hide the fact that the Commando was an old design, being a pre-unit pushrod parallel-twin. Eventually Commando production ended and NVT ended up assembling an Asian 125cc trail bike. However, Norton went on to produce a twin-rotor Wankel-engined bike based on David Garside's work at BSA. Compared with BSA's hopeless management team who had led their once-mighty company to ruin through incompetence, dire business decisions and a failure even to appreciate bikes, Poore at first seemed a breath of fresh air who could be the hoped-for saviour of the British motorcycle industry. His sporting past showed he was in tune with motorsport and engineering. However, his reconstruction and redundancy plans were heavy-handed and some regarded him a little more than an asset-stripper. What is clear is that his actions led to the fragmentation of the industry when consolidation was essential to save the day. London cabs With the purchase of BSA came its subsidiary Carbodies, builder of the FX4 London taxi; the classic "black cab". After disposing of the motorcycle manufacturing arms, Poore continued to head Manganese Bronze as a taxi and component manufacturer until his death in 1987. Complete World Drivers' Championship results (key) References External links Dennis Poore's Alfa Romeo 8C 35 Photographs and information about the 8C-35 (chassis 50013) that Poore owned for many years. 1916 births 1987 deaths English racing drivers Brighton Speed Trials people British hillclimb drivers English Formula One drivers Connaught Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British World War II pilots World Sportscar Championship drivers 20th-century English businesspeople