1905: Herbert Austin begins making cars at Longbridge, many improvements in mass car manufacture and production later arise from these car works. Seventeen years later the Austin 7 goes into production, it becomes one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, its effect on the British market is similar to that of the Model T Ford in the USA. Austin's designs and production help set up other car brands around the world that later become famous in their own right, such as BMW, Nissan and Lotus.