Craigslist Austin Texas

Austin remains one of the more iconic names of British automobile engineering, although its actual manufacture ended in 2005 when the MG Rover plant at Longbridge near Birmingham in England was closed down. Scanning the pages of Craigslist Austin cars are still sold in good numbers to collectors, serious motorists and drivers who are looking for a touch of history.

The Austin Motor Company was founded in 1905, at the site of a former paint works in Longbridge; this location held a number of strategic advantages over the original site planned as the company’s main plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The firm would go on to operate under a number of banners, including BMC, British Leyland and latterly the MG Rover group. The company achieved a measure of fame away from the automobile industry when it manufactured the Lancaster Bombers of RAF 617 Squadron, better known as the ‘Dambusters’.

Perhaps the company’s most famous contribution to global motoring culture though is the Mini, which was first introduced onto the market in 1959. Originally known as the Austin Seven, the Mini received its classic soubriquet after being outsold by the Morris Mini Minor.

Both vehicles had been manufactured by British Leyland, and they dropped the separate branding of the two vehicles in 1970. A turbulent decade followed for the company in the 1970s, as with many British firms, and cars such as the Allegro and the Princess did not enjoy a great reputation.

The launch of the Metro in the 1980s saved the company for a while, with the car being hailed as a consistent success. This vehicle became one of the most sold cars of the 1980s, and competed well with similar vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta and Renault Five.

The company had been re-branded by 1982, having become part of the Austin Rover group. The company’s sportier cars were now enjoying the right to have the iconic MG badge on their bonnets. The company was privatized in 1986, three years after the popular Maestro had been offered for sale.

However, in 1987, the company’s badge was no longer used to emblazon the cars it made. The Metro received an upgrade in 1990, with a K series engine boosting its capabilities, although it was known by then as the ‘Rover Metro’ as the sun began to set on the brand.

Matters only had so long to run though until the demise of the Longbridge plant in 2005, and the rights to the original name are now owned by Chinese firm Nanjing Automobile Group. The rights to the name had originally been sold to British Aerospace, and subsequently to BMW, after both those companies had purchased the Rover Group. MG Rover bought the rights from BMW before the final collapse of the company.

It might seem that the only way to find such a vehicle these days is in the classified advertisements of a local newspaper or in the pages of Craiglist. Austin cars though continue to hold a special place in the hearts of many collectors and motoring enthusiasts, and a wider place in the popular culture of Great Britain.