The use of "personality disorder" at the start was a poor choice of words and I regret any offence caused. A better choice would be "identity crisis", and I've updated the description to show this.
We're in silly times. Probably nobody with a cause to take offense, will. But everyone who has time to be offended on someone else's behalf, doubtless will. Surely all the outrage will create a brave, new, kind, considerate, and purely altruistic world. Can't wait.
I was a MG Rover apprentice when this car was launched. We all loved it and I always enjoyed driving them when I had the chance. Unfortunately I was also a MG apprentice when they started closing dealerships to try and avoid administration and our dealership was one of the ones to be chopped. I will always have a soft spot for Rovers and MGs. It's a real shame to see MG become a cheap Chinese budget car company.
@Moey M I've had one for nearly 7 years. I've had a new battery, tires, pair of springs, driver's seat bolster repaired, wipers, rear light cluster replaced and that's about it. It's 16 years old.
I still see many of these on the roads in Poland, and I think the reason is the way the car looks, because Polish mechanics don't like Rover engines (to be fair, they don't like anything but getting drunk, and if something can be screwed up, they'll screw it up). But the infamous Rover K-series engines were also mass used in Poland's Polonez cars, and among modern fans they're known as powerful engines that can take a lot of punishment if only a driver is not an idiot and doesn't floor the throttle before the engine builds up the heat, and doesn't turn it off overheated.
@Moey M mine was a chipped diesel. In fact the worst thing about it was in the winter you struggled to get much heat in the cabin. Temp gauge rarely reached normal.
I had one as a company car about 18 years ago. Got teased by a few mates who saw it as a bit "pipe and slippers", but it was actually a really good car. Far better than my other option, the Vauxhall Vectra.
What's wrong with 'pipe and slippers' ?? I've traveled Worldwide wearing nothing (on my feet) except Nordika house-shoes. The 75 was very well built indeed. Shame about the K Series engines.
My V6 ZT was one of the best cars I've ever owned and it never let me down. So easy to rubbish anything British and if it had worn a Continental badge they would have raved over it. The styling inside and out was great and it still looks good today.
We got one of the first 75 sold, and it was by far the best car i've ever driven. It served us well for 13 years and almost half a million kilometers. The car was low and wide and felt like it was glued to the tarmac, regardless of the state of the road or driving 240 kmh on the autobahn. Once we took a "shortcut" in Alsace, in the Vosges mountains. After a half hour drive over sand and stones, climbing, descending and twisting like hell we arrived at a mountainhut where they serve fabulous blueberrypie. So we stopped, got out casual, ordered pie and got nothing but questions from the other guests, wondering how the hell we drove this 75 up to that place... there where some other cars around, all heavy 4x4's. We even got applauded by the crowd when we drove of into the mountainous wilderness as casual as can be. My wife and i allways joke... if they sell the 75 again in Europe, we buy one immediately! By far the best car we ever drove.
Clarkson was 2 faced about the 75. He slagged it off something cronic. Strange really when all the 75 under pinnings,suspension,brakes, ecu's and engine if diesel etc were bmw 3series and he loves bmw. Another example is a bit like him slagging off a vw passat but loving the audi a4, same car really just a different badge. He slagged Rover off to but the 400/600/800 were all Honda and we all no how reliable Honda are. I like watching clarkson for enertainment but wouldn't take any advise of him.
This car is still popular in Eastern Europe, for it's looks, even though people know the engine's head gasket is not very durable, and mechanics throw insults at customers when they hear about Rover (because they're too lazy to learn how to work on something different than VW)
Hi I've owned my 75 Rover nearly 15 year it's coming up to 255,000 miles soon .Only renewed clutch at 223,000 miles original one. Car only 3 years old when I bought it. It's the 2001 model before horrible facelift. I still enjoy driving it and it has been incredible reliable.
Couldnt be the 1.8t? They blow the head gasket constantly... Luckily i took an extended warranty out on mine and got a brand new engine put it. Gave the car to my brother a couple of years later and it went again... This time now insured so off to the scrapyard it went.
