an optional HRG-designed DOHC engine, this was likely never sold.) In the December 2011 edition of Automobile Magazine, a 1954 SM1500 was compared to an MG TD, finding the Singer the superior roadster. Rootes Group By 1955, the business was in financial difficulties and the Rootes Brothers bought it the following year. They had first handled Singer sales just before the First World War. The Singer brand was absorbed into their Rootes Group which had been an enthusiastic exponent of badge engineering since the early 1930s. The next Singer car, the Gazelle, was a more up-market Hillman Minx. which retained the pre-war designed Singer OHV engine for the I and II versions until 1958, when the IIA was given the Minx pushrod engine. The Vogue, which ran alongside the Minx/Gazelle from 1961, was based on the Hillman Super Minx with differing front end styling and more luxurious trim. After 1958, all Singer products were mere badge-engineered models. By 1970, Rootes were again struggling financially. They had been acquired by the American Chrysler corporation, and founder (by then Sir William Rootes) had died in 1964. In April 1970, as part of a rationalisation process, the last Singer rolled off the assembly line, almost 100 years after George Singer built the first cycle. The last car to carry the Singer name was an upmarket version of the rear engined Hillman Imp called the Chamois. With the take over of Rootes by Chrysler begun in 1964 and completed in 1967, many of the brands were set to vanish and use of the Singer name ended in 1970. The site of the Singer factory in Coventry is now occupied by Singer Hall, a hall of residence for Coventry University. Models The main models produced were: e. & o.e. World War I —————————————————————————————————————————————— December 1936: Singer & Co Limited dissolved;business transferred to Singer Motors Limited —————————————————————————————————————————————— World War II —————————————————————————————————————————————— December 1955: Singer Motors joins Rootes Group —————————————————————————————————————————————— See also Premier Motorcycles George E. Stanley List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom Notes Sources Kevin Atkinson The Singer Story, Cars, Commercial Vehicles, Bicycles, Motorcycles; Veloce Publishing Wise, David Burgess. "Singer: A Car for Every Purse and Purpose" in Ward, Ian, Executive Editor. The World of Automobiles, Volume 18, pp. 2064-71. London: Orbis, 1974. External links Singer Owners' Club Singer Motor Club North American Singer Owners Club Automobilemag.com; Singer Motors Singer Senior 1927 Singer Six