Longbridge 'to make cars again'

Firestar_3x · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:01

No doubt will please Andy and his rover perversion!

BBC said:
Nanjing Auto, the Chinese firm which bought MG Rover, has signed a "landmark agreement" which will allow production to restart at Longbridge.
The Chinese group has signed a 33-year lease on the Longbridge site in Birmingham with its owner, property developer St Modwen Properties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4739616.stm

cymatty · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:06

Oh god, just when we thought rubbish rovers were gone forever.

Memphis · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:07

cymatty said:
Oh god, just when we thought rubbish rovers were gone forever.

Can only get worse now too.

Firestar_3x · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:08

We might be in luck...

BBC said:
The BBC's correspondent warned that it was important to be realistic about the scale of the announcement.

The lease included a 6-month break clause allowing Nanjing to get out of the deal if it decided it could not make it work, Russell Hayes said.

cymatty · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:09

Firestar_3x said:
We might be in luck...

Thank goodness for that, rover closed for a reason.... they were rubbish, and the cars didnt sell well.

Spamalot · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:10

What are they going to make? YES I KNOW CARS! But rovers or some other make of rubbish car?

[TW]Fox · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:11

Yes lets restart production BUT only if they can make the worst product Rover did, the MGTF!

Firestar_3x · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:13

Only + is we won't have British managers this time, we will have super efficient yet incredibly small Chinese people, perhaps they should stop production and open a midget racing circuit?

Seriously... They need new cars to make, simply re making the TF in 2007 won't do them any favors.

merlin · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:16

cymatty said:
Thank goodness for that, rover closed for a reason.... they were rubbish, and the cars didnt sell well.

True. The only half decent cars were the ones half made with Honda parts.

agw_01 · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:16

*yawn* at all these statements regarding my love for little old Rovey

I can't be bothered to click the news link, but if it has something to do with the next 'Smart Car' being made from the TF chassis then I've seen it already.

The Rovertech boys are so much quicker than you fat lot

And there was me, just about to make a start on the MM3 thread!

Oh, for all you 'K-Series are crap' people, there's a new triple layered gasket out now, kinda like the 'Klinger' gasket for the T-series. Bwwahahaahaha! HGF be gone!

agw_01 · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:19

Firestar_3x said:
Seriously... They need new cars to make, simply re making the TF in 2007 won't do them any favors.

Agreed. No matter how much I might annoy some people here with my views, I'll hold my hands up and say I was wrong about my thoughts as to why Rover went under.

People said it was partly due to them re-using the same products over and over again, and as you said Mark, it isn't going to help them this time.

I think they should release the Rover 75 Coupe. If you've seen the prototype designs for that, you'll know what I'm going on about.

cymatty · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:19

agw_01 said:
Oh, for all you 'K-Series are crap' people, there's a new triple layered gasket out now, kinda like the 'Klinger' gasket for the T-series. Bwwahahaahaha! HGF be gone!

HGF wasn't the only reason newer Rovers were carp though, although it didnt help.

L0rdMike · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:19

Just get on with the MM3 thread! :mad:

merlin · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:19

agw_01 said:
Oh, for all you 'K-Series are crap' people, there's a new triple layered gasket out now, kinda like the 'Klinger' gasket for the T-series. Bwwahahaahaha! HGF be gone!

It'll just prelong the agony.

cymatty · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:21

L0rdMike said:
Just get on with the MM3 thread!

You coming along again?

agw_01 · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:21

cymatty said:
HGF wasn't the only reason newer Rovers were carp though, although it didnt help.

Explain?

Fox has even said that he's fond of the Rover 75 and MG ZT . They were mostly Rover designs. The ZS was originally a Honda Civic.

cymatty · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:23

agw_01 said:
Explain?

So your telling me the main reason Rover went under was HGF, no, people were fed up of rehashed designs and better cars on sale for the same price.

agw_01 · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:24

merlin said:
It'll just prelong the agony.

LOL

The cause of HGF on the K isn't due to it being a bad engine, it's down to the position of the thermostat.

Cool water rushes into the head which makes the already hot head contract and eventually breaks down the silicone beading on the gasket and that's what's known as HGF

(merlin, that above statement wasn't to you btw)

Si, I know, and that's what I said above. But even if the designs were rehashed, people steered clear of them because of the known HGF problems.

paradigm · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:24

agw_01 said:
Explain?

Fox has even said that he's fond of the Rover 75 and MG ZT . They were mostly Rover designs. The ZS was originally a Honda Civic.

Most likely reasoning is that the 25, the 45, and the TF were majoratively re-hashes of re-hashes, old cruddy-cars (for the 21st century) that had their roots well into the 90's (or even the 80's for some of the switch and running gear!).

agw_01 · 22 Feb 2006 at 13:26

The TF was just a revision of the F, same as what Lotus did with the Elise.

Different bodystyling etc... I'm not 'up' on the TF's so can't name the changes it went through.

Anyway, let's not take this thread off track. There's a dedicated Rover bashing thread for that