Cheers Steve Shields! I am American and watched this car from afar through Motor and Autocar magazine back in the day. I would have liked to have seen it arrive here. With US car importation laws the way they are, I could get one that is 25 years old or more when that time comes. Never say never!
My parents bought our 75 in 2003 when I was 2. I’m almost 19 now and it still goes. It also looks better than most modern cars (both inside and out). Gives less problems than a modern Mercedes. Bring back Rover to the UK
Christopher Edmonds I will NEVER OWN ANYTHING from MB,,in USA,,they rip you off with service, god forbid you own one of their diesels ! YOU neeD A MORTGAGE FOR SERVICE,,,,, Cheers from NJ,USA
Yeah! My neighbor had a mg zr (litreally the same car as a rover 75) and when I was in a pram and I saw. The headlights I RANNN BRO I USED TO GET SCARED OF THE CAR but I am not scared anymore and I want it back
Funny you mentioned Top Gear - I discovered the 75 from the comments made on that very show. Fell in love with the styling and when it came time to find something new a few years back, hunted down a 2003 2.5 Tourer (very rare here in Australia), and I've never regretted it for a second. I've driven a 3 Series, a C Class and an X Type from the same era and honestly the Rover is a nicer drive than any of them. 50k kms later and it hasn't given me any serious trouble at all. Fantastic car with more personality than anything else I've driven and it's a crying shame that it all went so wrong.
I had a 75 auto and it was the most relaxing drive, I used to do hundreds of miles a day for work, I used to arrive totally relaxed, as it was a smooth ride easy to drive and very comfortable.
@JOHNSON Chodenseider l've had my P5B nearly forty years & have an S2 P6B & an S1 2000TC. I also love my '02 75 1.8 Connoisseur which is on 157,000 miles & still going strong. Go figure.....
Always thought they were lovely cars, inside and out. Maybe they looked a bit like they were more for "the older gentleman", but once you'd been in one, that was soon forgotten. Such a great ride, with a cabin that was so comfortable to sit in and whisper quiet.
That's the tragedy of it - for once it wasn't Rover's fault that the car failed as the 75 was really well-done and could and should have saved them. But the way BMW handled it killed it off at birth.
I couldn't care less what people say,i think the 75 was,and still is,a lovely looking car both inside and out.If i had some spare cash kicking about,i would buy the V8 model without a second thought
I agree. Definitely one of the most beautiful and harmonic designs on a middle-class limousine ever, way better than those aggressive-looking designs of today that only consist of huge grills and "evil-looking" headlights.
I've still got a 75 Connoisseur SE, 189000 miles and it still works. It refuses to die. Oh and a full service history of 1. Rover went bust 2 months after I bought it ha ha
I worked on the software for this car and the reason it was dropped wat it was better and cheaper BMW equivalent; the only downside is it had engine management software was based on technology developed in the eighties. I worked at MG-Rover on a 2.2-liter turbo version of this car up to its demise in 2005 and then later worked for SIAC on an update to the software to improve the fueling at altitude but didn’t know if this ever got to production in Chania, a lovely car for the price and that’s why it was good.
My next car just has to be the Rover 3.5 litter coupe. This must be the absolute King Pin of all Rovers rts. It's interior just wonderful and the Smell "to die for ".
i agree, plus the design has aged really well after more than 20 years now, and still looks fresh and elegant today. I'd prefer a classy, elegant 75 over those boring BMW, Audi and Mercedes limousines of today anytime.
My dad used to own a 2003 rover 75 v8, he loved that car, when he had to downgrade tp a vauxhall vectra, he was deerly upset, to this day though that car is still running
I too would be deeply upset at being dragged out of any car and being made to drive a Vauxhall. When I got a promotion to a job that came with a company car they tried to give me a Vauxhall Signum.... I got them to throw my Volvo S80 onto the company's insurance policy and agree to do the servicing on it.
Myself owned a 75 rover and from day 1 never ever broke down a fabulous car it was like driving a jaguar smooth and easy l truly regret selling it as was going to live abroad lovely looking car.
The 75 and ZT were and still are wonderful Britain motor cars before people rush to dismiss them need to try one out I’ve owned three of these wonderful cars and enjoyed every single one .
