County Garage Ltd was selling Ford, Standard, Triumph and Ferguson before the second world war. After WW2 Ford was taken to court by Ferguson who accused them of stealing his patented 3 point linkage tractor invention. Ferguson won his legal action and decided not to share it with Ford. After this date there were to be no dealerships with both Ford and the Ferguson connected Standard Triumph cars.
County Motors came into being in 1948 selling Standard, Triumph and Alvis cars as well as Ferguson tractors. The car retailer hit its peak in the 1970s, when its showrooms in Rosehill and Botchergate sported offerings from brands such as Jaguar, Daimler, Triumph, Rover and Land Rover. In more recent times it also acted as distributor for Fiat, Daihatsu and Alfa Romeo. Since 2009, however, County Motors dealt only in selling and repairing used cars.
At its peak the business employed over 140 people at several sites. 24 July 2013 saw the appointment of an administrator to the business. With the closure of the showroom at Kingstown Broadway eight employees working at the dealership, among them owner Barry Tweddle lost their jobs and the business was closed down,
In both the 1965 and 1968/69 Triumph Service Directory County Motors (Carlisle) Ltd of 14 Botchergate were listed as a distributor with Carlisle Motor Co on Fishergate listed as a dealer. In 1974 only County Motors are still listed as distributor.
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Steve Weblin - AKA vitessesteve
Current Cars - Valencia Blue 69 Vitesse Mk2 Saloon since 1991 and a Sprint engined TR7. Have had several Dolomites over the years.
blog
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Isle of Wight, UK based - studied class car restoration at Leeds City College
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