- - - - - - - - - - - 1969 - - - - - - - - - - -
Epoch was still lagging behind in the development stakes for 1969, with the M30 being discontinued due to a decline in already underperforming sales. Something that did get released, however, was a vehicle out of left field that nobody was expecting. Epoch executives had noticed that sales of the M10 were still peaking in the UK and Europe, however over in the USA they had dropped considerably. Upon closer analysis, it was determined that the car was viewed as being too small, even for a budget entry model, and thus the Epoch M10 Maxi was born. This car replaced the M10 in the US market, whilst being sold alongside the ‘regular’ M10 in UK and European markets, and was sold in three trims: The A1500 Sedan for $1,157 ($7,902 adjusted), A1500s Sports Sedan for $1,195 ($8,156 adjusted), and B1500 Wagon for $1,173 ($8,005 adjusted).
The A1500 and B1500 were both powered by a reworked version of the standard M10 A1500 engine, but with less of a focus on economy due to the cheaper fuel costs, resulting in an output of 44.2kW (59HP) and 108.3Nm (80ft lbs) compared to the standard M10 A1500 results of 37.7kW (50.5HP) and 103Nm (76ft lbs). This was offset, however, by an increase in weight, leaving the 0-100 performance figures worse off by about 1 second.
The A1500s was sold as the Maxi variant of the M10 A1600s, featuring a version of the base engine that was pushed harder to deliver a surprising 60kW (80HP) and 110Nm (81ft lbs). This allowed the heavier Maxi to post a respectable 0-100 figure of 13.7 seconds, whilst not sacrificing a large amount of comfort or economy. All three vehicles found a reasonable measure of success, and still maintain a cult following amongst automotive enthusiasts.