I used to deliver a lot of Rovers to dealers and around the auction circuit in the early 2000's, always liked the ZT Tourer but mere minutes in a ZS would cripple me. I used to like the Omega estate too (with the big engine), maybe I just had a thing for RWD estates.
Well, I’m new to the 75 experience, having owned my car for only a few months. My initial reaction on my first drive home was, how has this excellent car escaped my attention? I’ve owned many many cars of various brands, and I think the 75 is my favourite of them all. The fit and finish is excellent, right up there with the very best, and the ride and comfort surpasses them all. 😊
Great video. I worked at the ops department in Longbridge as part of work experience and I worked on the weekly figures and stories for the 25, 45 and 75 to the run up to their launch. The 75 was codenamed "Oyster" but I forget what the 25 and 45 were called but they were similar to the 75. It was highly anticipated.
I live in the United States and I really liked the look of the car. I wish they would have sold them here. Yeah the Top Gear review say James May really hated on it. I would have bought one .
Roewe is pronounced “Ro way” which is the closest Chinese speakers can get to Rover. Great work, thank you, I learned so much. It’s such a shame that such a good car came too late to save the company.
I can fix that for them. For a quid I will iron their tongues - so they can pronounce it. Ok 1.50 given the additional risk - someone dropped a testube, ate a rare bat - you know. Ready with my trusty Tefal, given there millions of them I reckon I am quids in.
It didn't come too late, it was rather the awful way BMW killed it off at birth that made it go down the drain, although it would have had great potential if introduced to the market in the right way.
It was competing with BMWs own market. Notice that they kept, and still have Mini which was completely different from anything BMW were making at the time.
Just check out the hoovie playlist to see how bad bmw has got, engineered to break is one way of putting it, maybe with its swap to ev things may finally improve on the reliability
I was a VAX field service engineer for digital. FYI I have a low mileage 1999 BMW Z3 2.8. I love machines and history. Thanks from Florida’s Space Coast.
I've had my 2003 Rover 75 diesel for seven years. It's still a head turner and a conversation piece, especially when I take it to Germany. How ironic is that after watching this video. The car also bears the registration OPA (German for grandad). I have two other cars, but can't bring myself to sell my 75.
know what you mean. I bought my 2002 75 Tourer when it was 4 years old and I'm still riding it today (480K on it). Can't imagine myself driving in another car altho I do sometimes drive one of our companies modern cars... they just don't compell to me with all them plastics and electronic stuff which makes you feel like you're not really DRIVING anymore. Getting back into the Rover feels like I'm at home before I even get back at home. :-)
As with other Rover cars, I worked in development on this car. I must pick you up on a couple of points. BMW didn’t design this. At, it was already designed and with a better more rounded rear which BMW wanted changed. They deliberately moved the indicators and lights down,so that a more sport version could not be made, in fact the ZT and ZTT required a complete redesign of the front end to allow the car to have a sporty stance and ride. I couldn’t believe when, at the motor show launch of the 75 BMW announced they didn’t think Rover could survive, killing what was a fantastic car on its launch. They took money out of the redesign of the 200 and 400 so that only cosmetic changes could be made on an old model BMW only wanted bits of Rover, the 4WD system they couldn’t design, the front wheel drive system, they cannibalised Rover as it was cheaper than designing from scratch. I have nothing but contempt for BMW
1995 yılında bir Rover 620ye sahiptim sonrasında rover 216 coupe kullandım . Nefis otomobillerdi . 75 satın almayı planladığımda Rover kapatıldı. yazdıklarınızda haklısınız. BMW Rover ı satın alarak o zaman SUV piyasasına girmek için bedavadan Land Rover teknolojisini almış oldu ayrıca Mini ye de sahip olarak büyük paralar kazandı . BMW den daha şık ve genleri BMWden daha elit olan Rover’ı ise kendisine zarar vermesin diye öldürdü.
