Reliant Lucas Hybrid - saved!

Here's another sad example. The world's first commercial automated Maglev system which surprisingly ran Birmingham International Airport to the nearby Birmingham International railway station between 1984–1995.

www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2011/06/24/kenilworth-man-buys-birmingham-airport-s-iconic-maglev-train-for-100-on-ebay-92746-28934059/

Depressing to read the comments but fortunately it at least found a home.

Why isn't this in a museum!

Hasn't North American perceptions of European cars been discussed on here before?
VWs, especially the Mk3/4 Golf era, somehow have a terrible reputation there and they always moan about the Pug 504/505 being garbage despite the high regard that they're held in from the north of Europe to the southern tip of Africa.

The Lucas hate was going on long before the internets, but it's a fall back position now. That picture of the mocked up bottle of "Lucas Wiring Loom Smoke", for example, always crops up when someone on a US forum mentions a Jag or an MG.

I was going to post something about different needs and European cars being built for more intersting places than flat and straight highways where you can't go more than 55mph but I wondered if that might be the other side of the ill founded "Lucas is garbage" argument?


Is it on someone's property or on the street?
What sort of nick is it in?

I reckon most of the smoke was down to not dealing (dare I say misdiagnosing) with a simple issue initially and generally bodging it along! The Stag's electrics were much better after I took out the world's supply of chocolate block connectors. The Dolomite's and the 'B's electrics were fine too once I got rid of the oxidised bits (no doubt down to previous water leaks in the 'B).

Despite the doom mongering we're still at the forefront of design and inovation. Just look at Jaguar / Landrover (Yes, foreign owned but engineered and built here). Also consider the amount of car companies that despite the high cost of labour continue to have factories here and use companies such as Lotus to engineer their product (which by the way are not going to the dogs as widely speculated).

Look outside the automotive industry, aerospace is doing more now than ever and companies such as the one I work for continue to design and manufacture equipment that is bought all over the world by people that know what a quality product we make. We often have more work than we can cope with.

The biggest problem (IMHO) facing british industry is not the products but the labour to design/engineer them, or lack off. The whole industry is constantly on the lookout for skilled people (my inbox will testify to that) but because of a lack of people doing engineering apprenticeships/degrees there is not enough bodies to fill the skills gap. Great for me but not so good for the industry.

If you want to see engineering stay in this country then encourage your kids to do an engineering apprenticeship rather than becoming another I/T bod, retail worker, etc.

Oh, and as for saving vehicles like the above, retro rides people are going to be (rightly) interested in seeing such a thing in a museum, but the general public? I think they'ed rather look at the cars their parents had or more exotic stuff than a grey box that they've never heard off.

I know what you mean but I think the approach back then was simply to over engineer systems like that. Either the computer modelling and whatnot wouldn't have been available or it's simply the case that they would have trusted the engineers a bit more but I reckon it would have still, as now, been only as good as the batteries available.
The system sounds a lot like the Chevy Volt/Vauxhall Whatever system of never having the engine drive the wheels.
Isn't that how trains work, too?

It probably weighed a lot less than a car has to weigh now, too. That would reduce the required output and extend the range.

If I was going to build an electric car, and I thought a lot about it last year when I had a Lupo that I couldn't even give away, I would go for this sort of system.

Indeed there is still engineering taking place in the UK

But in the 1950s about half the cars in the world were built in the UK. Now? And its not because of huge labour costs - Japanese, German and French wages are high too.

it comes to something that our biggest industries are Chemicals, Finance and Tourism.

IMO we should be owning our industries and we should be manufacturing. Thats a real disincentive for folks thinking of engineering / industrially focused training and education... the sector is not there and at risk of getting on a political hobby horse has been undervalued by successive governments since the late 70s.

Its not just automotive, we used to roll steel, build ships, make electronics, consumer goods, mine coal, build plant, heavy machinery, bikes, even computers etc. The "shop floor" is seriously reduced in size.

This is a real shame, I really hope there's some way of saving this. Whether it be put in a museum or even restored to a roadworthy condition it's a great piece of history and deserves a far better fate than this.

But that would be development costs, not how much it would cost to make. I would think that devlopment costs of a car today would exceed 1 million.

I thought that, factoring in the development costs. There must be some way to get this amazing car saved?