul Smith Mail Order released a catalog featuring Sandglow Maxi 1750. Titled "The 1995cc" which means 1995 Christmas Collection, is produced in the British Sales Brochure style of Maxi UK and features winter winter hats and scarves, leather driving gloves, wallets and designer watches.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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