RILEY SPECS - ADVERTISING

as Old as the Industry, as modern as the Hour

Riley Badges

In the early years, Riley used a variety of badges on their vehicles. From 1919 onwards, however, the now famous Blue Diamond was in use, adjusted slightly as the years rolled by. Below are the badges used by the company:


1899-1912


1905-1914


1906-1912


1913-1919


1919-1969

Advertising Slogans

The variety of slogans or mottos used to promote the company on official literature was almost as varied as the badges used. Below are the more familiar:

Royal Riley

1899-1904

Today slogans, names and so on featuring a Royal or National reference are strictly managed and it is doubtful that a car company today would be able to use this name without some form of Royal endorsement. However, in the early 1900s there were no such restrictions and Riley used the Royal Riley name for a number of years to promote it's new powered machines.

King of Cars

1909-14

As with the Royal Riley name, this slogan would probably not be allowed today. However, at the time it neatly followed the old Royal Riley name, and now that the company were producing fully fledged cars, it was seen as an appropriate step forward.

As old as the industry ...

1920-25

The first half of Rileys now famous slogan was penned in 1920 and adorned all publicity material. Having originated in 1896, Riley could truly lay claim to being one of the oldest car producing companies in Britain, and this was a fact that they used to great advantage through until 1938.

... As Modern as the hour

1925-69

Just 5 years later, the new slogan was expanded in 1925. The Riley 10.8 had been improved as the 11/40, and then the engine enlarged to make the 11.9. Whilst the basic design was nearing 5 years old, it still was one of the most modern and advanced cars available in 1925. Of course, with the arrival of the Nine in late 1926, the slogan had never been more true. For the next decade, Riley remained at the forefront of car engineering and design, justifying the slogan.

A British Thoroughbred

1939-41

This slogan seems to have been used to promote the 1939 series 'Nuffield' cars.

Magnificent Motoring

1945-69

After the war, the old slogan was quietly replaced with this new one, which succinctly summed up the Riley experience. Sadly, however, the slogan remained in use through until the BMC era, when such cars could hardly be claimed to encapsulate 'Magnificent Motoring' in quite the same way.
However, there were a great number of other slogans and pieces of copywriting used over the years. Sadly the list below doen't have dates attached, but the majority would appear to apply to RMs: