Armstrong-Siddeley car production to end

THE GUARDIAN
By our Industrial Staff

Bristol-Siddeley stated in Coventry yesterday that the manufacture of the Armstrong-Siddeley car is to cease at the end of next month. A spokesman said that the demand for the high quality cars, selling at £2,000 and more, had dwindled and the manufacture of the Star Sapphire was now uneconomical .

He added that the board at Bristol-Siddeley had made its decision with considerable regret. The firm had been in the motor industry for more than fifty years. It dates back to the Deasy Motor Car Manufacturing Company, which established itself at Parkside in 1906 and continued there until 1911, when it merged with Siddeley to become the Siddeley-Deasy Motor Manufacturing Company. Armstrong-Siddeley Motors succeeded this firm in 1919 and has continued until now, forming a part of Bristol-Siddeley in modern times.

The decision to discontinue making the Star Sapphire, the only car now being made by the company, come quickly on the acquisition by Jaguar Motors of the Daimler concern. It is understood that Bristol-Siddeley directors decided against making a smaller car at a more popular price because this would take between three and five years and would cost several million pounds. The spares and service organisation for the Star Sapphire will be maintained for at least another ten years.