-----Original Message-----
From John Macartney [mailto:jonmac at ndirect.co.uk]
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2000 4:26 PM
To: Daniel1312@aol.com; millerb@netusa1.net
Cc: spridgets@autox.team.net; triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Future of Heritage Museum UK - longish and unofficial
Bill Miller wrote:
Bill Miller wrote:
>A message I received from the Sprite list.....
>John, any truth to this?
>I better order my certificates quickly.....
Daniel1312 wrote to Spridgets list
>I have just read (in a Ford Magazine) that the future of the (BL/BMC)
>Heritage museum at Gaydon may be in doubt. Ford apparently bought BMIHT
>along with Land Rover from BMW. The museum might become a
>Ford/Jaguar/Aston museum.
>So, if you are coming to the UK then be sure to visit BMIHT at Gaydon or
>Warwick before it is too late.
John Macartney replied:
While not being an official spokesperson for The Heritage Motor Centre or
the British
Motor Industry Heritage Trust even though I am an employee at the Centre, I
would ignore
what may have been written in this Ford publication as alarmist hyperbole. I
am aware that
an article has allegedly recently appeared in a Ford magazine that suggests
or implies the
future of Gaydon may be in doubt. I further understand that a British author
and columnist
who is active in the classic car scene may have also expressed a view on the
future of
Gaydon in a publication that may be Ford oriented as well. Whether these two
articles are
one and the same - or not, is not stated.
May I suggest to all readers of both these lists that there are important
distinctions in
the operation of "the Gaydon site" as a whole:
1.
Gaydon, as it is popularly known, has two distinct operations.
1.1
One of these is an extensive Research, Development and Engineering Unit
comprising a large
number of buildings and the former RAF airfield which has been Rover's
private test track
for many years. It is my understanding that in the event of Ford or any
other company
buying Land Rover, some or all of this site MAY be included in the
acquisition. What
elements these may be has not been publicly stated to the best of my
knowledge. I am also
under the impression that neither BMW, Ford or Land Rover has made any
official statement
on the specifics of this transfer of ownership. Until a statement does
appear, variations
on a theme are merely idle conjecture and speculation - nothing more.
1.2
The other site alongside the R&D unit and test track is the museum and
archive. Hitherto,
these facilities (R&D on the one hand and the Museum on the other) have been
entirely
separate with their own autonomous management structures. Additionally, they
have operated
independently one of the other and have had entirely separate reporting
lines into
different parts of the BMW Group in Germany. In that respect, it could be
argued that the
R&D site and the Museum site have as much commonality as individual entities
at an
operational level as IBM computers and McDonalds hamburgers.
1.3
It is clear from the recent announcement regarding the disposal of Rover by
BMW that the
all encompassing term *Gaydon* and its future, has been entirely
misunderstood by many
people. The fact that the R&D unit may/may not be acquired in whole or in
part by another
organisation does not imply the Museum, vehicle collection and Archive would
be an
integral part of such an acquisition. Anyone making that assumption and
circulating it to
the global classic car movement as fact, is making statements in advance of
any statement
from either the Rover or BMW press offices.
The BMW Board of Directors knows exactly what is going on and when it feels
it is
appropriate to make a formal statement on the disposal of any part of the
Rover
operations, I feel sure it will. My recommendation (FWIW) is for listers to
take note of
reports only on radio and TV and to accept those reports as fact if, and
only if, they
emanate from Rover or BMW media departments. Please ignore anything you
might read in any
other magazine or that does not meet these important criteria.
1.4
Listers should also be aware that the Heritage Motor Centre as it relates to
the vehicle
collection and archives is a Trust, administered by some prominent Trustees
and it is also
a registered Charity. Because of this, there are some important legal
considerations
affecting its structure and operations that are clearly defined under
British Law. Our own
Managing Director has declared publicly and more than once that "it's
business as usual at
the Heritage Motor Centre" so keep on coming. Come in your classic BL (or
earlier product)
Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ford, Vauxhall, Alvis, Armstrong Siddeley, Humber,
Singer, Hillman,
Sunbeam Talbot, Bean, tractor, bus, truck or whatever - and we'll be
delighted to see you
AND your prized possession.
In a more personal vein, my own view of whatever was written in a Ford
magazine (and I
have not seen an article I am told was published under the Ford banner) is
for the author
to report known fact rather than what he/she thinks might take place or has
taken place. I
believe I know who it is and if I am correct, this is just another of this
author's 'kick
Gaydon in the crotch' initiatives. We're used to it by now and anything that
the author
might write about Gaydon that was accurate, informative and soundly argued
would have the
charm of novelty.
John Macartney
|