This book is a concise and lucid review of the strengths and weaknesses of the British motor industry during the one hundred years since its foundation. Placing the industry firmly in a European context, the author first assesses its achievements before 1960, and then tests the various explanations that have been offered to explain its decline in the past thirty years. He examines the role of government, of the trade unions, of management and of the multinationals, all of which have been seen as major players in the industry's demise.