RIP HOME MECHANIC?
By 1971 the Minor and Herald were decidedly yesterday’s cars. Both bygone products of the ailing British Motoring Corporation (which became British Leyland in 1968), these simply constructed designs, dating back to the late 1940s in the case of the Minor, received little further development during their long production lives yet still sold respectably well enough right up to discontinuation half a century ago and one of the numerous reasons for this was because they lent themselves so readily to kerbside maintenance by owners.
Doing-it-yourself enjoyed a massive following among UK motorists during the 1950’s, 60’s and most of the 70’s, and Car Mechanics played a substantial role during that time, enjoying, now unheard of, circulations of around 250,000 sales a month in its heyday.
How easy a car was to run and repair played a pivotal part in the buying process for many owners who needed a vehicle that they could maintain themselves, armed with little more than a basic toolkit and a Haynes manual. And they didn’t get much easier than a Minor