I am an owner of MG 750 from 2015 and have already driven 40K kms. The SAIC group made the interior of the car luxurious with all seats equipped masage and heated. It still uses Rover 75 engines with a little bit improvement. Gear box is Japanese. Pretty reliable car with old British path in it. Overall this particular car is for the enthusiasts of British cars.
mine is all leather inside ,the engine was bmw v8 gasoline but diesel is the only who had honda but also a good engine this the MG 75, but prior to this had a Rover 600 my favorite with 1.8 turbo-diesel engine from BMW
The Rover 75 is a very nice looking car. I asked my dad in the late 90s to take me to the Rover dealership in Guadalajara, Mexico and I fell in love with it.
My Dad had one of these when i was in my early teens, and his Dad got a bit jealous, cos it looked very similar to, if not better than, his much more expensive Jaguar S Type
had the 2.0l diesel version, the 1.8 k series engine i avoided due to gasget failures, think shame of it was for me, the air intake for the diesel seemed purposefully restricted to make it slower, unfortunately, got rid of it due to abs fault which couldnt find reason why
No surprise there considering that the S-Type was based on a Mondeo. I had the chance to drive a Lincoln LS and a Jaguar S-Type in California and the LS was the better car but then, it did come with a V8 which kept on pulling and pulling. Ironically, both brands were owned by the Ford Motor Company.
Thats funny ! I own a 75 Connoseur in Arden Green with Sandstone lether . Around the corner lives an old man who owns an S type Jag , also in Green . Once when I was bussy washing the Rover , he walked by and made some downplaying noises . I just smiled at him . That Rover has all the classic chroom bits in the right places , were the Jag has nothing , whitch makes the Jag looks dull and cheep , specialy those flat doorhandels can be found on every cheep hatchback . Pitty , Jaguar could have made the S so much better looking ......... Greetings from Holland .
I saw a Rover 75 on my way to work driving on the A127 a few weeks ago and I have to say it looked awsum. I liked the look of the 75 when it was launched.
@michaelpielorz9710 - Well that's not true, the 1.9 pd tdi could do mega-miles. My last car, a 2004 Audi A4 with 1.9 pd tdi 100 from VW was on 276,000 miles (444,178km) when I sold it to a friend this month, still runs like clockwork. Original clutch too! One featured on on YT reached 500,000 miles/804,000km, still running! Oh, and I have a Rover 75 cdt now, so I'm not anti-Rover!
The Rover 75 is so underrated! My grandad had one when I was growing up. He would drive me to McDonalds every Saturday. Sitting in the back felt very luxurious.
Of course, what we're missing here is BMW's original game plan which was to get their hands on Mini. However, I agree with most here and that was the 75 was a good car.
Correct about Mini. They waited until it was fully designed and engineered before pulling the plug on Rover, and kept the Cowley Mini plant and then gave the impression that they designed the car. Ever wondered where they got the technology for 4WD? Well they owned Land Rover for a while as well.
I worked at a MG Rover dealership throughout the 90s and we all knew that BMW were only after certain technologies that Rover had, the new Mini was designed and developed by Rover with all the costs being met by Rover. The Rover 45 replacement was also being developed by Rover only to become the new 1 Series after BMW got what they wanted and discarded the company. I left the motor trade shortly after and now work in a different industry and guess what, another German company has bought us and are now wanting us to develop new products, paid for by us, but not really investing in the long term future,. I suspect as soon as we deliver the product we will be discarded like MG Rover were by BMW.
V6 here, Arden green. Served me for seven years untill I had a terrible accident. I walked out of the car in one piece. Solid, safe, a pleasure to drive and to listen.
I owned the V6 MG ZT and it was one of the sweetest engines I've ever driven. I've predominantly owned Audis and Mercs since and had a brief fliratation with Porsche but I still have fond memories of the MG - much maligned and wrongly pigeon holed by some in the motoring press.
What a car. I owned a 2 litre V6. Smooth as silk. Nothing to beat that drive home from work on a cold winter’s night. Quiet, warm and relaxing. The lovely classic colour of the lit instruments and a choice of CDs from the 6 disc unit. Power, grace and comfort. I miss my 75.
