Morris was started in 1913 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris (1877-1963) turned his attention to car manufacturing. A factory was opened in Oxford and the company’s first car the “Bullnose” Oxford was introduced.
During the 1920s Morris established a reputation for producing high quality cars. In 1924 Morris overtook Ford to become Britain’s biggest car manufacturer, holding a 51% share of the home market. Also in 1924 the head of the Morris sales agency in Oxford, Cecil Kimber, started building sporting versions of Morris cars called MG after the agency Morris Garages.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the company produced mainly simple but reliable family cars. The most famous Morris car was the Morris Minor introduced in 1948 reusing a name from 1928. The Morris Oxford of 1948 was the basis for the design of India’s famous state-produced Ambassador automobile.
In the early 1950s Morris merged with its old rival Austin to form the British Motor Corporation. In 1968, the Morris brand became part of British Leyland.
The Morris brand name was used until the early 1980s on cars such as the Morris Marina. The facelifted Marina, the Morris Ital was the last Morris-badged passenger car until its demise in 1984. (The last Morris was a van based on the Austin Metro.) The Morris assembly plant in Cowley was turned over in the early 1980s for the production of Austin and Rover badged vehicles.
The rights to the Morris badge is currently owned by MG Rover, who have inherited the remains of and BMC and BL. The Cowley assembly plant is now owned by BMW, who use it to assemble the new MINI. With MG Rover currently in receivership, it is not clear who will buy the Morris badge.
Models
* Morris Oxford (Bullnose) 1913-1926
* Morris Cowley 1915-1935
* Morris Oxford 1926-1935
* Morris Minor 1928-1932
* Morris Major 1931-1933
* Morris Isis 1930-1935
* Morris Twenty-One/Twenty-Five 1933-1939
* Morris Twelve 1935-1939
* Morris Fourteen 1935-1939
* Morris Eight 1935-1948
* Morris Ten 1933-1948
* Morris Six 1948-1954
* Minor MM 1948-1952
* Minor 1952-1956
* Minor 1000 1955-1971
* Morris Oxford MO 1948-1954
* Morris Oxford1954-1969
* Morris Isis 1955-1958
* Morris Cowley 1954-1959
* Morris Mini Minor 1959-1969
* Morris 1100 1962-1971
* Morris 1300 1967-1971
* Morris 1800 1966-1975
* Morris Marina 1971-1984
* Morris Ital 1980-1984