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Uploaded at 6:30PM GMT
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Weren't many Rovers in the 80's rebadged, US spec Hondas and Acuras? They sure look identical, although I'm assuming it's a bit more complicated than that. However, I don't recall Honda even being mentioned in this video, perhaps I missed it.
I think that's a pretty good outline. I wish it would happen, but I think the government (of any persuasion) support would be lacking. I don't think they'd want to stick their neck out. Someone needs to be make that new Rover SD1 concept. It looks amazing. I'd buy it on looks alone.
The Rover brand has since reverted back to Jaguar Land Rover, now under Tata Motors ownership. Whether the Rover brand will be resurrected is quite another matter.
In the 1950's Rover 90s were owned by the village Doctor, The Vet, and the local Vicar. These people were also the ones who had a telephone, in our village. So in 1966 I managed to buy my first car, a Rover 90, whilst working as a GPO apprentice. It only ran on 5 cylinders, as it would oil it's plug on #5, This was helped by changing to an N8 instead of the N5 Plug on that cylinder. It also needed a new exhaust, which would have cost me 6 weeks wages, and the brakes were leaking. I wish I could have afforded to keep it maintained, but even the 18 mpg made it too expensive for my pay scale. I think with modern materials, and modern oils, that P4 2.8 litre six cylinder engine should last for a very long time. But nowadays I suppose it would need to be fitted with an Exhaust Gas Recirculator, and other modern statutory nonsense.
I can't help seeing the post SD1 cars as Hondas. I love Hondas (I have a 30year old Accord with 1/2 million K's and still runs like a Swiss watch). But sad for Rover, - I'm tempted by a 2000TC at the moment.
You're right about the platform share of the Herald: not only did it spawn the Vitesse, Spitfire and GT6 which you mention, it also underpinned the entire Bond Equipe range and then, later, a whole welter of kit cars built on the Triumph chassis frame. Further to that, so good was the entire Herald front suspension and steering arrangement, that it also found its way into a wide variety of respected low volume and competition cars.
Interesting overview of the company history. It is the story of the British motor industry, BL just made worse and worse cars. The great engineering and quality from the early 1900s to the 1970s was all lost with appalling management from Government down. It’s a sad tale of a once great country that is now just a shadow of its former self. I stopped looking at British cars after a great run with a Triumph 2.5PI with overdrive. I went BMW with a 2002. The British motor industry is at its best currently with boutique brands such as McLaren, showcasing the best of engineering, design and build.
Any business, no matter how large or small will inevitably fail if teamwork is non-existent and this video sadly reflects the case perfectly. Japanese manufacturing companies create wonderful reliable refined products because of the high ethos standards embedded in each employees mind, from cleaner to top management. This would be an excellent subject to be taught at school, with examples of failure and achievement when we choose to work as a team with everyone becoming a permenant winner.
As you say, atrocious management and British Leyland. In my opinion the P5 and P6 were superior to any of the Jags of the era. They were better built and more reliable. Stupid design decisions were also to blame, after the Honda era came the K series, a reliability disaster. I used to own a 75 turbo diesel and I loved it, but some of the design choices were insane. Transverse mounting of that engine was stupid giving you three choices to change the accessory belts; dismantle the wheel well, weld two spanners together and risk smashing your knuckles, or just rough it and smash your knuckles anyway. It was a shame that BMW wasn't really interested in the Rover brand. The combination of Rover 75 styling and the BMW straight 6 petrol engines would have been perfect (RWD of course). I also owned an E46 325ci at the same time as the '75 and I thought it would have been great to stick that engine and drive train in there.
Thanks Tom. I’ve owned a number of BL cars over the years and liked them all. This is a painful, but necessary watch about a catastrophe that should never have happened 😢
Part of the blame for Rover demise were the design of the car were so dull, it made the Italian's, French, Japanese, German and Euro American branch looked apertising.
Unfortunately what counts in motoring in1970 is reliability the Germans French and Japanese cracked it the Brits didn't minis morisse's Riley's BMC you name it weren't anybody with any sense bought a ford escort or Capri or Granada and enjoyed long life and reliability the British motorcar industry was an abortion and would not have been saved by an early hatch back or by attaching wings and mock rockets to it this man's diatribe is a testament to the hopelessness of the British car industry
You were saying that the Rover brand lives on in the Land Rover, but just about every magazine and car journalist commenting on them says that you should only buy one if you are a masochist due to the lack of reliability. It's not a great recommendation. You also mentioned the Ford ecoboost engine. Due to the Internet, more and more people are discovering the enormous problems with this engine. The Wet Belt system and the cracked heads loosing all of the coolant. I know many people, including myself, who have sold their Ford cars while they were worth something and bought another make. Can I say that I enjoyed your video.👍
it was disgusting how the strikes etc were used, and management simply should sacked the lot of them and new people in, and Totally Banned the Unions especial Red Rob should of been arrested. I can't believe how many men followed him like sheep, then next thing they know they are out of a job, because of there selfish behaviour.
I feel that if the workers would have stuck it out instead of going on strike so much. Rover would be very much a prominent face of automotive success and innovation today.
This is one of the most 😫 depressing British Leyland examples of management's cost cutting tales ever told. This car was launched in preparation for the coming 1973 energy crisis. One asks the question, "Why didn't British Leyland simply use the power plant from the discontinued MGC, with up to date emissions controls"? Everyone in the US was making less powerful environmentally friendlier power plants. The torque output of the three liter engine would have given the car a more brawny feel and a dual exhaust system would have given it a sweeter melody. Michael Edwardes was an incompetent idiot who deliberately ran the company into the ground while lining his own pockets.
Industrial action,greed and internal politics on behalf of senior management. A lack of investment in technology and recruitment. Lastly shocking quality control
The EU was behind British Leylands Demise....Who's doing great in the Car industry now? Before people pipe up about union strikes, anyone ever thought they were paid to strike? Anyone noticed how the EU have let their feelings towards Known?