Great show about the Rover 75. I really enjoyed your breakdown of everything that happened to the Rover 75. Thank you for entertaining me although it hurts to consider what might have been if Rover had had been managed better. Pete UK
I remember thinking at the time that Rover were completely shafted by BMW and had they gone in to full partnership with Honda we would have had cars built with both style and quality. BMW just wanted the MINI name and they got it.
Not only did they get the Mini, there was also a new compact car in development at Rover which, after the demise of MG Rover, eventually became the basis for the BMW 1 series. So in the end BMW really managed to cash in on the Rover relationship as it helped them get access to great technology for fwd smaller cars.
they also got the valuable 4x4 technology , bmw's move was sly, its legal theft and a carefully orchestrated blow to the UK industry/economy (sweet revenge for loosing WW1 and ww2), it was all carefully planned, they never had any intention of helping the uk brand. Their intention was to steal technology and destroy its competition by taking total advantage of the serious flaws amongst the UK management and engineers.
@@torstenscholz6243 the 1 series is RWD... Or at least was so until the latest generation. The 3 series compact, which eventually became the 1 series was also around before they had anything to do with Rover. The only compact class thing they got out of this deal was in fact the mini badge & tech... Took them until 2019 to marry the 1 and the mini with the same platform.
@@ValladolidArde Sure and i heard BMW also wanted to steal the advanced technology from Lada and Yugo at that time. The UKs (car) industry blows itself for decades all alone without much help from others (u cant avoid global competition), but maybe its the easier way for u to come across that fact... "...helping the uk brand..." UK=birth nation of capitalism! iam surprised... helping isnt the main goal of the economy, you make investments/industrial partnerships and expect "benefits" (for both sides) and since BMW is an (BMW-) AG=Aktiengesellschaft you also have to act in the interests of your (international!) shareholders. I think BMW maybe underestimatet the problems and to avoid losses they quit and of course takeing the best (brands) out of it. vice versa u think Rover had done it in another way with BMW?
The rover 75 was my third car, and the first one I picked myself as a 19 year old, cost me £800 kept it for 3 years cost me £20 in repairs over the time I had it. I'm not sure i ever felt so invested in a car and would buy it back in a heart beat
The 75 was a true dreamcar for me when it was launched, I'm a total sucker for retro design, and this was one of the peaks of it! Those antique gauges, the beautiful wood, leather, and just the right amount of chrome trim was utterly gorgeous for me! I'd still love to have one today, but they're almost extinct now here in Hungary... I see mostly V6 versions in good shape, they were probably more cherished. The beaten up cheap ones have probably already met their fate in a junkyard... there were much more cheap ones a few years earlier, but I wanted something more reliable as my daily. Anyway, I'd love a 75, or an S-type, same type of retro charm. Although maybe the Jaguar would be a better choice for everyday use, as the company still exists, and the S-type was basically a Mondeo in disguise, so non-specific parts are probably cheaper.
"Both the 600 and 800 were deeply reliant on Honda technology. Something BMW were understandably keen to move away from." I think I found where the problem started.
Levent Taskan I think that happened before with the 400 series. My sister and brother-in-law had a 400 (416SLi 5spd manual) - looked like a Civic but had a crappy Rover/old BL engine that decided to blow its head gasket on the M25 on my way to Gatwick. Two mechanics lamented that it didn’t have the Honda Civic engine
@@tedburnard841 If you had a 416Sli it likely had a SOHC Honda engine. What year was it? No 90s Rover had a 'BL' engine unless you count the last few 1.3 Maestros and the highly modified and frankly electronic sophistication heavy A series in the late Classic model Minis.
I've always rather liked the Rover 75, at the time of writing there are still lots of them about and they seem to be aging well. A much better car than people think.
I saw an unusual looking car here in a car park in Sweden.Had to check the badge---Rover.Looked quite smart.A bit like some upmarket American models I see here.Guess it was one of these and about 15 years old
Good story, good video, thanks. A few weeks ago I was able to buy a beautiful Rover 75 (2000). I always loved it, but never had the money to buy one. Now I have because... it was sold for 800 euro. With a new APK (Dutch MOT). Lucky me, but in fact it's a shame these lovely cars are worth nothing... I work as a musician, and I look forward to driving back home after rehearsals in quiet luxury... I also have a MG ZS 180, but that's another way of fun driving. Something like a giant kart, to cruise the country in the summertime!
