Just watching the BBC news and it looks like the receivers have been called in at MG Rover and SAIC are running for the hills.

My dad's pleased he sold the 45 in November for a Furby vRS. The depreciation on all Rovers is about to get even more vertical!

Time to re-negotiate my deal then...Very sad day again.

It is sad - esp the thought that 30,000 jobs might be lost if they can't do something drastic... Prob some good deals to be had though

It seems to be true, we even heard the news here in belgium this morning. Funny thing, because just yesterday, I was reading a thread here about the bad situation of rover (only bad models)

Rover got a bad name a few years ago here, the problems of late I think are partly due to the really old model lineup. The Rover 25/45 and 75 have been around for a few years now, at least 10 in the case of the 25/45 without hardly anything happening to the design. They tried a few facelift and model renumbering but to me the 25 is still a 200 and the 45 is still a 400.

And yet the 75 was great I thought.

May those that ruined rover have sleepless nights for the rest of their lives

Rover got a bad name a few years ago here, the problems of late I think are partly due to the really old model lineup. The Rover 25/45 and 75 have been around for a few years now, at least 10 in the case of the 25/45 without hardly anything happening to the design. They tried a few facelift and model renumbering but to me the 25 is still a 200 and the 45 is still a 400.

First, before I start my hatchet job on Rover, I should point out that I'm really sorry for anyone who loses their job because of Rover's collapse, but...

I was saying exactly the same thing as Manny when the problems first surfaced, and was trying to think how many other car manufacturers would dare facelift a car THREE times rather than produce a completely new model (as per the 200/25 and 400/45). The last version of the Escort went through three guises IIRC, but I can't think of any other car off the top of me head. And let's face it, for what it was, the Escort was OK, so I think Ford can be excused. Quite franky in Rover's case though, there's no point in making a car look like something out of the Matrix, if it's running mechanicals that would have been designed in the early 90s, if not late 80s.

And don't even get me started on the CityRover and Streetwise [edit] AND the MG ZR van [/edit] - what were they thinking...? :thumbdwn:

And SAIC wanted a JV with Rover for their technical expertise!

Sorry again to anyone who loses out, but Rover's management have got to take a long hard look in the mirror, and reallocate the bonus money that they've no doubt awarded themselves despite their incompetence into the pension fund for the ordinary workers...

:rant:

thats not really fair to them is it? I mean a new car costs millions in development and design, to which they have not got the funding. To tinker with an old model costs next to nothing. Rover lost their two top brands Mini and Landrover, both have pulled them out of trouble in the past, infact thanks to the Landrover marque there would not have be a rover now.

Lots of jobs will be lost and yet again another "british" car company is going down the pan.

Maybe someone might step in and help them out

If i can get a deal on a MG v8 then

If i can get a deal on a MG v8 then

Evil man you!! lol though it's a tempting thought isn't it have to tell me dad to go have a look

I can never work out why they didn't 'just' modify the 75 platform to make a mid-size replacement for the 45/400 back in 2001/2 and then just sell the 25/200 at a bargain basement price and not bother with the Tata / City Car ?

What they never seemed to work out was if they were going to be a niche or a semi-volume manufacturer. How can you have a range with the City Car and 1.4 25 yet the V8's at the top end. Makes no sense unless you are premium all the way through a la Merc, BMW, Audi.

carefull tuning the V8 you might loose your warranty

Here's a photo of the site where I work (my office just at the top of the photo):

http://www.philgooch.com/images/heyford/61.jpg

About 90% of the cars stored here are MG Rovers and about 50% of those come in and are not moved for the best part of a year. There are other makes stores here as well ut they turn-over quite often.

There are 3 cars my colleagues and I have been watching ,out of interest, and they've not moved since August.

Its not just the jobs of Rover workers that are on the line but those at their suppliers, the suppliers supplyer and their distributor chain. Even the burger round the corner from the Rover plant.

Disclaimer: I do not work for the company that stores the cars at Upper Heyford (QEK) but another company on that site. The figures above are based purely on observations made through the fence over the last year.

Disclaimer: I do not work for the company that stores the cars at Upper Heyford (QEK) but another company on that site. The figures above are based purely on observations made through the fence over the last year.

Skoda came up with the octavia and fabia.The rest is history.

Rover needed good new cars,expensive design route or not.

And how old is that V8 engine now?

I agree it's the supply chain that'll take a big hit aswell.

I was out for a beer with my mate last night who makes suspension components for the majority of the volume car manufacturers incl MG Rover. Yesterday lunchtime the shopfloor were instructred to pull all the dies on the presses for Rover models and cease all work immediately. Luckily they have a very healthy order book so just shut the line down for a brief turnaround period, installed new dies and are now banging out components for BMW....

And how old is that V8 engine now?

At least 45 years!

Apparently it was first produced by GM in 1960, but dropped in 1963 'cos the Americans didn't see the merits of an alloy block V8. Rover bought the rights in 1965, and I think the first car it went into was the P5. So even if you just consider Rover's ownership of the design, it's still middle-aged!!!

Just maybe if they had signed with Honda instead of BMW things would be a lot better now .....BMW only wanted the mini and with Land Rover sold off there's nothing left....do feel sorry for the workers though.....they should organise a workers buy-out and run it themselves after all it only cost the last company a penny or something ridiculous.

but then they would still have the same problem, without investment to design a new car there is no future for the MG/Rover group. I like rover alot they have served the family for the past 30 years with no problems (albeit BL/austin). If they made a better can I might have bought one, but they are too overed price with next to no secondhand value, it wouldn't make sense to buy one.

I really do hope that MG/Rover can pull something out of the hat and strike a good deal, like others have said it's not just the makers that will suffer but others aswel.

I really do hope that MG/Rover can pull something out of the hat and strike a good deal

Me too, it would be a great shame to see the company go down...

Not to mention all the people it will affect

Never know , VW may buy them....

Never know , VW may buy them....

lol I was thinking that too

I don't think they'd be interested.

They alreay have enough brands in that sector of the market

At least 45 years!

Apparently it was first produced by GM in 1960' date=' but dropped in 1963 'cos the Americans didn't see the merits of an alloy block V8. Rover bought the rights in 1965, and I think the first car it went into was the P5. So even if you just consider Rover's ownership of the design, it's still middle-aged!!![/quote']

I thought that engine ceased production last year and that it was a Ford Mustang V8 that was now being used.

I thought that engine ceased production last year and that it was a Ford Mustang V8 that was now being used.

Maybe, but even so, it means they were using a 40-odd year old design up until then. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that by itself (e.g. I wonder how long the 1.9 SDi / TDi / TDi PD block has been around in one form or another) but I do feel it was symptomatic of the 'make do and mend' attitude amongst Rover's High Command, rather than the innovative approach that's needed for a Western car manufacturer to be competitive...

As to the age of the engines and the actual cars you would think they would have perfected them at the very least!

I mean a 40 yr v8 old engine and the other famous engine thing they insisted on using in most of their cars.It should have been brilliant and bullet proof by now.An indestructible triumph of tecnological evolution held in awe by all other makers.They should have been turning out a rover 200/400 whatever with all mistakes ironed out,fit and finish the envy of audi with 10 years to have perfected these gems.A beautiful ride and a car that made you proud to announce in the pub " I drive a Rover"

They couldn't even do that.I sat in a mate's new 200 not long ago.I said "lovely mate" I thought "what a cheap bit of tat not disimilar to my old talbot samba" :(

As said ,only good car is the 75.

I'm sorry about the rant.I just think why couldn't they do better?Last boom time I knew was when they sold white MG metro's that became all the rage