rover cars

[dave m]

who the hell was in charged of styling?my god they were horrendous especially that er new rover city? the metro on stilts more like.definatley the designers killed rover and superior foreign imports

[FordGranada1]

I was thinking about this earlier, and I think what Rover should have done was capitalised on their heritage by re-launching the P6 and the SD1 with mechanicals taken from their 75 models, just like Ford USA have done with the GT40. Sure, the purists who own the originals would have moaned about it but probably would have shut up once they realised that it would increase their spares availability. I know this idea is hardly futuristic, but retro has been in for a long while now, and if Rover couldn't afford to develop a completely new range to replace their 25, 45, and 75 models, then it would have made sense.

O.K. - That idea is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I can't help wandering how else the Rover name could have been saved.

[ianess]

The outer skin was always OK, in fact fairly attractive to the purist, but what lay under the bonnet was way behind the times.........they were in danger of becoming the 21st century equivalent of Lada.

[Skids]

The CityRover was a car bought by Rover from a Malaysian car manufacturer in order to allow Rover into a market niche with the minimum of cost. But, Rover cars have been pap ever since British Leyland. It tell you something when a huge German manufacturer, like BMW, buys another car manufacturer outright, for a few million quid, then ditches it for a tenner because it's cars are so pap even they can't turn the loses into profits.

[dave m]

we either over engineer cars like tvr and make good profit  or we bodge em and throw these things out of the door,we cant meet in the manufacturin middle of the road.....ford granada was a superb car,my dad had a 2.8 ghia ex in champagne gold and brown dralon trim,it purred when it was booted,not very often tho,as it used kuwaits oil stockpile on 1 boot....superbly gratifying!..bmw bought rover for landy and mini obviousley

[Skids]

Except that Ford own Land Rover.

[TheSaintST1]

Hi,

Actually the CityRover was based totally on the TATA Indicar V2 from India. This car was designed in Italy, hence a slightly european look. The car was then 'Roverised' by modifying the suspension more suited to European roads, extra sound proofing added, and the steering rack tightened- particularly for the forthcoming MG models. The nose and tails were modified slightly to suit the look of the MGRover family. It features a Peugeout derived 1405cc engine which compared to the competition was found to be quite a bit more powerful when compared to the Renault Clio. Mostly built in India and shipped to the UK where Rover spec parts were fitted..

There were, however, problems..

The cabin quality was rushed and if you look carefully, screwports are exposed. The interior plastics are not quite up to European quality either, but at least the seating and driving position was good. The Cabin noise was still a little higher than most rivals but it was nothing too bad. A Spritely car but with those problems, a poor launch, and the high initial price tag, it was never really going to sell in huge numbers.

[TheSaintST1]

The car styling department was headed by Peter Stevens of McLaren F1 fame after the Phoenix takeover.

The MG versions of the saloons were spare-time projects whilst BMW was in charge. They did not feel it appropriate to have brands that might encroach into their markets. There was a massive uproar when the Rover 75 2 door coupe was revealled at a motor show in Europe. After that such projects had to be done under their radar.

This is how the MG saloons were designed and released so quickly after the Phoenix takeover.

Previous Rover incarnations were Honda efforts which were essentially re-faced and tailed. It wasn't just a one way effort either.. When undercontrol of BAe, the Land Rover Discovery was re-styled as the Honda Crossroads in Japan.

The Rover 213/216 was
The Honda Ballade

The Rover 800 was
The Honda Acura - This was actually a joint project for both companies

The Rover 200/400 etc was
The Honda Concerto

The Rover 600 was
The Honda Accord/Synchro

The Rover 200/25/MGZR was
Based on the Civic platform BUT was wholly a Rover design project.

The Rover 400/45/MGZS was
The Honda Civic.

The Rover 75/MGZT was
A Rover/BMW collaboration. Speculation suggests that this was a chassis that BMW used as a prototype, but was not used. However, it was deemed more than adequate for the 75 FWD platform. The rear axle is based on the Z-axle design.

The Rover 75 Tourer/MGZT-T was
Partly a Rover/BMW project that never got signed off - However, everything was reviewed after the Phoenix management took over

MGF/TF is purely a Rover project with no Honda involvement. The MG EX-E was a full prototype styled super car which sees its styling used in the Honda NSX.

Rover 100 is the Metro but modifications were made to strengthen the front end and the K-series engine/gearbox were bolted to the engine bay instead of a subframe like the old A+ unit.

[borg123]

i have owned austins---ford's--rover's---etc etc over the years --and each one had its bad points and good points---the people above who say all rovers since british leyland are crap are talking rubbish---whe it boils down to it if you drive a lada and then buy a mondeo you think you are driving a rolls royce and if you own a rolls royce and then drive a mondeo you think you are driving a lada --sorry lada owners--putting you at the bottom of the pile here  but only as an example--if there is any left out there----i am not saying rover is the best thing since sliced bread--but what a shame to let a great margue be sliced up and finished for good.