Lost Causes Of Motoring ( Lord Montagu Of Beaulieu ) Hardcover 1st Edn. 1960

Author: Lord Montagu Of Beaulieu, Hardbound, 224 Pages, 1st Edition, 1960,

Researched by Michael Sedgwick, Second-hand book in good order, see images

- Choosing a car may be difficult enough for the would-be motorist these days, when he has thirty-four British names to confuse him, but little over a generation ago he would have been faced with a truly intimidating array of no fewer than 105 different makes.

The other sixty-nine (and more, before and since) have vanished, some in a blaze of glory, some ignominiously or in notoriety, and others quietly and with dignity; a few are remembered with admiration and pride; most have been wholly forgotten. But all contributed in some measure to the present prestige and prosperity of the British motor industry, and because of this, Lord Montagu has set himself to give them a fitting commemoration; to trace the rise to fame of some of them, and their downhill slide to bankruptcy and limbo '.

In this scholarly yet entertaining book the author reminds us that the lost breeds and their designers did very much more than excite ribald humour among spectators, frustrated rage among owners and despair among shareholders—they also pioneered four-wheel brakes and the idea of disc braking, automatic transmissions, six-cylinder engines and other features of the modern car. One or two, which managed to produce cheap and efficient vehicles, pushed down the prices asked by the big manufacturers, so making cars cheaper for all, before lack of resources or faulty policy killed them. Many set a standard of excellence surpassed by none in their day.

Much has been written about the cars and companies forming the big corporations of today, but in Lost Causes of Motoring is the hitherto untold half of the story of Britain's motor industry.