That idea does carry some weight, however we do have the benefit of hindsight. I know AEC and Scania had some dialogue regarding a partnership of sorts, but really Scania never figured in anyone’s plans, nor did the rest of the foreign manufacturers, they weren’t really serious competition until the 70s.
Yes, the Leyland people should have seen it coming, especially given the political agenda of the time, join the common market at all costs etc. However, they still had to convince their customers to go for a large cab tractor unit with a 300ish hp engine, which ironically they did, unfortunately it was to their cost, because of the lack of options and unreliability of the offerings from BL led the customers into the arms of Scania and the rest.
But and it’s a big but, I can say this because I do have the benefit of hindsight, at the time, I’m sure the idea of a 300ish hp Mandator seemed as revolutionary as putting a man on the moon. It turned out not to be a success for a number of reasons, reasons that can be attributed to bad decisions from the board of directors, not from the design engineers.
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