[irienz]

Discussion of Bristol Cars (and Bristol cars) among the owners of the latter is never given to shades of grey it seems.

My own views on the historical management of BCL are mixed. No one can fail to admire Mr Crook's firmness of purpose and single-mindedness of vision which has allowed BCL to survive, almost uniquely in this day and age, as a small manufacturer of cars since 1946. The essence of that survival indeed seems to have been a lack of hubris and determination to stick to what one did well, despite what others do or aspire to do, coupled with a realistic assessment of what was in fact possible and what I suspect was a real pride in, and affection and sense of responsibility for, the company, its history, its products and its employees. These are indeed admirable traits and the benefits to us all are apparent today in the company's remarkable survival.

There is another side however. As the car division, the marque had a distinctive approach to the design and manufacture of cars and stood for innovation and quality. The company appears to have had a confidence about its products and its unique design focus that contrasts strongly with the subsequent period of operation under Mr Crook. From about the 411 onwards, the company became increasingly less open about its products, their design and their performance. The marketing message over time shifted its appeal from distinctive design and quality focus to notions of exclusivity and undifferentiated "differentness". One suspects that, lacking the ability and funding to innovate and to carry the torch for the original Bristol values, new values were invented which lay within the company's more limited abilities.

The Crook years represented the creation and building of a new Bristol image. The "exclusive and different" image was cultivated by secrecy about the cars and the company. Development and modification was hinted at but the details never disclosed (and the claims therefore could neither be verified nor disproved). The motoring press were increasingly kept away from the products. Historical mythology regarding Mr Crook's role in the initial creation of the marque in 1946 was created and fostered.

Withdrawal of the cars from the motoring press and the cultivation of a press reputation for avoiding press exposure was arguably a masterstroke of marketing - the cars were no longer portrayed as advanced designs of distinctive quality and were instead talked about with reference to having a "Saville Row" image. The strategy minimised the "Emperor's New Clothes" risk of exposing the cars to outside scrutiny and the adverse conclusions which might have been drawn from revealing the actual production activity (or lack thereof) over many years. It may well be the case that BCL's survival required this form of rebranding and secrecy but it is dubious to criticise the motoring press for failing to understand BCL's values if they were neither exposed nor espoused.

Against that background, the activities of BOC were inevitably counter-productive and de-mystifying (as the activities of any owners' club acting in the interests of their membership would be) and the rather strange historical tension between BOC and BCL is perhaps understandable for that reason alone.

The subsequent change of ownership and management has seen the marque undergoing another, and very welcome, change in image and projected values. Although the analogy has not so far been used as far as I am aware, BCL now represents the overlooked benefits of traditional values brought up to date, in the same way that current manufacturers of valve (or, for North American readers, tube) amplifiers, full-range drivers, vinyl LPs and turntables represent those values so successfully in high end audio. The differentness is now revealed to have substance and tangible benefit (other than merely in image) and the new values are demonstrated and advocated by BCL in its products which it is not afraid to show off. BCL now manifests real confidence in what it does again and is not afraid to show how it is different rather than just behaving unconventionally and claiming to be different.

Bristol owners and admirers owe Mr Crook a debt of gratitude for the remarkable survival of the company but we should not be blind to what was done to the marque image and values during that period and we should feel a sense of relief that the marque is yet again re-inventing its values in a more positive vein under its new ownership.