Strange Death of the British Motorcycle Industry

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  • Name Business/Industry failure, decline, lack of success, etc: decline of industries

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Winner of the Wadsworth Prize for Business History, 2012. Scholarly account analysing the rapid decline and failure of the industry in the twenty years after 1950, from world leadership and in the face of competition, initially from Italy and later Japan. Has chapters: 'British supremacy, 1935-39'; 'The war years, 1939-45'; 'Revival and complacency, 1945-51'; 'The window of opportunity, 1951-56'; 'The window closes, 1956-61'; 'The firms and their workers, 1960-73'; 'The collapse of the British motor cycle industry, 1960-75'; 'The British motorcycle industry since 1971'. Much on individual manufacturers eg Ariel Motors Ltd, Associated Motor Cycles Ltd , BSA, Norton Motors Ltd, Triumph Engineering Co Ltd