48 replies to this topic

[benb12]

If BMW could not save the rest of Rover with the cash they invested, could anyone else have?

Well said.

Likewise after BMW, Ford also spent a fortune trying to revive Land Rover and of course Jaguar but recently sold both of them to Tata India.............

I never knew they needed reviving? I thought Land Rover and Jaguar sales were always stable and assumed Ford sold them off because Ford was in a financial crisis.

[DFulton]

I never knew they needed reviving? I thought Land Rover and Jaguar sales were always stable and assumed Ford sold them off because Ford was in a financial crisis.

Ford was in a mess, and I think Land Rover might have been OK, but I don't believe Jag's been looking too good for a while.

[taffy1967]

Getting back to the Mini, you can't really blame Rover for not wanting to invest in a Mini replacement, not when most of it's buyers didn't want the Minis appearance to change. Remember that Rover did all it could to save those cute and classic looks and even BMW money saw it stay Mini shaped when it got a big make-over with the 1996 MPi model.

The MiniMetro was originally intended to be the Minis replacement way back in 1980, but even though it sold well initially, it was no Mini replacement and so both models sold side by side. So Rover knew they couldn't replace it and so stopped bothering and just concentrated on getting as much money out of the Metro/Rover 100, which of course cost peanuts to make.

America was a tough nut to crack, their so insular out there and no British Motor Company was ever going to flourish as a result. BMW is doing well out there, but then BMW cars have been available to the yanks for decades and so a new type mid-sized hatchback (BINI) is sure to appeal to them too.

[THE ANORAK]

been keeping out of this one to be honest as believe it or not, i find the whole subject SO boring, but...

i think its worth remembering that we are lucky that the mini lasted so long without any real major visual/structural difference despite the fact that it has so many flaws and is in all honesty an outdated design. its one of the things that makes the car so appealing. the underdog coming out on top.

the long and unchanged production run is one of the things that puts it up there with cars like the beetle and the 2CV.

the pure and simple fact is, it had to end sooner or later. does it really matter who made it happen or why ???

just be grateful for the extra years (96 onwards) that rover/BMW gave us

Edited by THE ANORAK, 06 September 2008 - 09:38 AM.