Hello Group,
Here is the more or less "official" response from a person in the
know, very "close" to the previous Rover development facility in Gaydon, John
Macartney, BMIHT club liaison and historian at the British Motor Industry
Heritage Trust, who has been a Jaguar, Triumph, British Leyland, Rover, now a
BMIHT employee working at the BMIHT Museum in Gaydon UK (great museum if you
ever get over to the Midlands in the UK, highly recommended, and tell John I
sent you):
>
> >> Embellish? Me? Surely not!
>
> >> Here goes.
>
> >> BMW sold MG Rover to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000 for GBP10.00 (Ten
>> pounds) This did not include Land Rover.
>
> >> Ford bought Land Rover for an alleged GBP 3 billion which was the factory
>> at Solihull and the Gaydon proving ground. It paid a further GBP10 million
>> for the adjoining land and building which houses the car museum/conference
>> centre. This money did not include the car collection or the archive as
>> this is ring-fenced by an educational charity and a Trust which was ceded
>> in total to the British nation many years ago to prevent it being broken
>> up and sold off at a later date. Consequently, Ford is responsible for the
>> collection and archive but cannot dictate what happens to it. If some are
>> speculating it might be shipped to the Ford Museum in Michigan - not a cat
>> in hell's chance as the British government would not sanction the export
>> permits. As I understand things, the worst that could happen is that Ford
>> decided to use the museum building for another purpose, but if this
>> happened, it is required to find an alternative location. All this is
>> highly doubtful at the moment as the current MD is charged with making
>> the museum profitable and there are expansive plans to make it far more
>> 'leisure' oriented than it is at the moment. Read into that what you will.
>
> >> As far as British Motor Heritage is concerned at Witney where the bodies
>> are made, Ford did not choose to buy into this - even though it was an
>> integral part of the museum operation. Consequently, it stayed with BMW
>> until being sold off recently by BMW to another British company (whose
>> name I forget) and AFAIK, replica body production will continue at Witney.
>
> >> Finally, BMW handed back all the old trademarks - except Riley and
>> Triumph which I believe it still owns. Berndt PIschetsrieder did declare
>> there would be a new Riley at Riley's Centenary Dinner in 1998 (probably
>> an MGF wit a new grille?) but this came to nothing and he then moved to
>> Volkswagen. Nothing more has happened to Riley since ten. I greatly doubt
>> BMW will do anything tangible wit either name because I don't think it has
>> the money and frankly, I don't see what good it would do them. There is
>> plenty of speculation about the Z3 becoming a Triumph out of Spartanburg -
>> and this may well happen. Frankly, we do know that BMW had a major issue
>> with its dealers in getting them to sell the new Mini and production has
>> been underway for some time. IF they do something with Riley/Triumph, I'd
>> guess it won't be until the Mini has proved itself and the dealers are
>> more amenable to seeing non-BMW product in their showrooms. That'll all
>> take time - and a lot can happen in the interim. Personally, I wouldn't be
>> surprised if BMW falls victim to Ford or General Motors or Chrysler. Over
>> here, the confident money is on Ford but I wouldn't lay high odds at the
>> moment. The tyre issue has cost them dearly, there's some major
>> rationalisation going on in Europe in Ford plants and Land Rover is
>> costing them a bomb. But then, the same happened wen they bought Jaguar in
>> 1990 - and they turned tat around. They'll do the same with Landie and the
>> new Range Rover is certainly an impressive beast - even if its largely the
>> result of what BMW poured into its development.
>
Thanks John! BTW, John has an excellent book I will plug for him titled "In
the Shadow of my Father and LIFE AT TRIUMPH" which is a very good account of
John's recollections of Standard / Triumph growing up with a father who
worked as a Quality Control Engineer at Standard and Triumph, plus his own
Triumph employment experiences working with the company executives and in the
sales office in London. A really great read you MUST buy! You cannot find
it in the book stores. Go to http://www.toolbox.ndirect.co.uk/triumphbook
to get info on how to purchase it.
Hope this helps 'splain things!
In My Not So humble Opinion ...
Regards,
Glenn Merrell
President, Triumph Stag Club USA
<A HREF="http://www.triumphstagclub.org/";>http://www.triumphstagclub.org/</A>
<A HREF="mailto:StagbyTriumph@aol.com";>StagbyTriumph@aol.com</A>
***J*O*I*N**Y*O*U*R**T*R*I*U*M*P*H**C*L*U*B**T*O*D*A*Y*****
**Member of VTR, TSC, SOC
**7*3**S*T*A*G**x*2****************************************************
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