GuyotLeonF@aol.com wrote:
>
> >From 'AUTOCAR' Magazine, (British Weekly colour magazine: influential)
>
> Issue: Weds 1st March 2000.
>
> News Page (pg.11)
>
> Headline: "Rover may be a Triumph"
>
> Exclusive:
>
> BMW may axe the Rover name and start building Triumph-badged family cars.
>
> A senior source at BMW claims it is lost for ideas on what more it can do to
> reverse Rover's image problem, especially in the UK.
>
> BMW also believes Rover has insurmountable image problems in the lucrative US
> market as a result of the unpopularity of the Sterling model in the early
> '90's.
> BMW has invested 3 billion GBP into Rover since buying the British car maker
> in 1994 for 800 million GBP and is set to continue investing 600 million GBP
> a year.
>
> Sales slumped by 25,000 in the UK last year and soon-to-be released financial
> figures for 1999 will show that Rover has overtaken the previous year's 600
> million GBP loss.
>
> Many senior BMW officials feel that the Rover name is now irretrievably
> damaged and that the best course is a damage limitation exercise that will
> see out the current Rover 75, 45 and 25 models.
>
> BMW has already decided to remove any Rover links from the launch of the
> vital all-new Mini next year, which will be sold in BMW dealerships abroad.
>
> "We believe the Mini will be a big success, our Land Rover products are
> enjoying record sales and the MG name remains very strong, but we just can't
> seem to change the Rover image despite our new models being excellent cars,"
> says the senior BMW source.
> The source confirmed the Triumph name is seen as a brand with a positive
> reputation after the sporting TR and popular Dolomite and Vitesse models. The
> Acclaim, the last Triumph car, was a joint venture with Honda and enjoyed
> moderate success.
>
> BMW has been impressed at the recent revival of the Triumph mototcycle
> company.
>
> Leading auto-industry academic Professor Garel Rhys of Cardiff University
> Business School, agrees the Triumph name has potential.
>
> "It's the last piece of ammunition BMW has on the name front and it's
> probably a more realistic name for a family car range than Rover."
> Rhys claims the real damage to Rover was done by the attack on the UK car
> maker's productivity and quality by BMW's then boss, Bernd Pischetsreider, on
> the same day Rover launched the 75. However, Professor Rhys believes BMW
> should accept some blame for Rover's decline - and that the brand could still
> be saved. He highlights the success VW has had with the Skoda brand as how
> people's perception of a manufacturer can change.
>
> by Ken Gibson.
> ************************************
> and now for my reaction to this article.
>
> I'm not so sure about some of the above comments?
> Firstly, the Triumph name is hardly famous, (leastways in the 'lucrative US
> market')
> for it's 'popular Dolomite and Vitesse models' (wherever did they get that
> idea from ?)... I would have thought that it is best remembered in the US,
> for the TR range, followed by the Spitfires and the Heralds before that,
> whilst here in the UK it is best remembered for the Dolomites, Triumph
> 2000/2500 Sedans, Heralds and Spitfires in that order.
>
> Much as I am personally grateful for any mention of the Vitesse, and the
> picture of Bill Sunderland:-TSSC Manager's own car in the Autocar article,
> very few 'men on the street' (or the clapham omnibus), actually recall the
> Vitesse, or for that matter the GT6. (my Vitesse is almost always called 'a
> nice Herald' by Joe Public).
>
> Furthermore, the Acclaim was in fact not really any kind of 'moderately
> successful' Triumph, but simply a rebadged Honda Ballade, which actually got
> BL out of a good deal of trouble, by selling rather better than moderately
> well.
>
> So far as I can see it, the Rover name has not exactly been helped by the
> cars that have had that name stuck on them since the end of production of the
> last halfway decent Rover P6, replaced by the very poorly screwed together
> SD1 and on...
>
> As for the academic Professor? What about Riley? Wolseley? Austin? or Morris?
> etc.
> The last piece of ammunition? Oh really...I wonder how old he is?
>
> Ah well, the Triumph name belongs to BMW and I am sure they will do whatever
> they see fit.
>
> Léon F Guyot
>
> Triumph Sports Six Club
> International Liaison Secretary
> 1963 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Convertible
> Wimbledon, London, England.
Everbody knows Rover was a dog!! B. Warner
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