Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyHalls
Kevin, the Bristol / Frazer Nash DNA will be quality build and innovation.
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Bristol earned a reputation early on for build quality and
some innovation, but since the 1960s (some may argue earlier) that's all it was, a reputation.
My view is that standards declined steadily under Tony Crook's control and the story about being built to aircraft standards was just part of the Bristol mythology.
Let's face it, the massive separate chassis remained largely unchanged for the whole V8 era spanning several decades. The power train was dictated by whatever Chrysler had produced and the cars lacked basic modern features that are common in cars costing a fraction of the price.
The only innovation I can think of would be limited to early adoption of LPG (brought on by soaring petrol prices), the safety wheel, although this may have been an Avon invention, and perhaps the window switches on the 412!
In the last half century the Fighter could have been viewed as "innovative" but even that is arguable.
Personally I believe the main value for FN was in the cachet of the Bristol brand, which was Tony Crook's real legacy, and something which should be studied by marketing students.
As for the title of the thread, what does the current Sir George White offer in terms of modern, innovative car manufacture? I know very little about the man, does he have expertise in this field?
08-06-12, 08:54 AM
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