History of Poland (1945–1989) of Brezhnev, there could be no peaceful resolution to the situation that developed. The Soviets now expressed a preference for the conflict to be resolved by the Polish authorities, but Poland, according to Karol Modzelewski, was lucky to avoid a carnage of foreign intervention. Others, including the historian Antoni Dudek, feel that there was no sufficient justification for the imposition of martial law that followed. On 13 December 1981, claiming that the country was on the verge of economic and civil breakdown and alleging a danger of Soviet intervention, General Wojciech Jaruzelski began a crack-down on Solidarity. Martial law was
1981 in motoring 1981 in motoring 1981 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred in 1981, listed by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles. General Motors introduced a new range of medium-sized family cars, the "J Car". The British-built version of the car was called the Vauxhall Cavalier, while its German twin was sold as the Opel Ascona. This incarnation of the car had front-wheel drive and a hatchback body style to run alongside the saloon. The engine line-up included 1.3 L and 1.6 L petrol units as well as a 1.6 L