Austin Metro
The Austin Metro was originally conceived as the long-term successor to the aging Mini. The Metro enjoyed a colourful 17 year production run selling over 2 million models worldwide. The Mini actually outlived is successor by several years when production of the Metro (then called the Rover 100) ceased in 1998, admit safety scares following a derisory NCAP safety test.
The intial Metro concept was relaunched in 1974 (development of a small car successor to the mini being shelved some years previously), with designs looking suspiciously Metro like nearly a full 7 years before its release to the public, the finalised production model being released on the 8th October 1980.
The Metro was originally launched in 3 door format with two engine options and a range of models available with a choice of 998cc or 1275cc A series engines (as found in the Mini) and models ranging from the 1.0 Basic to the 1.3HLS, although the model that received the most attention was the 1.0HLE, a high economy version that was claimed to be the most economical car in the world, with a test carried out by the AA returning 83 miles to the gallon, although this test was found to be flawed and carried out at a constant speed of 30mph, hardly reflecting normal driving conditions.
The initial buzz around the launch soon faded as rumbling focusing on build quality and reliablity issues, however these issues were rapidly solved and the Metro's reputation survived with little malice attached. 1982 saw the launch of the MG Metro model, 1984 saw a tweaked facelifted version released with tidier appearance, the 5-door models soon followed, although the Metro was severly hampered by an aging 4 speed gearbox and with British Leylands financial problems, no funding was available for the development of such a box. With no serious overhaul on the horizon and the development of the K series engine and gearbox running behind schedule,
naturally sales began to slip from the high of 7.34% market share in 1983 to just 4.31% in 1989.
In 1989 the car was facelifted again before becoming relaunched as the Rover Metro.
It should be remebered that the Metro model was largely solely responsible for keeping Austin-Rover afloat admist the failure of its large Maestro and Montego models and a general fall in market share.