I'm 23 yo, haven't ever driven a Rover 75 but it sounds exactly like sth I'm after. A "gentleman's club on wheels" luxury car with a soft suspension. The only thing missing is RWD.
you need a V8 one then if you could afford to buy and insure one but first of all you need to find one not to many of them around quite fancy one myself.
@@BigCar2 I have a warped love of terrible, stupid dad comedy. Right up my alley. You, sir, are the real deal when it comes to automobile enthusiasts. Worthy of respect in my opinion, from one enthusiast to another
My 75 diesel gave me many miles of reliable motoring between the U.K. and the Czech Republic. 12 return trips a year. A problem with the E.C.U. had the car laid up for a week at a small garage in Upper Bavaria, very near the Czech/German border. I returned with a refurbished E.C.U. the garage having had a good look at the car. Their curiosity led to them pronouncing it a beautiful vehicle "typisch englisch".
The ECU is located under the scuttle panel in front of the windscreen. The water drain off the windscreen goes through the scuttle panel and is drained via three small hoses under the car, when the hoses get blocked ( very common ) the area fills with water and damages the ECU. Unbelievable crass design
@robertnw7698 - quite a few cars have this problem, to be fair. When I got my Audi A4 of the same era as the Rover 75 the first thing I did was release the water sloshing around in the scuttle area because of blocked plenums. If water got high enough on those it would come into the cabin via the cabin filter box. At least the ECU was higher up on those cars though. Regular maintenance is key - the Rover 75/ZT club has a solution to create a "spy-hole" in the scuttle cover so the hard-to-reach plenum in the middle can be rodded out regularly without the removal of any trim.
I own a rover 75 with a modified gear box and a bigger intercooler I've felt in love with this car, sadly is getting old and it is difficult to find spare parts, I also have a bmw x5M but for me is like a lorry compared with the rover. Greatings from spain ;)
pramodh b They are great looking, inside and out. Trouble is, there are not many left. The diesel models have survived but most 1.8’s have cooked their engines and the V6’s are nearing the end of their lives. Pity, I’ve owned 4 and apart from a 1.8 turbo which blew up twice they’ve been fine cars.
I replaced my Jaguar 3.2 Executive with the Rover 75 Connoisseur,and though not an engineer,as a driver found it stylish and a delightful drive.Even today it outclasses in its styling and drive comfort any car that has replaced it in its price range.
there is one down to street parked... each walking by, I look a minute or more for the lines shapes, from front to side and stern and stern to side.... and interiors ... fabulously applied retro-modern
I'm from Croatia, livin' here 'n all. I always thought the Rovers looked way better than what they're going for price-wise and also attention-wise. These cars are beauties, could it be possible that BMW acquired Rover just in order to overtake the Mini?
BMW were desperate to enter the market for small front wheel drive cars (i.e. Mini) , and the 4WD technology from Landrover enabled them to bring out the X5 to take on Audi, Mercedes and the Japanese. A cynic would call it asset stripping, but LR was finally offloaded to Ford for just under £2 billion, while Rover was sold off to Phoenix Consortium for a symbolic £10 together with a £500 million loan to help keep the company afloat in a predicted return to profitability which never happened.
@Andrew Ball I don't think the X5 has a transfer box. It's just a bloated 5 series with normal road 4x4 plus traction control. The Discovery 2 is a 1969 Range Rover with traction control. And therefore is the last of that line. Beam axles, transfer box, ladder chassis. Can be fixed with hammers (and welders...obvs 🤔)
Good video. I'm a Rover man through & through, l bought my first P6 when l was twenty but they lost me with the Sd1 & l just carried on with the P6's, my P5B & P4 110. The 75 brought me back to 'the present' & l love my '02 1.8 Connoisseur. 157k & going strong. Mind you, some of those 80's/90's Rover's l dismissed look much better to me now, l must be getting old. 😁
Classmate sometimes drove me to school in his (parents'?) 75 2.0 CDT. Very comfortable car although his was not in the best condition. The interior looks classy and those meaty and soft seats and armrests... Very nice ride it was.
g00dfeeling hello, you do realize that ,that all where drive system in the JAGUAR Type X, was taken from VOLVO, when FORD OWNED VOLVO., Cheers From NJ...USA
@@flybyairplane3528 You mean as in Ford who practically destroyed Volvo. Few, including many Americans, rate Volvo any more thanks to Ford's cutbacks on quality & reliability. That's the clear impression I get from around the world.
