Rover

The week we have a video documentary which traces the rise and fall of a great British brand that is largely unknown in the US, Rover. And no, we don’t mean Range Rover. Well, not totally. In the days when Britain’s car industry was the envy of the world, Rover epitomized everything to which the driver of taste aspired, but in 2005 it reached the end of the road. The film explores how Rover cars went from defining their eras to becoming victims of their times, telling the story behind the key models to the controversial joint ventures with Japanese and Indian manufacturers in later years.

I rarely point out auctions on eBay. In fact, I don’t think I have ever done it before. But, this 1953 Lanchester is just too gorgeous and someone needs to buy it, fix it back up, take care of it, and love it like it deserves. Such a gorgeous car. I have absolutely no knowledge of this auction, car, or its owner. I have no vested interest in this. I just wish I could make that beauty mine! According to the auction, “The Lanchester car company was owned by Daimler. The last Lanchester made was in 1957. This car was imported a few years ago. It is right hand drive. It has a Delaware title. The car was on the Isle of Mann till 1998. [The seller] bought her with 16000 miles on her. If you are over 6 feet […]

According to Nanjing Automobile, it bought the rights to the MG trademarks and logos when it bought the assets of the firm from administrators. It told High Court judge Sir William Blackburne that MG Sports and Racing Europe, based in Tenbury Wells, was using the famous octagonal logo and name on its MG X POWER supercar. Nanjing is now seeking an order to stop the company. Iain Purvis QC, who is representing the company, told the judge that Nanjing “have made great strides” in reviving the MG brand in the UK, with the Longbridge plant manufacturing again and a major new car launch planned for next year. He added that the British company admitted this was likely to cause confusion but claimed they are entitled to use the mark because they had bought the rights to it from liquidators of […]

Directors Peter Beale and John Edwards of the vilified Phoenix Four are in line for a massive multi-million pound Christmas bonus from the remnants of the Longbridge empire, it was revealed today. The two former Longbridge bosses, who with fellow directors John Towers and Nick Stephenson have already enriched themselves to the tune of around £9 million each, will be entitled to another huge cash windfall next month.

Former Longbridge worker Tony Dudley has laid solid new foundations for his garage business – by building an MOT bay himself. The former MG Rover panel beater spent five days helping lay down a total of 27 tons of concrete to mark the latest key milestone in the history of Northfield-based MGR Services. And Northfield Labour MP Richard Burden drove along his prized MGZT as the first car to undergo an MOT at the popular garage, less than a mile from the former home of MG Rover.

This isn’t exactly British car news, but Swedish car maker Volvo is heading into Chinese hands, after owner Ford announced that Geely is in pole position to buy the struggling manufacturer. Following in the footsteps of MG Rover’s sale to Shanghai Automotive and Nanjing Automobile, the potential deal marks the latest move by a fast-expanding Chinese car maker to boost its presence in Europe. Negotiations have been ongoing for some time, and it is understood Ford was only willing to enter into discussions once it had evaluated the firm’s Chinese operations. Now the green light has been given, the future of Volvo and the launch of promising upcoming models such as the S60 should be secure. The move will also benefit Geely. Volvo’s research and development expertise and engineering skills will be a huge bonus, as its main interests are […]

Jones will take responsibility for UK sales, marketing, PR and aftersales, as well as the development of the MG brand. He has previously worked as brand manager at Bentley and marketing director at Kia UK. ‘MG is a much loved iconic British brand that now has SAIC as a proud new owner, capable of developing the brand on a global basis,’ said Jones. ‘SAIC are already playing a leading role in China, now the world’s largest car market, and have ambitious global plans for the MG brand.’ MG is now owned by Chinese firm SAIC, and re-commenced production at Birmingham’s Longbridge plant last year. It launched its first advertising since the 2005 break-up of MG Rover last autumn, focusing on its TF LE500 model.

There is a very nice and concise history of Rover cars over at The Telegraph. I am not going to reprint it here, but do take a look at the article for a trip down memory lane.

XPart is celebrating five years of keeping two million owners of Rover and MG cars on the road in the wake of the collapse of the Longbridge manufacturers. The company, based at Desford in Leicestershire, is keeping motor traders around the world supplied with replacement parts that enable them to service and repair the cars. XPart, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Logistics Services, one of the automotive industry’s leading supply chain management companies, acquired the MG Rover parts business in August 2004, less than a year before the manufacturer collapsed in April 2005. Since then, it says it has “worked tirelessly” to maintain high levels of parts availability and provide continuity for more than 700 MG Rover dealers throughout the world. It operates a network of importers, wholesalers and MG Rover specialist AutoService centres, 250 of them in the UK.

