The International Motor Show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre - its status can’t be overstated.
But back in 1975 it was a grim time for Britain in general, with economic stagnation and inflation somehow coexisting, and a car industry in turmoil.
Just months before the show, British Leyland had been nationalised after a government report had revealed that it was on the brink of collapse; many were sad that it had killed off its Wolseley brand; Jensen’s stand was actually hosted by receivers appointed by the Bank of America; and there was bitterness about GM reducing unproductive Vauxhall to a mere rebadger of Opels.
Nevertheless, 25 British brands attended, many bringing new metal, alongside a similarly healthy cohort of imports, and attendance rose 4% to 450,000, having sunk to barely 400,000 during the oil crisis of 1973.
Enjoy full access to the complete Autocar archive at the magazineshop.com
This year we complemented our usual sober tour of the stands with commentary by four leading lights of the industry: Tony Rudd of Lotus Advanced Engineering; Robin Herd of the March Formula 1 team; Roy Foster of Avis Rent-a-Car; and Tom Karen of design agency Ogle.
We started with Panther, the Surrey individualist displaying its new Rio luxury saloon alongside the flamboyant, retro De Ville coupé.
“It doesn’t have the visual impact of a £10,000 car,” remarked Foster of the Rio – but to our surprise, the De Ville made Karen, usually so modest, think he “could really show off in that, which is wonderful”.
By contrast, Karen “wasn’t sure” about Lancia’s new Monte Carlo or indeed the future of two-seat sports cars in general, reasoning: “You can get up to 70mph a bit quicker, but that’s all. You can take much less luggage, insurance is very high…
"Some people say that sports cars are good bird-pullers, but what can you do with a bird in a sports car? Very often there’s a big tunnel between you, you can’t move back, you can’t move forwards, your steering wheel is jammed in front of you…”
Join the debate
Add your comment
Reading about the 1975 Earls Court Motor Show brings back so many memories. It's amazing how much the automotive industry has changed since then!kingshotguide
I remember going to as a boy of 9 with my father who was on the BMW stand as he had the contract to deliver BMW to the dealers.... I remember stopping in the Earls Court Rd outside the exhibition centre and unloading the cars. My father had one of the first CSL' in green.