I hope they develop a Miata class vehicle that real people can afford
rather than a Jag XJ220 which is only for a tiny tiny maket. Why is it
that they have to go for "prestigious" machinery? How many of us play with
MGs because of their "racing" heritage???
At 02:01 PM 7/8/00 +0200, Durinx Willy wrote:
>A bad report on U.K. Rover (Phoenix) sales in June : down 20 % . The same
>month, BMW sales went up 25% - so much for bad publicity.
>However, this was posted on BBC online just yesterday :
>
>A specialist sports car designer has been appointed to oversee the next
>generation of Rover cars.
>Peter Stevens, who designed the world's fastest road-going car, the McLaren
>F1, is to lead a new design team at loss-making Rover, which was bought from
>BMW in May by the British Phoenix consortium.
>The group, headed by former Rover chief executive John Towers, aims to get
>Rover back in profit within the next two years.
>Industry analysts have said the company's success depends on its ability to
>roll out competitive new models.
>But the car market is becoming increasingly tough and Rover will need
>exceptional design and production if it is to rebuild its reputation.
>New man
>As well as the 240mph McLaren F1, Peter Stevens designed the Jaguar XJR15
>and Lotus Elan M100, and was also head of design at Lamborghini.
>The appointment of the 55-year-old car collector - who owns a number of
>classic MGs - to head up Longbridge's development team will give Rover a big
>boost.
>He is expected to give priority to engineering a new range of MG-badged
>cars, including a flagship supercar developed in partnership with racing car
>group Lola.
>Rover's deputy chairman, Nick Stephenson, is a director of Lola.
>Partnership
>When Phoenix took control of Rover, it said it was looking for a partner to
>help develop a new range.
>In the meantime, it said it would be aiming to continue production of the
>Rover 25, 45 and 75 models and the old-shape Mini at about 200,000 units a
>year.
>Production of the 75 is being transferred from Cowley in Oxford, which has
>been retained by BMW, to Longbridge in Birmingham.
>About 500 workers at Cowley have agreed to take voluntary redundancy.
>
>
>
>
Regards
Barrie Robinson
barrier@bconnex.net
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