idriveaclassic's video: 1950s Nash Metropolitan - the American car built by Austin

Check out channel sponsor Bidding Classics to buy yourself a classic, or perhaps sell the one in your garage at home to free up the space for something new: http://bit.ly/BiddingClassicsIDriveAClassic _________ About the Nash Metropolitan In the late 40s, the US had a very different motoring landscape to us Brits and their automotive world was dominated by the big three: GM, Ford and Chrysler. There were others of course and these included Nash, Hudson, Packard and Studebaker. Nash was headed up by the forward thinking George Mason who decided post war, it was time for something different, something new and with that; he acknowledged the car buying market was very different post war. Women after their incredible war efforts, had become more vocal and more visible within society and many had continued to work post war. This shift in the dynamic alongside a move into the suburbs for more and more Americans meant there was a new growing market worth tapping into: the affordable second car household market. Nash knew the budgets and coverage of the big three was no match for what they had at their disposal, so they set about trying to tackle this market sector which they felt nobody else was really addressing. Mason decided to commission a freelance automotive designer called William Flajole to build a prototype using his design and a Fiat Topolino as a base. It was quite a canny little thing and was named the Nash Experimental International. To keep costs low, it was planned the front and rear wings were interchangeable as well as the doors. The final thing kept the door concept, but the wings were unique front and rear. But what do you do with an idea like this, especially when it’s so new? Well, Mason took it on the road and displayed this prototype for both press and some public and gave them a questionnaire. An innovative idea for the time, they even showed two engine choices: the smaller Fiat engine and an English engine option, believed to be from Standard. American car factories of the time just weren’t spec’d out to build these smaller cars, which meant Nash decided to see what the English car manufacturers could do. After all, this was the era of post-war export or die, so it was a gift for meeting those quotas. After talks with Standard Triumph, Nash picked Austin. Made at Longbridge, the first cars which came off production lines in autumn of 1953, went on sale at circa $1500 - which gave the marketing strapline ‘the car with the price you won’t forget’ The name was soon swapped from the NX1 to the Metropolitan and Early versions were fitted with the 1200cc Austin A40 engines, delivering 39bhp which was enough to push the 816kg vehicle to a top speed of 70mph. The considered competitor for the US market was the Beetle, which was noticeably slower than the 22.4 seconds to 60 which the Nash achieved. Interestingly, the car wasn’t available until 1957 in the UK due to Austin deciding to prioritise the American market and to ensure the export quotas were exceeded. By the time the first Metropolitans arrived in America, Nash had merged with another of the smaller copmanies, Hudson, to become American Motors Corporation (AMC). Metropolitans were badged as either Nashes or Hudsons, depending upon which dealer sold them. A facelift in 1956 saw the B Series, 1489cc Austin A50 engine for extra liveliness (delivering 55bhp and top speeds of 80mph), and it was this facelift that eventually went on sale in the UK in 1957 as an Austin, having already earned millions of vital dollars for the British car industry and was reputed to be second only to the Volkswagen Beetle in terms of volume car imports to the States at that time. Fun fact: UK-supplied cars are correctly described as Austin Metropolitans, though they were never badged as such. From 1957 on, all cars were duo-toned with white, with the main body colour (red, green, yellow and later black) separated by a stepped stainless steel moulding. The Metropolitan was to stay in production until 1961 with only minor changes in 1959 to accommodate an opening boot lid, one-piece rear window and quarter lights in the doors. In total, the Metropolitan was on sale for 7 years and 104,000 were sold - 9,000 of which were outside of the US. Whilst this may not have been enough to worry the "Big Three", it did just fine for Nash and Austin, with the British company making $35 million in the first five years, from tooling costs of just $800,000. Today the Metropolitan is a rare sight on British roads, although there are higher numbers remaining in North America.