Rover Group

It's 1990, Rover is currently owned by British Aerospace, the R8 Rover 200 has just 

been launched, the Rover 800 has been on the market for 4 years now but it was due for replacement soon, hence the R17 facelift, the heavily revised Metro had just been released now called the Rover Metro, and lastly the Rover 400, the saloon version of the R8 200 has just also been released. This was certainly a car company on the up. So many different model variations spawned from one single platform, such as the R8 platform was turned into the Rover 200 Coupe, the Rover 400 Tourer, the Cabriolet, the Saloon, a 3 Door hatch and lastly the 5 Door hatch. 

The Metro was turned into a Cabriolet also, the 800 was now available in Coupe form as well as a 4 Door saloon and a 5 Door fastback. The Mini too was now available from the Longbridge factory in Cabriolet form. Rover also entered a new market in 1993 with the Rover 600, I do think the 600 was a great car, but simple amendments would have gone a long way, even fitting a Rover steering wheel would have vastly improved the 95% Honda interior.

1993 Rover 600 Interior

Here is the Rover 600 interior, the design is not a bad effort, but it does not instantly feel like a 'Rover', maybe a flexible Honda/Rover design could have been considered here such as the two cars having different top mouldings for the dash not only to differ the car but also to make the Rover, more of a Rover. However, this design showed the world in 1993, when the 600 was launched that Rover heritage, could be blended with modern design, much like the 200, 400, and 800. 

However, Rover were certainly finding all niches and covering them extensively. So therefore you would think that the success of the early 90's would also continue from 1994 onwards when BMW brought the Rover Group? Well, momentarily yes, the Portfolio range was released to the public, but the platforms were not used to their full potential, as mentioned there were Coupes, Cabriolets, Fastbacks and Tourers, this diverse model range needed to continue to add the factor of desirability to the range. 

But now, it's 1995, the 'Portfolio' range has just been released to the public, imagine the excitement at Longbridge, 3 new models in 1 year, this was previously unheard of. To commemorate this special occasion the workers received these commemorative coins to keep. 

The MGF has received a warm welcome from the press and enthusiasts, Rover too also won over the press with its new Rover 200, it was praised for its good looks and also the fact that it no longer looked like Rover's own version of a Honda, it was based on a Honda platform but it said to the world that Rover was beginning to stand on its own two feet again. Lastly, the Rover 400 was released and this time it was not a booted version of the Rover 200, it was a completely separate platform. Rover fooled itself into thinking that buyers were willing to leave their Mondeos, Primeras and Cavaliers in order to buy into the Rover marque and purchase the Rover 400 which was really a class below these cars just listed. Not to say that the Rover 400 was a bad car, it was just pitched too high within the marketplace. This too could be said for the Rover 200, it was competing with Golf and Astra where it should have been competing with Polo and Corsa. 

Rover was becoming independent and was a company on the up, but this was overshadowed by the 2 main new sellers the 200 and 400 being pitched too high in the marketplace. It took the company until late 1999 to realise the fact that they had pitched the cars too high therefore the 25 and 45 facelifts amended this, also this gave the company a new model structure and family style with quad headlights and a distinctive Rover grille to match the ultra-modern Rover 75 which had just been launched.

Rover should have waited to price cars at a premium when they were truly class beaters, the 75 was an example of this, miles better than the Mondeo and Vectra. 5 Series car for 3 Series money. True relaxed motoring. If the 200 and 400 were priced hard against the competition then this could have earned them a place in the top selling cars where the Metro used to be. It could have made Rover profitable again. John Towers said that the company was not looking for volume sales however this is what they needed and needed badly. Rover should have waited until they developed their own platforms and then priced the cars over the competition due to the fact that luxury car standards were present in smaller vehicles.

Cars should have been released with the quality standards which were the same as the 75. There was no interior which looked the same in a Rover which could lead customers to question the fact are they really in a Rover? For example, how could Rover charge a premium price for a Rover 400 when the dash is identical to a Honda Civic. It was the 1990's customers were more aware of the products compared to a decade before.

