Message text written by "John Macartney"
>Second, I've been able to drive all of the current Rover product range
over some
>meaningful distances (for the UK) and IMHO they are are as good as any
other >comparable car produced anywhere. The build quality is outstanding,
the finish is >superb performance is by no means lacking and its an
all-round excellent means of >transport. If I needed a new car and more
importantly could afford one, a current >Rover 25, 45 or even a 75 would
demand my absolute attention and definitely be a >possible buy.
It's good to hear about these cars. To me and most of us Americans a Rover
is just another car that is not imported to the US. The wife and I spent a
week or so in Britian last may and after visiting Gaydon I couldn't help
but notice the Rover's passing me on the motorway at a high rate of speed.
They sure go!
>Okay, so the development costs for those cars was funded by BMW and even
though >I'm not an accountant it seems that German accounting practices are
radically >different from UK ones and the costs for all these cars are
alleged to have been >dumped into the *big loss pot.* Bringing the Rover 75
to market cost GBP 1 billion >alone and half that amount is a typical spend
for virtually any mass-produced car >today. This means that a far blacker
picture has probably been painted of Rover's >financial situation. The loss
is not just because of limited sales - there's wads of >money being thrown
into the scenario that allegedly shouldn't be there and this is >sending
out entirely the wrong signals to the world as a whole.
>The bottom line is that by throwing in the towel at this stage, BMW is
stifling the truth
>on all the work that has taken place at Rover during the period of German
control. In >the not too distant future, it's highly likely that at least
two new cars will appear on the
>market wearing a BMW badge when in truth, they ought to have been Rovers
and in >their conception ARE Rovers - namely, new Mini and R30 in original
or abridged form.
A high stakes, corporate shell game. I never thought of this angle but
this could prove to be some rather cleaver scapegoating. And the blame
will be placed on That Rover Debacle. One question: Can two companies
market two different cars under the same name (Mini)?
Dave
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