Austin Metro A Car for All Reasons

British Leyland and Austin knew they had a tough act to follow when they launched the Metro in 1980. Initially the car was to run along-side the Mini not replace it, but the hatchback era had arrived thus a small multi-purpose car was needed to compete with other European manufacturers who led in this market place. Thirty three years on and the Metro is becoming a rare sight on the roads and this 1.3 GS Auto, the last of the 1series, is only one of four taxed. First registered in 1989 the car boasts the venerable 1275cc engine and with only 26k miles on the clock and a full service history it drives as well as it looks.Chris Brown is passionate about her Metro. The originality is remarkable from the paintwork to the interior and even the original carpet mats remain. Considering the early Austin Series 1 model enjoyed 10 years of production and over 1 million sold, the fact so few remain in daily use is surprising; only being out sold by the Ford Escort. The Metro had an unfair reputation for reliability; it was the rust issue that accounted for most cars seeing the jaws of the scrap yards crusher. The brief for the designers was to produce a small, economical machine that was at home in the city, easy to manoeuvre in the supermarket car park and like the Mini before accepted in the ‘poshest’ hotels. It had to be comfortable for the long drive to the country and drop the rear seats to accommodate the golf clubs. Heavily promoted with slogans such as ‘sticks to the road like cats eyes’ and ‘the shape of the road ahead’, having Lady Diana as a customer helped as the only time the paparazzi caught up with her was getting in or out of her Metro. ‘A British car to beat the world’ was maybe a little ambitious but the advertisers gave the little Austin every chance of success.Nicknamed ‘Maybelle’ this Metro started life with Dear Brothers Austin Rover Dealership in Dorset and trading in her old 1.3 automatic version Miss Vera Vine purchased Maybelle for the not insignificant sum of £9,763.00. This model was produced with the later engine and although performance was average it ran on unleaded and was extremely frugal, all round cheap to run. This car came with a host of nice features (thus the hefty price tag) including central locking, electric windows, wood trim and sunroof. Records show Miss Vine followed the service schedule to the letter and after 16 years and only 13k miles she passed the car on. Valerie Lloyd continued the careful maintenance at the same garage and the car if anything has been over-serviced, if there is such a thing. Chris got the Metro early this year and being involved with the SADCASE classic car club help and advice is always available.The British Leyland group needed the Model to be a success after a series of less than average cars, including the Morris Ital (the Marina facelift), that was offered to the public just before the Metro. At the time their most recent all new car was the Rover SD1 and that was in its fourth year when The Earls Court Motorshow announced the all new Metro. As with all BL cars a multiple amount of versions were produced from a basic van to the Vanden-Plas or the very quick MG Turbo. The Turbo version even had its own race series and many wannabe touring car drivers enjoyed great racing in the little MG. The main feature I remember well was the cars ability to corner on a maximum of three wheels and a minimum of two. Gear changes forced flames from the exhaust and panel damage was compulsory.