1986 in Motoring - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

BL (formerly British Leyland Limited) was renamed to Rover Group.

The Rover Group's Leyland Trucks division (which included its Freight Rover van business) was merged with the Dutch DAF Trucks company to form the new commercial vehicle company DAF NV. The new company's trucks (built in Leyland, UK and Eindhoven, Netherlands) and its vans built in Birmingham, UK, were branded as Leyland DAF for the UK market and as DAF for other European and worldwide markets.

The Rover SD1 ceased production after 10 years and was replaced with the Rover 800, which is the third product of the venture with Honda. The Japanese version of this Rover model was the Honda Legend.

Ford gave the Escort a mild facelift in March, with a new softer look. A similar makeover was given to the Orion saloon range, which expanded to include lower specification "L" and "LX" models, having originally been sold in upmarket "GL" and "Ghia" trim only.

Vauxhall replaced the Carlton with an all-new model after eight years, but with a familiar rear-wheel drive chassis providing the underpinnings for a four-door saloon and five-door estate aimed directly at the Ford Granada. Engines ranged from a relatively slow 1.8 to an ultra-refined 3.0 V6 which produced almost 200 bhp. It was European Car of the Year for the 1987 model year.