Daimler Fleetlines - Mike Rhodes

The embryonic Daimler Motor Co. Ltd and the Lancashire Steam Motor Co. (Leyland Motors Ltd from 1907) were both formed in 1896 and produced early examples of motor vehicles in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Daimler established a number of works in the district of Radford in Coventry, where a range of high-end cars and buses were assembled.

Leyland had stolen a march on Daimler by bringing the revolutionary Atlantean to the market in late 1958. It would be August 1960 before Daimler’s equivalent, the Fleetline, was introduced. The Fleetline possessed many of the attributes of the Atlantean but one gave it an advantage over its competitor. A drop-centre rear axle was fitted as standard which eliminated the need for low-height bodywork. Also, apart from a few early models, the bus was mainly powered by the ever-reliable Gardner six-cylinder engine.

The two builders went toe-to-toe during the 1960s and early 1970s as the only other realistic equivalent option was the Bristol VRT. Jaguar Cars, who had acquired the company from BSA in 1960, was keen to divest itself of the Bus Building Division and this resulted in a merger with Leyland Motors. Production of the Fleetline was transferred to Leyland’s Farington site during 1973. However, it wasn’t until 1976 that the Daimler name was dropped in favour of the Leyland Fleetline brand name, which continued to be available until 1981.

Over 8,700 Fleetlines were produced under the Daimler name, including a significant number of single-deck types. Here Mike Rhodes charts the fortunes of the Fleetline until the Daimler name was dropped.