Bailey Automotive Works
 The company's official logo since 2009 | |
| Abbreviation | BAW, Bailey |
|---|---|
| Named after | Steven Bailey, founder |
| Formation | April 22, 1952 |
| Founder | Steven Bailey |
| Founded at | Ashford, Libertas Omnium Maximus |
| Type | Automobile Manufacturer |
| Headquarters | Saint Augustine, Libertas Omnium Maximus |
Region | Worldwide |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner | John Bailey (since 1995) |
| Affiliations | Maximusian Association of Automobile Manufacturers (MAAM) |
Revenue (2020) | $22.467 billion |
Staff (2019) | 31,400 |
Bailey Automotive Works, often abbreviated to BAW or simply Bailey, is a Maximusian automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury and high-performance cars, though the corporation has made several attempts to break into the highly profitable SUV market. It was formed in 1952 by Steven Bailey (1922-2008), who began doing business in his garage sometime between 1949 and 1950. The company's best selling vehicle, which has been in production since 1966, the Model 736 Sundance, is a luxury sports car.
History[edit | edit source]
Formation (1949-1965)[edit | edit source]
In 1949, Steven Bailey opened an automobile body and repair shop outside of Ashford, Libertas Omnium Maximus after leaving his job at the local steel mill. After about a year of successful business, Bailey, experimented with custom performance car sales by transplanting a V8 engine onto the chassis of a Carfield Mark II open-wheeled vehicle. The resulting racer, which Bailey sold for nearly $3,800 in 1950 and dubbed the "Hiera", would go on to win a local grand prix, attracting several high-profile clients to Bailey. Though between 1950 and 1951, only 16 vehicles were manufactured, investors were quick to recognize the potential of Steven Bailey's business. With investor support, Bailey officially founded Bailey Automotive Works in the early winter of 1952 and purchased a factory in downtown Ashford to ramp up the scale of production.
Throughout the 1950s, Bailey Automotive remained a relatively small scale organization, constructing exclusively racers and performance cars on a made-to-order basis. During this time, John Bailey experimented extensively with engine placement, ultimately settling on the mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout that would become a hallmark of performance-oriented Bailey vehicles. Numerous victories on the track, including two consecutive wins of the Cobblecourt Grand Prix (1955, 1956), were a massive boon to Bailey's sales and quickly made the company something of a household name among racing enthusiasts.
Luxury Car Market (1965-1976)[edit | edit source]
In the late 1950s and early '60s, Bailey attempted to break into the lucrative luxury sedan market but found little initial success. It was not until the introduction of the SL397 in 1965 that Bailey sedans became commercially successful, although Steve Bailey personally despised the vehicle. In his later years, he referred to the SL397 as the most emasculating vehicle ever created, referencing its low top speed, tortoise-shell like chassis, and 2.8 liter inline six cylinder engine (earlier prototypes featured a 5.1 L V12). Regardless, the SL397 and subsequent SL line of vehicles gained wide popularity for their "stately" appearance, reliability, and relatively accessible price (listed at $2,950 in 1966). Around 18,000 SL models were produced between the 1966 and 1972 model years, of which around 1,100 were sold outside of Libertas Omnium Maximus.
Attempting to capitalize on the success of the SL series, the company unveiled the Model 736, an incredibly fast two-seater luxury sports car marketed as the first Maximusian-built luxury racecar. One of the fastest street legal vehicles in production in 1966, the 736 undoubtedly lived up to its reputation as a "racecar," but many called its billing as a "luxury vehicle" into question, seeing as the automobile featured no heating system, very stiff suspension, and virtually no leg room in its original form. Roadster variants of the Model 736 had no weather protection at all. Oliver Cannaugh, an actor and 736 owner, remarked that the car "was about as comfortable to drive as a horse is to ride." The eccentric Steven Bailey memorably responded to Cannaugh in a 1967 company press release, tersely noting that, if nothing else, the coup was "at least five times as fast [as a horse]." In subsequent press releases, Bailey frequently mentioned the average speed of a horse (30 mph) when referencing the performance of the 736, which fell just slightly short of the then-production car speed record of 165 mph during a track test in September 1967. For the 1968 model year, the Model 736 underwent a minor chassis facelift and was lengthened slightly in order to accommodate a 2+2 seating arrangement and a convertible top on roadster models. The facelifted model, dubbed the 736S, remained in production until 1976, selling more than 80,000 units worldwide. The success of the 736S allowed the company to expand its production capacity considerably, opening four new factories between 1970 and 1975.
In Popular Culture[edit | edit source]
Bailey cars, particularly the E and ES line models, were, for a time, synonymous with a distinctly Maximusian concept of upper-middle class style and refinement, particularly in the late 1980s and 1990s. As a result of a 2019 deal, most distinguished Maximusian public officials, including the President of Libertas Omnium Maximus, are chauffeured in heavily modified, armored Bailey E102 and E103 sedans. Infamously, legendary mid-century Maximusian screen actor Percy Newland perished in 1979 when he crashed his 1968 Model 736 while high on cocaine and barbiturates. For decades, Bailey's sportier models exemplified the "drive fast, die young" lifestyle, though consumer research suggests that the company is increasingly seen as a manufacturer of "old man cars,", particularly by younger respondents. In order to combat this perception, Bailey has partnered with a number of production studios over the past several years in order to have their automobiles featured in high-octane blockbuster action films. In the 2019 film, The Quicksilver Gambit, young, handsome, debonair protagonist Joe Chambers is seen driving a 2016 Bailey Five VIII, a prototype mid-engine supercar.