From Morris to Mini: The Rise of British Family Cars

For over a century, the family car has shaped the rhythms of British life-from Sunday drives to seaside holidays, commuter runs to the school gate. From Morris to Mini tells the definitive story of how Britain built, drove, and loved its family cars. With vivid narrative and historical precision, this book charts the rise of practical saloons, hatchbacks, and compacts from early pioneers like Wolseley and Humber to cultural icons like the Austin Seven, Ford Cortina, and MINI.

Against a backdrop of industrial triumph and turmoil, the story moves through the golden age of British motor manufacturing, the collapse of giants like British Leyland, and the quiet revolution brought by Japanese and European automakers. Along the way, it traces how the car became a mirror for British society-expressing postwar hope, suburban aspiration, and, finally, a bittersweet nostalgia.

Rich with detail, character, and context, From Morris to Mini is essential reading for car lovers, social historians, and anyone who's ever folded a map across a bonnet before heading off on a family holiday.