A bit short sighted is an understatement, the more staff I speak to who worked
for Rootes, the more disillusioned I get, Billy Rootes may have been a salesman,
and Reginald an administrator, but between them they could not organize a piss
up in a brewery.
The had the best designers in the world working for them, but they did not know
it. All the other manufacturers did, thats why people like Ford, Rover, British
Leyland, Standard and Chrysler International head hunted them at the first
opportunity and became the best in their fields on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Ford Anglia is one of the best examples it was designed in the Rootes
studios, and was shown to the Brothers who promptly told the designer it was no
good and would not sell, they laughingly told him to take it to Fords as it was
the type of rubbish they would sell, he did and it became their biggest selling
car, outselling any car Rootes had produced.
They even turned down the VW Beetle, big mistake.
Chris
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