Armstrong-Siddeley - British engineering magic!

[Guest]

I'm astounded that amidst all this Armstrongmania on the Board the extraordinary engineering company that was Armstrong-Siddeley has been ignored thus far.

For the legend ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_Siddeley

For the fan club ...

http://www.siddeley.com/

For photos of the wonderful cars ...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Armstrong+Siddeley&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=uTM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=R748UJDIF9Sa1AXFxoCoCw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=629

Rumour has it that the long-suffering George Carmody, chauffeur-handyman at Caliban Towers has succeeded in making a 1959 Star Sapphire sufficiently roadworthy to take Caliban himself to and from St Pancras International on his Eurostar trips procuring more Sesti products







I made that last bit up

[Flosshilde]

See my thread on William George Armstrong - currently discussing his house 'Cragside'.

[umslopogaas]

I remember the Armstrong Siddeley from my youth, but havent seen one in decades. They filled a very specific market niche: they were bought by the prosperous conservative middle class, for whom Jaguars were too flashy, Rileys too sporty, Rovers too boring, Austin, Morris, Ford etc too down-market and Bentleys too expensive. But in the end they couldnt compete with Jaguar, Alvis and Daimler, and folded up.

[amateur51]

I remember the Armstrong Siddeley from my youth, but havent seen one in decades. They filled a very specific market niche: they were bought by the prosperous conservative middle class, for whom Jaguars were too flashy, Rileys too sporty, Rovers too boring, Austin, Morris, Ford etc too down-market and Bentleys too expensive. But in the end they couldnt compete with Jaguar, Alvis and Daimler, and folded up.

Nice analysis, umslopogaas

Where would Humber have fitted in, do you think?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'm astounded that amidst all this Armstrongmania on the Board the extraordinary engineering company that was Armstrong-Siddeley has been ignored thus far.

Possibly because this is a Radio 3 related forum.

[amateur51]

Possibly because this is a Radio 3 related forum.

Being a luxury marque, Armstrong-Siddley cars would have been fitted with car radios, I'm sure

Anyoldhow, Platform Three is where anything goes

[Flosshilde]

Possibly because this is a Radio 3 related forum.

Oh no it isn't - hadn't you noticed?

[umslopogaas]

Humbers were for people who needed extreme sedateness, but couldnt afford Daimlers. A retired vicar with a bit of private income would probably have bought a Humber. The sort of people who drive lorry drivers crazy by clogging up the inside lane.

[vinteuil]

I remember the Armstrong Siddeley from my youth, but havent seen one in decades. They filled a very specific market niche: they were bought by the prosperous conservative middle class, for whom Jaguars were too flashy, Rileys too sporty, Rovers too boring, Austin, Morris, Ford etc too down-market and Bentleys too expensive. But in the end they couldnt compete with Jaguar, Alvis and Daimler, and folded up.

Humbers were for people who needed extreme sedateness, but couldnt afford Daimlers. A retired vicar with a bit of private income would probably have bought a Humber. The sort of people who drive lorry drivers crazy by clogging up the inside lane.

... very much enjoying umslopper's sociological analysis, which seems spot on.

I think that big Humbers (Super Snipe?) were also used for high ranking civil servants - chief constables - army top brass etc - Raymond Huntley?

[amateur51]

... very much enjoying umslopper's sociological analysis, which seems spot on.

I think that big Humbers (Super Snipe?) were also used for high ranking civil servants - chief constables - army top brass etc - Raymond Huntley?

Raymond Huntley yay! Whom I once engaged in conversation at a bus stop on Charing Cross Road. I'd like to say that the bon mots flowed and that we got along famously, becoming firm bosom pals but in reality he thought I was a tedious little squit and I thought he was no more cheerful than in most of his film roles.An opportunity missed by both of us

[amateur51]

Is it time to test umslopogaas's analysis once more and offer up - the Bristol? the Jowett Javelin? The Triumph Renown?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_404_and_405

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jowett_Javelin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Renown

[vinteuil]

The Triumph Renown?

]

... or its baby brother :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Mayflower

"I first went to France in the summer of 1959 at the age of thirteen. My pre-adolescence had been car-free and island-bound; now there stood in front of our house a gun-metal-grey Triumph Mayflower, bought secondhand, suddenly affordable thanks to a £200 grant from Great Aunt Edie. It struck me then — as any car would have done — as deeply handsome, if perhaps a little too boxy and sharp-edged for true elegance.; last year, in a poll of British autophiles, it was voted one of the ten ugliest cars ever built. Registration plate RTW1, red leather upholstery, walnut dashboard, no radio, and a blue metal RAC badge on the front. (The RAC man, portly and moustachioed, with heavy patched boots and a subservient manner, had arrived to enrol us. His first, preposterous question to my father — 'Now, sir, how many cars have you got?' — passed into quiet family myth.) That cars were intended not just for safe commuting but also for perilous voyage was endorsed by the Triumph's subtitle, and further by its illustrative hubcaps: at their centre was an emblematic boss depicting, in blue and red enamel, a Mercator projection of the globe."

[Julian Barnes, Preface to "Something to Declare", 2002]

[amateur51]

... or its baby brother :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Mayflower

"I first went to France in the summer of 1959 at the age of thirteen. My pre-adolescence had been car-free and island-bound; now there stood in front of our house a gun-metal-grey Triumph Mayflower, bought secondhand, suddenly affordable thanks to a £200 grant from Great Aunt Edie. It struck me then — as any car would have done — as deeply handsome, if perhaps a little too boxy and sharp-edged for true elegance.; last year, in a poll of British autophiles, it was voted one of the ten ugliest cars ever built. Registration plate RTW1, red leather upholstery, walnut dashboard, no radio, and a blue metal RAC badge on the front. (The RAC man, portly and moustachioed, with heavy patched boots and a subservient manner, had arrived to enrol us. His first, preposterous question to my father — 'Now, sir, how many cars have you got?' — passed into quiet family myth.) That cars were intended not just for safe commuting but also for perilous voyage was endorsed by the Triumph's subtitle, and further by its illustrative hubcaps: at their centre was an emblematic boss depicting, in blue and red enamel, a Mercator projection of the globe."

[Julian Barnes, Preface to "Something to Declare", 2002]

Ooh Julian Barnes & I might almost be related!

We had a Triumph Mayflower exactly as he describes but black, registration number RFM 104

[umslopogaas]

Vinteuil, that's exactly how I view the Humber clientele. The sort of people who always make you uncomfortable because you arent wearing your best suit - or worse, because you ARE wearing it, but it clearly doesnt make the grade.

[gradus]

There used to be - possibly still is - a painted advertisement adorning the upper storey side of a house/building in Long Acre advertising Armstrong Siddeley cars/coachworks.
Were they made there at one time?