West Country MotorHomes

8 www.wcmh.co.uk The UK’s Premier Dealer www.wcmh.co.uk Doing it by dates Auto-Sleepers ● We say… With over 58 years of experience, Auto- Sleepers oer a luxurious range of van conversions and coachbuilt motorhomes, to suit all tastes. Partnered with Mercedes, Peugeot and Fiat, there’s an Auto-Sleeper to suit the needs of the most discerning of buyers and we are proud to oer these high quality, prestige vehicles to our customers. Steve Cant, Sales Manager, Swindon ● Auto-Sleepers say… What a fabulous achievement and our heartfelt congratulations go to West Country Motorhomes on completing 40 successful years in business. A family owned business built on delivering the highest levels of customer service is at the heart of their foundations and testament to their well earned and award winning reputation. Congratulations to all at West Country Motorhomes and we look forward to being partners in your success for the next 40 years Dave Williams, Sales Director, Auto-Sleepers 1979 The year it all began. As The Sovereign Car, Caravan, Caravanette Centre, the company began trading as a motorhome dealership, run by Brian Pike. By the end of the year, the future was set – we re-branded as West Country Motorhomes. 1979 was also the year that… Sony launched its Walkman… the UK voted in its first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher… Pink Floyd announced its super-hit, Another Brick In The Wall (from the album, The Wall)… and Britain got its first nudist beach, in Brighton! 1984 Having dealt in pre-ownedmotorhomes and conversions to pre-registered vans, we took our next big step – selling our first ever brand-new vehicle. It was a Canterbury model, based on a Ford. 1984 was also the year that… Apple launched the MacIntosh computer, while Sony and Phillips started selling the first CD players… the Band Aid single, Do They Know It’s Christmas? was released… Virgin Atlantic made its first flight… O-levels and CSE’s were replaced by GCSE’s… Ronald Reagan became President of the United States… and the half-penny coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation! 1985 West Country Motorhomes was honoured to become one of only a handful of “Volkswagen Approved” dealers across the UK, meaning we could sell new conversions from the likes of Autohomes, Auto-Sleepers and Richard Holdsworth. By the end of the 1980s, we were also franchisees for new motorhomes from the main coachbuilt motorhome manufacturers – Auto- Trail, Elddis and Swift. 1985 was also the year that… Minolta released the first auto-focus SLR camera… soap opera Neighbours was first broadcast in Australia… the wreck of RMS Titanic is located in the North Atlantic ocean… Live Aid concerts helped raise some £50million for famine relief… and Coca- Cola introduced New Coke – it lasted three months! 1989 Eldest son Steve took over the day-to-day running of the business, with father Brian still working in the background. Steve’s younger brother, Paul, has also been working in the business for some three years now – joining the company the same time as Peter Shaw who, by this time had become sales manager. 1989 was also the year that… it’s the oicial launch for the World Wide web… the Berlin Wall comes down… NASA launched the Galileo spacecraft mission to Jupiter… Sir Cli Richard is the first British pop artist to release 100 singles… and the first of two asteroids avoids colliding with Earth, just! 1997 Exciting times as we purchase an all-new site for development at Brent Knoll, just o junction 22 of the M5 motorway. Our sales location is now displaying anything up to 150 motorhomes but beginning to feel the pinch! After a £1million investment, our new sales site, including showroom, made its debut some five years later. 1997 was also the year that… Tony Blair is elected Prime Minister with a landslide general election victory…Channel 5, the fifth national tv channel, is introduced… JK Rowling publishes her first Harry Potter novel… and it’s the end of the line for the FX4 taxi cab! A West Country welcome awaits Our specially commissioned Somerset willow sculptures Lining up the big brands Just some of our proud history