Vernons Industries, a subsidiary of the Liverpool football pools company Vernons, began building the Gordon at Bidston, then in Cheshire and now in Merseyside, in 1954. It was designed by Erling Poppe, who had previously worked for Sunbeam in Wolverhampton.
The Gordon was a two-seat three-wheeler with a single front wheel, a steel body and a folding fabric roof, and at £300 it was the cheapest car on sale in Britain. Its 197 cc single-cylinder Villiers engine was mounted beside the driver, outside the body, and drove only the driver’s side rear wheel by an external chain. There was a single door, on the passenger side. Its looks were so close to the Mk1 Reliant Regal that Reliant banned its dealers from selling Gordons alongside Reliants.
The design had serious flaws. With the engine and the driver both on the right, the car had a reputation for turning over easily, particularly in the wet, and the exposed engine could sever the fuel lines and start a fire. The problems could not be fixed without a complete redesign, and after fewer than 1,000 had been made, Vernons used up the last stocks in 1958 and left the motor industry.
