Word: hillmanism
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...Hillman Husky. In Manhattan, Britain's Rootes Motors Ltd. showed off its new four-passenger Hillman Husky, an all-steel station wagon designed for the U.S. suburbanite and sportsman. Powered by a four-cylinder, 39-h.p. engine, the small Husky does up to 40 miles on a gallon, has a rear seat that folds down so that the car can carry up to 560 Ibs. of baggage. List price, lowest of the Hillman line: $1,445 f.o.b. port of entry...
...open-throttle British auto race for the $40 million export market to the U.S., Rootes Motors' hard-driving Sir William Rootes (Hillman Minx, Humber, Rover, Sunbeam-Talbot) had already knocked Austin out of second place. Last week Sir William claimed that he had overtaken Lord Nuffield,* was now shipping more cars to the U.S. than any other British maker. His total: 4,942 Rootes cars exported in the first half...
Rootes's bestseller in the U.S. is his Hillman Minx, a small "economy" car (four-door sedan: $1,699). But Sir William is betting heavily on a new, more expensive sports model: the fast, sporty Sunbeam-Talbot Alpine. First shown in the U.S. last April, the low-cut Alpine later clocked 120 m.p.h. in Belgium's Jabbeke "flying mile" run, and last month chalked up a perfect score in the grueling Alpine Rally endurance test (2,000 miles through 31 mountain passes, five countries). Its engine is basically the same as the Sunbeam-Talbot "90" that last year...
...washing automobile parts in oil for a penny an hour ("I learned a lot about parts in those oil buckets"). But it was as a salesman that Billy first made his automotive mark. Convinced that British makers were neglecting overseas markets, Rootes landed world sales rights for Rolls-Royce, Hillman and others. Then, selling cars faster than he could deliver them, Rootes concluded the makers were "too sluggish," decided to take on manufacturing himself...
Depression gave him his chance. Rootes bought up, at distress prices, three famed but inefficient old companies-Humber, Hillman and Commer. He modernized their equipment and methods, had them paying dividends again within a year. Later the fast-growing Rootes Group took in others until it embraced 20 companies, including Sunbeam-Talbot...