Morris Marina - North America

North America

The Marina was available in the United States as the Austin Marina from 1973 to 1975 in 2- and 4-door form. It was marketed as an Austin because Morris was a virtually unknown brand in the US and to capitalise on the success of the Austin-Healey marque. The 1973 model still had the normal small bumpers, but the 1974/5 models had large bumpers to comply with new US regulations. It was only produced with the 1800 cc engine, and was soon strangled by the emissions equipment that U.S. law required—an air pump and exhaust air injection. The US government soon accused BL of "dumping" cars in the US, which—combined with tales of poor quality—made it a poor seller, and they were not exported to the US after 1975.

The Marina was also marketed in Canada as the Austin Marina, in 2-door coupé and 4-door saloon form, from 1973 to 1978, using only the 1800 engine, fitted with US-style heavier bumpers and emissions equipment. Sales stopped when the 1.8 L engine was replaced by the 1.7 L engine, which was not emissions-certified in Canada. While its simple rear-wheel-drive layout and mechanicals appealed to many Canadian drivers, the Marina's body was prone to extremely fast rust-out on the salted winter roads of eastern Canada, which limited sales in later years.