SABOTAGED AT EVERY POINT BUT ROVER COULD RETURN! - Here’s How..
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- In this video we cover one of the most debated topics regarding the british car industry and its decline but we cover its return and how it could be done by resurrecting Austin, Rover and Triumph.
Just a note; not all was bad with British leyland and the British car industry isn’t dead it is very much alive. Regarding MG Rover and the many other eras I covered as much as I could in the small recap but longer videos will be produced covering these eras.
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Just to make everyone aware, at no point did I indicate in the video, thumbnail or title that this was an announcement of Rover’s comeback.
I'm delighted that you're bringing back the British Car industry. Where's the GoFundMe?
@@wayland7150 never implied that.
HONDA should of Always been given priority to buy a major stake in Rover Group as they'd always worked well together from the early 8os on many models Rover had in its range of cars ...
To be fair yes you did imply that
Shame
That SD1 concept is 200% better looking than any EV today.
Beautiful ⚠️
It is Jules, Larson Design did a great job.
@@tomdrives SD1 would need to be ether a ground up or borrow a platform from ? and in EV form only if it`s ice powered it`ll have slow sale numbers due to rapidly outdating technology.
The ICE is NOT dying, synthetic fuel is here. We can keep our beautiful ICE vehicles
@@kylereese4822 EVs are impractical as a replacement to ICE. If they want to have environmentally friendly emissions then go LPG.
@@stuarthowarth2972I'm not sure why synthetic fuel makes any difference, it's like hydrogen which won't work either. Both too expensive and too energy intensive to make.
Swindon dormant Honda factory that has closed in the last few years, would be an ideal modern plant to use. Plus Swindon has the advantage of having a wealth of experienced automotive production workers, which are already trained by Honda to build quality reliable vehicles. I worked there in the final quality assurance department, and quality above all else was hammered as the prime philosophy of their workers..
That would be good to see. On a smaller scale no doubt is the aborted TVR facility at Ebbw Vale. No Circuit of Wales though
if Honda left, who would buy your all UK car... only fools would by a car made in the UK...
so its a for the UK only car, because since 2016 we know they are fools!
My Honda Jazz was built there, I felt good I was buying a British car and it’s been brilliant, I bought it in 2010 and I’ve still got it, it’s hardly cost anything apart from normal running costs and if I give it a quick clean, it still looks new.
Cool info my dear fellow 🤗👍
. You're right about that my dear 🤗👍
The SD1 Concept is Stunning testament to advanced design of the Original i would love to own one as my old long departed SD1 is sadly missed
but UK quality isnt up to the job... so its better gone before the fools screw it up even more!
Wow, that SD1 rendering is stunning!
Fabulous SD1 interpretation ❤ 10/10 ! Cheers from Brisbane
Larson Design did a fantastic job on that one.
That modern interpretation of the SD1 looks stunning!
Honestly when Rover was let go for a pound I was completely disgusted that the government didn't do anything about it. So sad !
They could’ve relaunched all the British car companies the money given to Ukraine
And we could have prevented World War 2 by dropping nuclear bombs on Germany in 1933. What a dimwitted comment.@@bitsbobs8613
I'm an ex Pat dual Australian British born overseas citizen and the British government where idiots letting Rover Group to German BMW , should of been a British based even half owner Honda group that Rover had a good run with Honda cars and still wanted to align work with Rover ..
ROVER tech and modern technology designs imput & Honda quality big reliability....
Before the 05 close down Rover had been importing the 75 to Australian dealers and was in process of importing for sale the Rover 25 seridd that would of sold well..
Just remember how classy compared to Australian & Japanese cars then the British Rover 75 was and still is when see the odd one on Australian roads...
In Melbourne & Sydney Brisbane you don't see rust in car bodies like in the UK due to lack of sea air bad salt and snow , so the bodies last well.
The Government had been "doing something about" BL, AR, Rover etc since 1975. After BAe tore up the deal with Honda, there was nowhere to go but down.
@@bitsbobs8613 Yes, and with the money they will continue to give they could probably refurbished all the hospitals in UK. And for what? Russia will not give up so in the end when the last idiot have understood that and the funding of Ukraine is over the war will be over and it will ALL be for absolutely nothing, except for thousands and thousands of dead soldiers and ruined buildings and infrastructure on either side.
These British brands (Rover, Austin and Triumph) are just too tainted to be resurrected and be a success. And I’m speaking as someone old enough to remember when these cars were everywhere and with a soft spot for old British brands. When they were ‘king’ there was no Korean car industry, no Chinese car industry, and not much of a German car industry - basically you’d got VW making the ‘people’s car’ and Mercedes-Benz making Rolls-Royce rivals and indestructible taxis. The BMW badge was on bubble cars. Everything has changed. There’s a different kind of customer who seeks kudos from the badge and the old BL brands wouldn’t cut it in a million years.
Australia here. I have owned quite a few old British cars over the years. I still have my 51 Landrover and a '82 SD2? Rover V8 auto. I like the SD as its one of very few British cars that are V8. I always wondered why they never made a coupe version of the SD. It would have been a beautiful looking car.
That new SD1 looks breathtaking,As much as I’d love to see Rover return with cutting edge products,sadly unless backers had more money than Elon musk and China it’s not gonna happen,I know it sounds total madness but even the Japanese car industry will be decimated over the next 10 years(Sad but true) cheers Tom.
I agree with you Alan, it’s sad though how companies backed by one of the largest economies in the world are allowed to compete with privately owned organisations.
