Skye -
I seriously doubt it. I don't doubt that you >read< it, or even that it
is an accurate representation of what a reporter was >told<, but I doubt
that it was, in reality, a major reason.
Why? Because the MGF is >already< sold (and was designed to be sold) in
European nations that have as stringent or more stringent crash and
emissions standards than the US. US beaurocracy a greater hurdle?
Possible, but I still doubt it, BMW seems to be able to manage with
other new cars well enough.
I think the real reason that the MGF never made an appearance in the US,
is that it was owned by BMW, who was trying to get the Z3 to be
competitive in the market as an "upscale Miata", and didn't want to
suffer the consequences of the MGF's price/performance point, which
would tend to "cannibalize" the Z3's sales more than the Miata's. This
is particularly true because the most viable dealer network in the US
would be BMW's, which would put the Z3 and the F side by side in many
showrooms.
My $0.02 on the matter.
Will Alchemy Partners actually love the MG as much as we do? Who knows?
Will they be able to turn it around? Possibly.
Am I rooting for an MG actually owned and operated by Brits to succeed?
YOU BETCHA!
Chris Kotting
ckotting@iwaynet.net
> Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 15:27:18 -0800
> From: Skye Poier <skye@ffwd.com>
> Subject: Re: BMW commits? and is a new MG what we need?
>
> Because they were never put through all the hoops you have to do to make
> a car road legal here: crash tested, emissions requirements, etc
>
> I remember reading about the decision not to sell the MGF in North America
> and the extra engineering was a major reason.
>
> Skye
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