Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/08/2005 7:33:14 AM PDT by MadIvan
MG Rover, the last major British-owned carmaker, is heading for administration, to the embarrassment of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Government as it seeks re-election on its economic credentials.
The 100-year-old carmaker, which once made the iconic Mini and the Land-Rover, had hoped China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) would invest in the company, allowing it to continue production.
But failure to secure a deal with SAIC forced the collapse of the company yesterday, putting 6000 jobs at risk at its Longbridge plant near Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham.
Another 15,000 jobs could be affected at suppliers.
MG Rover's blue-uniformed workers were downcast as they arrived at Longbridge for what could be their last day of work.
"Everybody is worried," said Steven Tyler, 50, who has worked at Longbridge since 1976.
"If this place goes, all our skills are in machining and assembling – God knows where we will get another job."
MG Rover's plight could hardly have come at a worse time for Mr Blair's ruling Labour Party, campaigning hard on the back of its economic record ahead of an election on May 5.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, conscious that Longbridge lies close to three constituencies where Labour has only a slim majority, said the Government would do all it could to save the plant.
She also announced a £40 million ($97.91 million) support package for the suppliers.
The Confederation of British Industry employers' group said the Government had done all it could to save Rover and applauded it for refusing to prop up "unviable companies" with state aid.
Outside Longbridge, a man in top hat and tails adorned with MG Rover rosettes and Union Jacks stood in a chill wind and cheered arriving workers.
"I've had a sleepless night," said the man, calling himself John Bull – the quintessential British male – and clutching a sign declaring "Save British Industry and Jobs".
St Modwen Properties Plc, the company which owns most of Longbridge, said it appeared certain the site would be turned into something other than a car plant.
A British icon dating back to 1905, MG Rover has, in its various guises, produced some classic British cars alongside the mini, including the Morris Oxford, the Austin Seven, the MGB sports car and the cheap and cheerful Mini Metro.
Rover was sold to Germany's BMW AG in the 1990s – when the German media dubbed it "The English Patient" due to its poor financial health – but returned to British ownership when BMW sold it to holding company Phoenix four years ago.
The company has since struggled, however, and many say it was always likely to fail.
"Rover needed major investment and new models very quickly if it was to survive but, since the BMW years, Rover has not had it," motor industry expert Tom Donnelly from the nearby University of Coverntry said.
"When Phoenix came in, BMW had already cherrypicked the company."
Rover is expected to file for administration later in the day.
Analysts said SAIC might yet be tempted back into the fray to cherrypick those parts of the company it wants.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
As a former owner of two MG's, I have a novel suggestion: "Don't make garbage, and people will buy your products and keep your compnay solvent!"
But of course, quality is not the union way. Just ask GM.
I'm confused. What does it mean that they "used to" make Minis and rovers? These are flourishing where I live.
British science...such as the invention of radar and the World Wide Web, among other things?
MG Rover is pitiful, but that doesn't mean all of British engineering is pitiful. Think of Aston Martin, for example.
Regards, Ivan
BMW bought Rover - which had MG, Rover, Land Rover, and the Minis. BMW kept the Mini, sold off Land Rover to Ford and fobbed off MG and Rover cars to a consortium. MG Rover is falling to pieces because they sell mid-range cars in a market saturated with them.
Regards, Ivan
That said, you know why the Brits never entered the space race in a big way?
...They couldn't figure out a way to make one that both leaked oil and flew safely.
The LR3 (the new Discovery) has an amazing engine --- it's a 4.4 liter version of the 4.2 Ford developed for the Jaguars. Very reliable and as smooth as a 6.
Re: British carmakers, Ford has really improved Jag reliability.
The XJ8 is probably the smoothest big sedan made.
The mid-sized S-Type (shares many parts with the Lincoln LS and the new Mustang, althogh the Jag does not have a fixed rear axle like the cheaper Fords) is simply amazing. My wife has an S-Type R that is wonderfully fast. Prettiest car on the road, IMHO.
The only dissapointment in the lot is the X-type --- it's really a polished up Ford Contour, and does not measure up to the BMW 3 series with which it is supposed to compete.
The primary reason that England doesn't have a computer industry that matches the reputation of their sports car industry is that no one in England knows how to make a computer leak oil.
There's your problem right there. You've got the front man for Aerosmith turning spanners in your factory. The cost in drugs alone must be staggering...
Also, don't make ugly cars. A car can be ugly or crappy built, but not both.......
lol! But isn't THAT Steven Tyler, like, 90?
GM has made a monumental effort to assemble better quality cars lately, despite the unions. The Saturns are pretty reliable now, and Cadillacs are well built. Things could be better, of course, if the guys who press a button on the automated machines didn't rake in $80,000/year.
I would think Sinclair could have figured it out.
This isn't really a surprising development. If they actually made cars people wanted to buy, they'd buy them.
"But of course, quality is not the union way. Just ask GM"
Or ask the builders of the Big Dig tunnel in Boston.
Yes, I was a little confused as to what an injection of government or Chinese cash was going to achieve if the company was going to continue to produce cars that no one wanted.
It was the same confusion I had when Rover introduced the CityRover, a sub-par Indian-made compact. Did they want consumers to hate them or what?
Regards, Ivan
Minis are BMWs, Rovers (and Jauguars, which used to be made by the same company when it was British Leyland) are Fords. Rolls Royces are BMWs and Bentleys are VWs now (although they share a parentage, it is different than the MG-Triumph-Rover family tree). Fords are Fords, and Vauxhalls are GMs. Morgans are still British, I believe.
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