Once Upon A Time ... there was a car industry in a mighty, industrialized nation.

But the business landscape was changing and once-great companies were losing strength. And market share. One firm's "previous strengths now became weaknesses. ... old machinery could only produce old-fashioned products." Its "much-vaunted distribution system ... (i.e. - dealers) ... now also proved to be a weakness."

A new competitor came from overseas, with new and improved designs - better products. This foreigner's home country nurtured creative, entrepreneurial businesses and offered a more favorable tax structure. This helped free up funds for new product development.

The new import caused the most prosperous vehicle manufacturer to suffer a 75% drop in sales. Every other established factory in the nation suffered, too. Within 15 years, "every leading brand name had either disappeared or had fallen into new ownership, mostly multinational companies. Many of the closures were inevitable, as lack of investment had rendered production plant obsolete or ranges impossibly outdated."

Is this story about Detroit, GM and the Toyota invasion?

No, it's about Great Britain and the decline and fall of the toy car industry. The facts and quotes are from an article by Rod Ward in the March 2006 issue of Model Auto Review. (It's a great little magazine to which I've subscribed since its inception in 1980. Rod is both editor and publisher.)

Meccano, the venerable maker of Dinky toy cars and trucks, was the big manufacturer encumbered with old machinery, stale designs and a vulnerable dealer network.

Matchbox Toys - once a hotshot British upstart - saw its sales drop 75% after the introduction of Hot Wheels, made by U.S. toy giant, Mattel. Hot Wheels debuted in 1968 and some product was made in America, although by 1972, all production had moved to Hong Kong.

Many British toymakers moved their production to Asia but it was too late to play catch-up.

By 1983, the British toy industry had collapsed - Corgi Toys went bankrupt (and was later taken over by Mattel). Dinky went belly-up in 1981; Matchbox in 1982. In 1999, Corgi was bought by Zindart of China.

You can still buy Matchbox, Corgi and (until recently) Dinky brands of diecast cars but all are now made in China. Rod Ward laments, "The skills no longer exist in Britain, and anyone wanting to make mass market toys or models now has no choice other than to go to the Far East."