Saviem:
Evening Gentlemen, well Sammyoposite with this thread you proposed a subject that potentially was most interesting, sadly it has been hijacked, and driven full tilt down a siding by a moronic contributor, whose scant lack of knowledge of the English language, (by constant resort to expletives), visible lack of both product knowledge, and background of the subject matter, (highlighted by his refusal to research background and substance to his ever more ludicrous assertions and imagined scenarios), and sadly examples of his own social and personal inadequacies, (constant referals to “■■■■■■ operators / governers”) Frankly CF, I am sad for you, truly sad. To summerise, Imports were not always better That their Dealers and Distributors response to problems, and customer “issues” was. The Dealers were hungry, and in many cases their staff needed to prove a point, and did so with “gusto”(and great satisfaction).In some cases the strength of the dealer in a local area dictated the “penetration into the local market” over and above the National figure. (I cite as examples, Magirus in the southwest, Leonard Parsons. Fiat in East Anglia, Peter Colby, Wyndham, Greenhouse Hereford, Bedford, ) CF, its down to PEOPLE, people deal with people, not always products, and thats why I am sad such an interesting thread has been “drevu” by such an illiterate person as yourself. Look back at what others have written, learn, open your eyes and ENJOY, and for goodness sake stop being such an idiot!! Bon Nuit.
Seems to me like you’ve run out of any intelligent arguments that would alter my,personal (probably correct),view of history and what actually happened to cause the demise of the uk truck manufacturing industry at the time when it mattered so you’ve just decided to resort to making comments against the poster instead of the posts.
What makes me sad,truly sad,is that most,if not all,of those who were involved at the time within the uk manufacturing industry are’nt here and able to put their case as to the circumstances.The idea that the localised differences between different manufacturers dealerships could possibly have contributed to the demise,or even could have made the difference,between the survival,or otherwise,of the whole uk truck manufacturing sector,seems to show a simplistic view of a situation in which it would have been unlikely that those differences could have possibly,all co incidentally,applied on a nationwide basis,in the negative,to every uk truck manufacturer’s dealer network all at that time.
I know enough about the truck manufacturing industry at the time,having been employed in it,to know that the really good products sell themselves and the job of the sales departments and/or dealerships was to listen to what the customer wants and to pass that information back for development of future products.It seems obvious that the information being fed back from those uk dealers to their respective manufacturers was an accurate interpretation of what the uk customers wanted and which was different (at the time when it mattered) to what the continental and scandinavian customers were telling the dealerships for those continental and scandinavian manufacturers,at that time, that they wanted in their respective home markets and the rate of development of the products,made by those uk manufacturers versus those foreign manufacturers,reflected that.
I’ve also seen enough to know that Britain made a big mistake in relying too much on continental europe for it’s trading future than on making it’s ties with it’s old established colonial trading partners,and the ideas which would have eventually gone along with that in the development of it’s road transport manufacturing sector,stronger instead of weaker.
But you’re exaggerating the issue of dealerships being the most important factor in that there’s plenty of examples where it’s how good the product is that determines how it will perform in the field in markets where it’s how reliably and how well it can run and perform between scheduled service downtime and in that there’s no reason as to why any uk manufacturer dealership network could’nt have provided just as good service as anything the european or scandinavian networks could have provided just as in markets like OZ,NZ,and North America.You seem to be saying that the foreign manufacturers uk dealerships had a better attitude towards their customers than the uk manufacturers dealerships did 
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The question is,if that’s really the case, what could possibly have been their motive and what was it that changed from the days when most British operators seemed happy enough with the products and service that they were getting,other than those dealers knowing,just like those manufacturers themselves,that the writing was already on the wall and that there’s no point in being in business as a manufacturer or dealer for that manufacturer if you already know that the products that you’re being asked to supply and service are obsolete heaps and if your foreign competitors have suddenly found more sales in a market that’s just suddenly realised that the vehicles,that it’s been asking it’s uk suppliers to build for it,were actually obsolete over 10 years ago .Your problem Saviem is that you don’t seem to be able to look at the issue from the point of view of those uk manufacturers and their dealers.Not surprising with your attitude towards anyone who dares to disagree with you. 
