The Story of the Men Who Built Britain's Motor Industry

On the eve of the Motor Show this film tells the inside story of the way a major British industry was created, from its beginnings back in 1896 up to the present day. At first it was an industry which provided fertile soil for crooks and charlatans as well as good engineers. But, although it brought fabulous wealth to a few men, it bankrupted hundreds more. Its future came to depend heavily on a handful of men, yet it became more important to the economy than any other single industry.
The larger the British-owned sector grew the more did its fate rest on the clash of a few strong personalities.
And those appearing include: Alick Dick, Carl Kingerlee, Sir Reginald Rootes, Lord Stokes, Lord Thomas
The programme follows a kind of Family Tree in reverse: of the 221 motor car firms launched in the first five years of the century, almost 200 had failed by 1914. By 1968 the future of the British owned sector rested in the hands of one company - British Leyland. What will happen next?
Written by Graham Turner
(Rootes on the car industry: page 5)