When the UK Government Was Forced to Change Cars to Save Fuel | 1973 Oil Crisis @FrontlinebyITN
When the UK Government Was Forced to Change Cars to Save Fuel | 1973 Oil Crisis  @FrontlinebyITN
Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Did you know the UK Government once had to trade in their ministerial cars for smaller ones to save fuel?

During the 1973 Oil Crisis, the UK Government switched the Rover 3.5 for the Mini or the BMC 1800s - hoping that the change would cut fuel consumption in half.

ITN's Trevor McDonald reported on the change and its impacts on ministers.

#OilCrisis #1973 #1970s #ThreeDayWeek #1973OilCrisis #YomKippurWar #PetrolShortage #1970sBritain #UKHistory #1970s #ITNArchive

To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:

gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video/smaller-government-cars-england-london-extms-rover-backs-news-footage/1417357126?adppopup=true

To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:

gettyimages.co.uk/footage/itn

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - youtube.com/@FrontlinebyITN
🎥 Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ITNArchive
🎥 Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/ITNArchiveITNP
🎥 Check out our TikTok - tiktok.com/@itnarchive1955
When the UK Government Was Forced to Change Cars to Save Fuel | 1973 Oil CrisisWife of American POW reacts to Christmas Message (1970) #vietnamwarBattle of An Loc (1972) | Intense Frontline Footage of Vietnam War Easter OffensiveHorrors of the Vietnam War | 1967 Report Exposes Civilian CasualtiesBay of Pigs Invasion | How British Reacted to News of US Invasion of Castros Cuba (1961)Xi Jinping Sinks A Pint With David Cameron (2015)Rare interview from a SAS Commander on Iranian Embassy Siege (1980)U.S. Veterans Reflect on Fighting in the Vietnam War (1975)How the City of Moscow Prepared for Nuclear War (1979)Children of the Revolution | Rare Footage of Soviet Youth Groups Visiting Lenins Mausoleum (1986)1997 Albanian Unrest | Dramatic Footage of Countrys Slide Towards Civil War | Archive DocumentaryD-Day Survivors Remember WW2 Turning Point (1984) | 40th Anniversary Programme
Frontline by ITN |

When the UK Government Was Forced to Change Cars to Save Fuel | 1973 Oil Crisis

SHARE TO X SHARE TO REDDIT SHARE TO FACEBOOK WALLPAPER