Now, don't forget that Honda was more than a little underhanded in their
dealings with Rover. For instance, the sale of all those 2.5 engine/trans
units that Honda KNEW were no darn good when they SOLD them! Each one was a
guaranteed comeback - that's why Honda wouldn't put them in their Acuras. By
the time Rover found out, there was nothing they could do but use them, and
bite the bullet on the warranty repairs.
Communication between the UK and US management wasn't great, either. The
first two years Sterlings were sold in the US, they had constant battery
failures during the winter. The dealers were ordering new batteries to
replace under warranty, but the cars would invariably come in again. When
Sterling Cars USA asked Rover what was up with the batteries, their response
was "Oh, those are transport batteries. You should replace them with full
size batteries when the cars are prepped for delivery." Would have been nice
if they had said something about that when the cars first got here!
One more brilliant move by management - all the Sterling part numbers were
different from the Rover part numbers, and no Sterling numbers actually
appeared on the parts. So if you had a Sterling part in your hand, and
looked at the part number on it, it told you NOTHING. And Sterling wouldn't
let their "Master Cross Reference List" out, not even to the dealers. I
guess they were afraid of dealers ordering cheaper parts from Rover dealers
in the UK.
What would be nice is if the British car companies came back and studied
Saturn's dealer network and principles. Saturn's cars aren't interesting,
but their operation and attitude is pretty slick. Imagine an MG dealer in
downtown USA - there's a nice pot of tea and tray of biscuits on a table in
the showroom, some plush chairs at nice oak desks for the prospective buyers
to sit comfortably. A regular drawing room kind of feeling. Salespeople who
aren't genetically related to sharks, that are ready to speak to you when
YOU want them to, about a reliable product with the flavor of the United
Kingdom.
I guess it kind of shows that I've never bought a NEW British car...........
Jon Arzt
Omaha, NE USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Douglas" <b_s_d@ureach.com>
To: <alpines@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: Lucas
> Lucas does catch the blame for a lot of problems that were simply not
their
> fault. The majority of my British car electrical problems have had more
to do
> with poorly designed or assembled ground connections than with the Lucas
> components themselves (although they come in a close second).
>
> In the end, Rover management, not "Lucas", was at fault for the difference
in
> electrical reliability between the disastrous Sterling and it's Japanese
Acura
> sibling. They were sitting on a 40 year history of electrical quality
issues;
> I just can't imagine why they did not ensure that this was fixed before
trying
> A SECOND TIME to enter the US market with a high-end car equipped with 10+
> lamps of interior lighting all under timer/sensor control, central
> locking/alarm, electronic cruise control, 6 speaker stereo, trip & sensor
> computer, seat heater, power windows/seats/sun roof,..... They couldn't
afford
> to get it wrong, but did anyway - should have copied Honda.
>
> Regards, Bob Douglas
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