Profits gained from the 200 and 400 being marketed correctly could have led to the development of seriously competitive vehicles for Rover to enter the next century with. If Rover could achieve the public perception of producing quality cars then the MG badge-engineering exercise would not have had to happen. 'Roversport' is a name which appears on the Rover Tomcat racing series vehicles. But imagine a 75 Roversport. Rover were close to achieving this with the Rover 75 Sport as pictured below.

Next, have you ever been in a 2001-2006 MINI? The Rover 75 ans the MINI have the same dashboard curvature. Family style interiors were lacking over the Rover range but this notified a new design direction, even details like the horn buttons on the steering wheel are the same on the original New MINI and the Rover 75, which indicates the fact that BMW were intending the MINI to be manufactured at Longbridge. But what confuses me is, the Rover 75 was launched with the 1.8 K-Series option, however the engine was considered too rough for the MINI so why didn't the 75 get the same engine as the MINI in a larger capacity.

1999 Rover 75 Interior

2000 MINI Interior 

Top: Rover 75 R50

Bottom: MINI R40

Even the development codes said to the public that these two cars were meant to be sold together. Look at how the family style was implemented by Wyn Thomas on the two dashboards.

If BMW did not treat Rover as a bolt on company and treated them and integrated them into their own business then the public's perception would have changed of Rover so quickly, "Rover Group, now owned by the worldwide BMW Group" should have appeared in all marketing literature in some form, and press releases portraying the fact that BMW and Rover engineers were working very closely to produce a new vehicle would have done Rover so much good. What really matters is that the cars sell well, and this means they must be designed and built well, so more exposure of BMW and Rover working very closely together would have done no harm, except the odd person worrying about if the 75 is German or British, however, when it comes down to it, what matters most is the fact that the car is built well and will sell well.

Imagine if BMW stayed to launch the new MINI with Rover this would have made the company profitable again, if the MINI was built at Longbridge, not only would it be built where the original was, but it would give a big morale boost to the workers, and also the fact that the MINI has been built at Longbridge in 1959, this could be featured in the marketing literature, therefore satisfying customers giving them peace of mind that the MINI is being built by people who built the original Mini so they get the perception that they know how to build the new MINI to the right standard. The Rover 75 would be the top of the range Rover, the flagship, and the MINI would have been the entry level Rover, not in terms of quality though! 

Then, riding on the success of the MINI, the new Range Rover could have been launched by the Rover Group, further enhancing the perception that the Rover Group is about luxury, again the Roversport theory could be applied to this vehicle, making a performance line would have done the Rover Group's image no harm, it would give customers buying a bottom of the range car that aspiration to stay loyal to the Rover Group and then purchase the car of their dreams. 

Many do not even know that before 2000, the Range Rover was built by the Rover Group, imagine today if Rover had the change to keep the Land Rover brand, that would have been another point in the 1990's, the Rover Group could have went to America with 4 genuinely competitive vehicles, not warmed over Honda designs, imagine the MINI, the MGF the Rover 75 and the Land Rover Freelander all being sold in America along side each other this would have changed the perception of British cars in America almost overnight. 

BMW has done so much work with Rover on the upcoming R30, the 25 and 45 were only meant to last until 2002, I wish this was the case, I would have loved to see the R30 out on the roads. This could have been the fifth genuinely competitive vehicle to join the Rover Group line-up. Rover were making losses however and that is when BMW split the Rover Group up selling Land Rover to Ford, and kept MINI for themselves, which is lucky in a way due to the fact that BMW had the network to sell the MINI worldwide therefore making it a success, if BMW held on however a new network would have to be created amounting to more expense. 

The MG and Rover marques were brought by the Phoenix 4 who then formed the MG Rover Group. However, Phoenix, did not by the actual Rover marque but only used it on license, this was also another lucky factor because SAIC would have used the Rover marque to sell cars in China, but they could not do this as BMW still owned the marque at the time, so SAIC had to create their own luxury badge called Roewe. 

Pre Production Rover 75 1998

Seriously, just look at the picture above! Look at how happy Rover was, a proud workforce standing by a truly up to the minute vehicle. At the end of the 20th century, Rover was on the up with the MINI going to be produced, a new Range Rover on the cards, the 75 launch, and the upcoming Rover 35 launch, more sights like the one above could have been achieved. 

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