New Exhibition Celebrates Motor Industry Progress

Over 100 years of motoring industry heritage will be celebrated in a brand new exhibition Making British Cars, which opens in a redeveloped museum at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, on the 26 May 2007.

Using pictures, film and objects from the Trust collections, many never seen in public before, the new displays will trace the history of an industry that began in the 1890s, reaching a peak in the years after the second half of the 20th century. The exhibition will also show the change in an industry dominated by household names such as Austin, Morris, Rootes and Wolseley to one now dominated by brands like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.

Highlights of the new exhibition include an interactive display showing the lifestyles and earnings of factory workers and a 'Top Trumps' style interactive covering British cars of the 1970s.

Stephen Laing, museum Curator said: 'The new exhibition depicts the highs and lows of the industry, and demonstrates the skills and traditions of the people who worked and still work making cars today.'

Making British Cars forms part of an exciting major museum redevelopment at the Heritage Motor Centre. The £1 million 'Road Ahead' project has been funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and will include three new exhibitions, Making British Cars, Under the Skin and Life's Highway. A mezzanine floor is also currently being built, which will display some of the iconic cars from the collection such as the Mini, Morris Minor and Land Rover.