Austin

The Austin Motor Company was a British carmaker founded by Herbert Austin in 1905. Austin was one of the biggest car companies in the world. It started slow, selling 23 cars on the first year, but it ended up selling over 5.5 million cars of one particular model that has maintained its popularity since its debut date in 1959: the Mini.

In 1952 Austin merged with the Nuffield Organisation to become the British Motor Corporation and 14 years later it was taken over by Leyland and became The British Leyland Motor Company. A decade would have to pass for another car model to be successful. That model was the Austin Rover launched in 1980. But in 1987, the Austin bagde lost its appeal. Austin models kept being made for a few years, but no longer with the company's bagde.