Morris Marina

The Morris Marina is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland (BL) from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace both the Morris Minor and Morris Oxford in the Morris product line. The Marina was also sold in some markets as the Austin Marina, the Leyland Marina and the Morris 1700. It has a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and was produced with saloon car, estate car, coupé, pickup truck, and van body styles. It was a popular car in Britain throughout its production life, although it rarely came close to challenging its main rival, the Ford Cortina. The car was exported throughout the world, including North America, and assembled in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia. A total of 1.2 million were built. According to various sources, the Marina ranks among the worst cars ever built. The 1980 replacement for the Marina, the Ital, was the same car with only mild styling changes. It was only fully replaced by the Austin Montego in 1984. British Leyland sold the Marina alongside the 1969 Austin Maxi, which shared the same market segment but used front-wheel-drive and had a hatchback body, and the 1973 Austin Allegro, which used front-wheel-drive and more adventurous styling.