Javillac
The history of the Triumph Acclaim helps to better understand How was the rapid decline suffered by the British automobile industry?, and the numerous companies that began to disappear since the seventies.
BACKGROUND: BRITISH LEYLAND
Triumph was one of the oldest brands in the United Kingdom, with its founding date being 1885, although they would not begin manufacturing motorcycles until the beginning of the XNUMXth century, and Its first automobiles would arrive with the end of the First World War.
Their cars were of high quality and were especially luxurious, and its TR convertible sports cars They were their star product, which managed to transfer commercial success beyond British territory, with models that were especially popular in countries like the United States.
En 1960 The Triumph-Standard company is bought by another company founded in 1896, Leyland, and Leyland Motor Corporation is created, an industrial group in which there were brands as popular as Rover.
A giant in the automobile sector emerged in 1968 with British Leyland, which arose from combining the aforementioned Leyland Motor Corporation and British Motor Holdings, resulting in the largest industrial conglomerate in the United Kingdom and which included brands such as Jaguar, MG, Austin and Morris.
One of the first decisions made by British Leyland was to eliminate less popular brands such as Riley and Wolseley. was created a division with the group's most luxurious brands; Jaguar, Rover and Triumph, but the first two were much more profitable.
The XNUMXs were a difficult time for English car manufacturers, with numerous strikes in the sector and increasing quality problems in new models. Triumph and Morris were two of the brands that were destined to disappear, the expensive development of the Rover SD1 meant that there was no budget to develop a small saloon that had to replace the outdated Triumph Dolomite.
On the other hand, there is the history of the TR7, which was the brand's last sports car, presented in 1975 and manufactured until 1981, it was relatively popular, but It was a car plagued with problems.. The problems were also reflected in its production, being manufactured in three different factories.
ACCLAIM, THE JAPANESE OPPORTUNITY
With the Dolomite and TR7 ceasing production ceasing in 1980 and 1981 respectively, Triumph did not have any models for the new decade of the XNUMXs. The year 1981 was also the last year for British Leyland, with Jaguar becoming an independent manufacturer for a time, and the remaining brands regrouping into the Austin-Rover group.
While brands like Austin received small updates as happened with the Austin Maxi at the end of its commercial life while preparing the arrival of new models such as the Maestro and Montego, Triumph did not receive any news, nor did it plan to develop any new car.
Since 1978, talks began with Honda to produce one of its cars as a substitute for the Dolomite. The vehicle chosen was the Honda Ballade, a model that was not sold in Europe, and which was a three-volume version of the second generation Honda Civic sold as Triumph Acclaim.
The car had a Honda-sourced 1.335 cubic centimeter four-cylinder engine located transversely. It developed 70 hp, more than the Japanese version due to the use of two carburetors Keihin.
As for the interior, it was different from its Japanese counterpart, with seats inherited from the Morris Ital. Furthermore, it could be equipped with a five-speed transmission or a three-speed automatic transmission. 
The Acclaim was a golden opportunity for Japan, which until then barely manufactured cars in Europe, which was made 133.625 units until 1984, putting an end to the Triumph story that had begun 99 years earlier.
The reason why its production ceased was the presentation of a new generation of the Ballade, which was considered to be manufactured for Triumph, but this did not happen. opting instead for Rover, which carried out its manufacturing with the 200 Series, beginning a collaboration that would mark the final years of the Viking ship brand.