We used to have an X-Type that made feel special, a lovely mis-understood car. We never had any trouble with it bar some mysterious misfire, after the car was serviced by a local garage, (strange thing was there was another one on the forecourt, and the car's radiator needed to replaced, the idiot should have spotted that one, or did that one get swapped for a duff one from the other car? Part exchanged with an XJ6 TVDi, sub-lime car but a money-pit. Sold that brought a low mileage 75 Classic 1.8 with just over 6,000 miles. Done an extra 8,000 miles in just over a year, and the engine seized up. Now in for a bill over £2,600. So much for low mileage car. An excellent, beautiful car, with strange quality control, funny fabrics for example, and the dash with it's white dials is abit daft. Wish I kept the X-Type,
I was the cameraman on the BBC documentary on the end of Rover. “Rover, the long good bye” An interview with Quentin Wilson he put it quite succinctly. “Rover? You can’t polish a turd”! He also went on to suggest that the Rover marketing was so bad and out dated it was a big part in the demise of the company. Was an interesting doco.
I wonder what the 6000 people who lost their jobs thought when smart arse used car salesman Quentin Wilson made his funny comment. Journalists think they can say what they like and are immune from any fallout that happens from their comments.
@@michael_houghton Quentin Wilson knows all about turds......He is one. I have a Rover 75 connie. Never had any issues...use it daily....Great car. And.....I'm not a pipe and slippers guy.
I worked at an Electroplating company in Walsall that plated all the parts for Rover cars, including the 75. You won't believe the spec the exterior parts were processed to, especially the front grille and rear number plate surround. They had to pass 400 hrs in a Neutral Salt Spray test. This is where a sample part is hung in a plastic cabinet and sprayed constantly with a warm, saline mist. 24 hrs in a salt spray is equivalent to 1 year outdoor conditions. It had to reach 400 hrs before any corrosion was observed, thus giving approximately 16 years protection. The interior parts, ie, bezels, door handles, escutcheons were processed to lesser spec obviously, but still to 200 hrs S.S. We did most of the Rover range over a period of many years. I could have, and did work any hours I wanted to, the factory ran 24/7. We also processed Jaguar, Bentley, Ford, Triumph Motorcycles and many more prestige companies components, also MOD contracts. The company, now long gone employed 500+ people. Long time ago when chrome was king. I recently retired after 48 years in the Metal finishing, powder coat, Electrophoretic paint industry. My last company I ran an anodising sectional an aerospace company that produced the heat exchangers for fuel and hydraulic system for Airbus and Boeing.
I still wonder if VAG had taken over Rover there still cars being produced at Longbridge. BMW did a similar thing to a rival German company called Glas back in the mid '60's. BMW were going through financial difficulties, as were Glas due to their latest Borgward model, sent their accountants in to look at Glas's accounts, which they said the company wasn't viable, thus Glas went to the wall, BMW ended up with an extra factory plus a new range of cars that looked very much the ones Glas were developing. Before all BMW had was some motorbikes and some micro-cars. All of a sudden they had the Neu-Klas models. The rest his history…
I had an MG ZTT 190+ (2.5 V6 petrol) and ran it for 13 years. It was a fantastic car. Great to drive, totally reliable and solidly built. I remember one year it won the annual owner survey in one of the car mags for best handling saloon - beating the likes of BMW. There really wasn't anything else I wanted to replace it with. Eventually age and the dwindling supply of some spares was the only reason I eventually sold it to an enthusiast. It went to a good home and is still running today.
