Richard Olearczyk writes:
> > "What price a '90s Midget?
>
> > &18,000? Isn't that about $36,000?
> > ARE THEY CRAZY?
>
> ****** whinge on
>
> Remember, you Yanks always pay less for your cars than almost anyone
> in the Western World. (some c**p about economies of scale say the
> manufacturers). So whilst the Brits will fork out 18,000 pounds stirling
> or there abouts for the new midget, you are likely to to get it for no
> more than 20,000 US dollars, otherwise it would be 'uncompetative' in
> the market place. (i.e. the new MG RV8, TOO expensive at 24,000 pounds
> to even contemplate shipping to the states!)
Talking about the RV8, we had a lecture last night here at the
university (Loughborough) from a couple of guys who were/are involved
in the RV8 project. Maybe I was just ignorant before, but I now see
that they really did get the project completely right. The main
misconception people have about the RV8 is that it was never intended
to be a "normal" production car, but was to be sold as a limited
edition - only 2000 of them to be made in total. The project was
started for two basic reasons:
1. To fill a niche in the market for middle-aged buyers who wanted
something exclusive, which also represented a certain era in british
sportscar history.
2. To provide Rover with a mechanism for acquiring a high-class image
and a general reputation for making good cars.
The lecture itself concentrated on the "small batch" production
techniques and showed the rather complex production of the wings and
other body panels and the assembly shop which was nearly all
traditional manual (almost customised) operation.
Anyway, to answer all the sceptics who cannot understand why the price
of the RV8 was so high, well, an exclusive car really needs an
exclusive price. And looking at the order books (all cars are build on
receipt of a 10 percent deposit), it is clear that Rover got it right.
So who buys these cars? Well about 200 customers in Britain, just over
200 in the rest of Europe, and about 1500 orders from Japan!
Anyway, if you are considering buying one of these vehicles, you will
need to get your order in very soon, since the 2000th car has nearly
been reached. In addition, Rover claims to have made a profit before
half of the sales had been made.
As for the reason for not making the car for the American market -
well apparently it was due to the emissions regulations - using the
3.9 litre RangeRover engine as the powerhouse would have required too
much in the way of development cost, which would have tipped the
balance for the limited edition. Personally, I still can't help
thinking that that type of limited edition car might have sold well in
the US.
Needless to say, the guys from the RV8 group brought along an example
vehicle, which looked rather ordinary covered in snow and lit by the
streetlamps. The security alarm worked well though!
I still don't think I'll be part-exchanging my midget...
Cheers,
Paul.
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