Rover's last chance...

[Sparky]

Now that Alchemy (wasn't that a Dire Straights album!?) have abandoned their bid to rescue Rover, the Pheonix consortium is Rover's only lifeline. They have one week to secure the final £200 million of the £1.2 billion required.
The Pheonix cosortium consists of a number of Rover dealers, Mayflower (the body panel builder) and Lola, the racecar constructor. If successful, Lola will scrap the existing identity, and concentrate on producing MG, and resurrecting Triumph and Austin-Healey branded sportscars. Lola would become the high-performance badged versions.

Sounds too good to be true.
I hope they're successful; BMW have announced that if Rover is not sold within 7 days, the company will be liquidated!

[Sparky]

Just heard a silly moo on the 'box describe the new Rover 75 as "...very similar in design to the old Rover P60 that the queen's driven about in." (NOT the P6 then!?)
I reckon she'll be getting her P45 soon!

To all non-Brits out there, the P60 is a tax statement distributed by the Inland Revenue.
And the P45 is what you get when you're fired!

[Liz]

I'm hearing rumours about Rover and I don't know what it is! What's this all about then? I thought maybe you were about to shoot a dog!

[TimD]

I read about the MG/Triumph/Austin Healey plan in Autosport this evening, and I'm wondering if someone somewhere got their wires crossed.

I was under the impression from the first ever press release from Alchemy that they were dropping the Rover name and concentrating on short production runs of MG badged cars.

One of the costs they risked incurring was litigation from Rover dealerships that had spent hundreds of thousands on Rover branding.

I know that Phoenix are interested in larger volume car production, and that they have the Rover dealers on board, so I am pretty sure the Rover name will survive if they get the deal.

But I am thrilled that there is a serious commitment to the sporting marques once more. Let's hope they make some cars that will do justice to the names they are planning. Anyone fancy doing a design study for a 21st century Austin-Healey to take on TVR?

So I suppose we can all breathe a sigh of relief that now Alchemy is gone, Rover are no longer in Dire Straits.

Ahem.

Incidentally, I've no idea what that journo was on about with a P60. I'm fairly sure the Royal garages contain a P5, though. That's the big old slab sided Rover 3-litre Coupe.

[Sparky]

Liz, Rover is (nearly) all that's left of the 'Great' British car manufacturers.
Only Morgan and TVR (OK, Marcos and other Kit cars don't count! ) are left, producing hand built cars with seven year waiting lists, for more money than a small house.

Names like Alvis, Riley, Triumph, Standard Wolseley, Austin, Morris, etc have all been swallowed up over the years, and then wrapped up into the ball of smelly socks that has become Rover cars. The only constant throughout this whole shambles has been the good ol' Mini (Eh Graham?!) BMW are keeping the new Mini to be sold through BMW dealerships sometime in 2001.

BMW bought Rover a few years ago for £"%) million, and has spent over £4 BILLION (!!!) on it since. Rover contiues to lose £200,000 - £300,000 per year. BMW wants rid of this ball & chain. It sold Range Rover (the only prestige name left in the Rover bag) to Ford.

Rover represents the remnants of a motor industry that was the best, but now is sooooo bad, they can't give it away.

[Sparky]

...Apparently they can!! Give it away that is.

The new Rover Chief, John Towers, bought the struggling company from BMW for a tenner... That's right ten of your British pounds, Sir!
I'm not sure if there any restrictions or constraints of ownership. I read that he's said the company will be turned around within two years, but is this his own suggestion, or a condition of sale?

I beleive BMW must have realized how much Rover meant to the boys trying to sort it out, and the workers who would lose their jobs (Not to mention the BMW shareholders who were losing 2 million pounds per day!)

The only drawback I can see is that BMW, who still own the 'Mini' brand, are likely to take production overseas. Maybe Germany, but more likely the US where the diminutive car has to do well in order to survive.

Off topic a bit here, BMW are stepping up litigation against long-established traders who use the 'Mini' tag in their advertising and company identity. Firms such as Minisport in Lancashire founded in the '60's, The Mini Spares Centre in London and a myriad of other no less insignificant outfits will be forced to change their identities overnight in order to comply with the current brand owner.
What do you say to this? 'Mini' is an icon.
It has become generic to anything tiny. 'Miniskirt', 'Mini-bar' Mini-me'
the term is in current use throughout the world. I think the term, when applied to products related to the car brand, should be licenced, not outlawed.

What do you think!?