Former MG Rover workers living in Bromsgrove could be in line for cash left on the books of a car-leasing business linked to the collapsed company. According to the Daily Telegraph, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson is being urged to take control of a £22m dowry left on the books of the defunct MG Rover business, and distribute it among thousands of former car workers. The paper reported, on August 30, that the cash had come from a car-leasing business linked to the collapsed company called MGR Capital, which was co-owned by state-controlled bank HBOS and some of the original MG Rover directors. MGR Capital was wound up last year, with £22m in cash remaining on its books. The Telegraph said it had been expected that the money be divided between former shareholders, HBOS and two former MG Rover directors, Peter […]

The Telegraph reports that the report into the demise of MG Rover will highlight “questionable” business practices by the Phoenix Four but contains no “smoking gun” on the conduct of the Government. The report will be published this Friday after the Serious Fraud Office decided not to pursue a fraud investigation into the demise of the Midlands car maker in 2005. According to sources who have seen the document, it makes uncomfortable reading for the Government – especially over what happened to a £100m bridging loan designed to rescue MG Rover – but suggests that Labour did try to save the car maker and there was no deliberate plan to pull the plug on the business. The report, which has cost the taxpayer £16m and has taken four years to compile, contains numerous details of complex financial transactions. However, the […]

Just got this note from a friend so I thought I would pass it along. Note that this car is not mine nor do I know anything more about it than what is listed here. Seems like a great deal to me though! If I didn’t already have two projects cars, plus our normal daily drivers, I would be keeping this one to myself. It’s finally time! After going back & forth for quite a while, I have decided I have too many cars and not enough time, so I am putting my MG 1100 up for sale. The car is a 4-door 1964 US-spec. model in Connaught Green w/Dove Grey interior. I am the 3rd owner. The first owner used the car from new. The second owner bought it as a parts car for his 1100, then realized it […]

MG’s new TF LE500 is set to take part in its first race, supported by MG Rover parts specialist, XPart. It will be one of the first MG’s to be raced since the launch of the redesigned roadster and is taking part in the MG Trophy Championship. The car has been prepared for racing by one of Xpart’s approved MG Rover specialists and will be run by technician and racing driver Paul Luti. “We’re delighted to be sponsoring one of our own MG Rover specialist technicians in what looks set to be an exciting season’s racing,” comments Don Lindsay, service marketing manager, XPart. “It will be wonderful to see a new MG car competing in a race series again and driver Paul Luti’s strong experience of servicing and racing MG cars should stand him in good stead as he prepares […]

Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is cutting 450 staff. […]

A faltering auto giant whose brands are synonymous with the open road. Hundreds of thousands of unionized workers with powerful political backers. An urgent plea for the government to write a virtual blank check. This is not the story of Ford and General Motors, but British Leyland, a car company that went through £11 billion of inflation-adjusted British taxpayer money, or $16.5 billion, in the ’70s and ’80s before going out of business. All that is left of the company now are memories of cars like the Triumph, and a painful lesson in the limited effectiveness of bailouts.

Two out of three people who lost their jobs when car maker MG Rover collapsed in 2005 are now earning less money, research has revealed. This is hitting the Longbridge area hard. […]

Plans to create a new town with up to 2,000 homes on the former MG Rover site at Longbridge could be delayed for years because of the slump in land and property prices, a developer warned. The derelict car factory, which ground to a halt after the collapse of the famous marque in 2005, is set for a £750 million transformation which will create 10,000 jobs and mix modern houses with parkland. Initial plans projected it would take at least 15 years to complete the biggest regeneration scheme ever seen in the West Midlands, meaning it could be complete as soon as 2023. But at a public inquiry into the plans yesterday, Jason Tait of landowners St Modwen said progress could be slower. “There might be some growth in the market in the next 18 months or two years but […]

In China the Chinese MGTF is to make its worldwide debut in just over a week – 6,000 miles away from Longbridge. Longbridge owners Nanjing today opened their doors to the British press to reveal that the two-seater MGTF would finally roll off the Nanjing production lines from May 20 onwards. The Chinese launch of the sports car paves the way for the long-delayed introduction of the two-seater in the UK in early August. Saic-Nanjing’s confirmation of the production launch came in response to the No More Chinese Whispers campaign by the Birmingham Mail, calling on the Chinese to come clean over their intentions for Longbridge.