BMC in the UK kept their old retainers for years after their use-by date. The Morris Minor never lost its popularity well after the Mini and 1100 came along; the Oxbridge Farinas lasted another six years after the 1800 was introduced and the list goes on. As SilverCloud points out, there didn't look to be much in the way of product planning. This ad from October 1965 shows the choice they boasted about - 40 models all up under seven nameplates if you include Austin-Healey. Product planning or marketing entailed which type of grilles should differentiate an Austin from a Morris and how they should place the different badging on the bootlid. From the start when they merged in 1952, the two companies were competing with each other rather than their competitors. One thing stands out to me from this ad was the dreary array of colours - the drab greys and beiges remind me of a bleak, soggy winter's day in Britain. One thing British Leyland got right was the much brighter and more acceptable palette of colours in the early '70s.