Ten years behind
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After reading the report (CM, April 27) "Buy British because it's best — Edwards", I must ask: Who does Michael Edwards think he is preaching to?
The reason buyers purchase foreign vehicles is that they are better made and more reliable than their British counterparts.
When the first foreign vehicles were imported to Britain in 1967, they were already ten years in advance of British models.
That includes anything British Leyland had on the production line; remember the old AEC Marshall and Mercury, the Albion with the gear-stick almost behind the driver, an exhaust no bigger than a milk bottle, not forgetting the noise. And in warm weather the smell of diesel and the heat from the engine would have burned the left leg of the driver. These should all carry a health warning — "Driving an Albion can damage your health.
Even Leyland's present models are ten years behind every other motor manufacturer. Try going to a dealer for even the most basic and simple of spare parts and he will tell you he does not have the part; and the attitude is one of extreme lethargy and boredom.
Michael Edwards probably cares very deeply about his company, but with the design team he has working for him he is fighting a losing battle.
Leyland should get rid of all its dossers and become a main Ford dealer.
JOHN T. HENEBERY, Boreham Wood, Herts.
CM's road test results do not support the claim that foreign vehicles are better by far than their British counterparts. The writer might also find difficulty in proving that Leylands are ten years behind the others. LV has the right of reply. — Editor.