Sliced Bread

Toast - Sinclair C5


Listen Later

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of wonder products and businesses which had promised so much to consumers.

You can contact us at [email protected]

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea which ended up toast, examining the reasons behind the failure and discovering what can we learn from its story today.

Sean unpicks all the early optimism, hype and ambition, speaking to expert commentators to discover how they view things now and what, if anything, could have been done differently.

Sean is assisted by the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, as together they try to work out what went wrong.

This week, Sean and Sam look into the Sinclair C5 - an electric vehicle from the 1980s which promised to revolutionize personal transport.

They get a first-hand account of what happened from the former Managing Director of Sinclair Vehicles Ltd, Barrie Wills, and hear how the Isle of Cumbrae became a hotbed for the Sinclair C5....until the little vehicles started breaking down all over the island.

They also speak to Grant Sinclair - nephew of the C5's inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair - and hear how he has devised a new and very different take on the C5 which he plans to launch soon.

Presenter: Sean Farrington

Producer: Jon Douglas

Toast is a spin-off from Sliced Bread, the series in which Greg Foot investigates the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Sliced BreadBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

78 ratings


More shows like Sliced Bread

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,842 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,909 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,782 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,050 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

85 Listeners

Money Box by BBC Radio 4

Money Box

42 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,141 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

901 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

269 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,925 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,081 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

248 Listeners

The Kitchen Cabinet by BBC Radio 4

The Kitchen Cabinet

124 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

80 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

403 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

824 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

480 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,121 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

742 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,985 Listeners

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley by BBC Radio 4

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley

238 Listeners

Uncharted with Hannah Fry by BBC Radio 4

Uncharted with Hannah Fry

118 Listeners

What's Up Docs? by BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

116 Listeners