@@tomdrivesindeed,that SD1 Concept looks so so good 👍
Buick solely exists because Chinese buyers associated with luxury, any British brand will sell well in that market... crazier things have happened
@@tomdrives many of those privately owner organizations are not only state-subsifized, but also wield power that rivals entire countries. and then there is stellantis and vw.
to clarify, i understand where you are coming from, but very few of these privately owner conglomerates deserve your pity.
Despite being American, you never need to tell me how great the British motoring industry was, but with the transition to power other than petrol (be it electric, hydrogren, etc) presents Britain with a once in a century opportunity to transition to the needs of personal transport of the future while still looking to the traditions of the past. I think that BL designs (particularly those of Harris Mann) were utterly brilliant and forward thinking. The old Top Gear gang enjoyed taking aim at those cars, but there perspective was always comedic cynicism rather than seriousness with a healthy dose of positivity. Very interesting, Tom.
being European, i can tell you the UK car industrie been a barley know thing in Europe...
we had Italian, French and German cars, much better build...much more numerous...
i saw only a few SD1s and Austins in my life....some Spitfires and Rovers.....but millions of Opel, Renaults and Fiats!
btw: Renault is a French car maker, Americans dont know that most times!
WELL I AGREE PEOPLE LIKE JEREMY CLARKSON FORGED A CAREER OUT OF SLAGGING OFF THE BRITISH CAR INDUSTRY.BRITISH CARS WERE NO BETTER OR WORSE THAN RENAULT FIAT CITROEN ETC.OK THE JAPANESE BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL BUT I REMEMBER THE DATSUN RUST BUCKETS.
My dad and brother had rovers SD1, was a dream to drive, sporty drove well
Still a car for today way ahead of it's time, the picture says it all just so so "cool" looking
A modern take of the SD1 would look amazing 👌
I always have mixed feelings about watching your videos. As good as you are. And your excellent, I worked for MG Rover for 16: year's from 1989 to the end April 2005. I still feel so angry and sad about what happened. We had such a jewel that just needed tlc to make it shine. I will never forget my feelings of pride every time I went into work on my shifts. It would be nice to see it returning some days. But I'm not sure it could ever be quite the same. Longbridge is built over by housing and shops now. They destroyed the heart and sole and history. One day I will sit down and write all my feelings down and memories. Keep up your work with your videos please and keep the memories alive.
This SD1 concept looks stunning. It shows just how good this car's original design was, that 50 years later, the body shape still looks well balanced and in advance of its time! When the car firt came out, it looked like nothing else on the road, and to be honest still looks modern today.
I had 2 Rover SD1, although I agree they were poorly finished, mine were extremely reliable, and I did more than 250K miles in the 2 of them albeit with tweaks and regular servicing required from time to time. The V8 esp SDI’s were gorgeous to drive, smooth, and relaxing. I have a BMW 5 series now, which in some ways is similar to drive, and a lot better made, but just doesn’t have the same character.
in the past i have owned austins, morris and triumphs (with a 4.2l jag motor fitted)
but the problem was that the brits just kept putting out the same model year after year with no improvements, meanwhile in japan they continuously improved year after year. they also didnt go on strike every 10 minutes and not give finishing touches any care whatsoever\. my father had a triumph 2.5 and they hadnt even put any varnish/polyurethane on the door wood.
the brits can make great cars but when they mass produced something by BL it was a disaster.
A testament to how great the design of SD1 ergonomics, allmost half a century on current cars instrument panel at exact same location, spread out in line of vision.
and cemented the UK build quality nobody wanted!
why getting a SD1 if a Alfasud been better build...lol
Hasn't Sir Jim Ratcliffe started a new wholly British-owned car company recently? It's called Grenadier. The cars are made in France at the old Smart factory, but it's still a British car maker. Perhaps a new factory will appear here next??? What you are saying has already just happened.
The SD1 was the most elegant car. Love to see it return as a hybrid but not electric
I agree I’d prefer hydrogen or hybrid
Agree😊
if its build with UK quality, it will never leave the factory on its 3 own wheels...!
But JLR is a British company alive and doing well, though the present owner is TATA Motors (Indian company).
Isn't the toyota plant in the UK Burnaston or Derbyshire for sale? Would that work as a factory?
I’m surprised triumph hasn’t been used as a sub brand on some bmw offshoot yet. Like they start making bodied sports cars like the z4 under the triumph brand or with a trim level of triumph to start off
I am too but I’m also glad it hasn’t been relegated to that.
because outside the UK, barley anyone know Triumph... and as it is British, its crap anyway!
@@Arltratlo maybe not the channel for u then?
They became unfasionable in the 1970s and never recovered. I'd use the MG name again but Triumph doesn't appeal.
Unfortunately Rover still has a bad rap but I'd love to see what you've been talking about that SD1 looks awesome.
It’s sad isn’t it? But Ford will live on with EcoBoom, Tesla will live on with autopilot failures and fires.
Yeah mate very
That render looks amazing! I’d like to see something like this make a comeback - closest we’ve got so far to a reborn SD1 is the Audi A7 - acknowledged by Audi themselves to be inspired by the SD1.
A while ago now i got a photo of the GWM ORA Funky Cat, and edited it to look like a modern take on the Morris Minor,
I created a whole range including 2 door, 4 door, convertible (and an attempt at a traveller although this wasnt so successful)
I like the idea of the three pronged attack, using Rover for the luxury models, Triumph the sporty ones and Austin as the “bread n butter”.
Each marque would share a fully modular platform (to keep costs down) and share powertrains for the same reason.
Rover models would include a modern SD1 as the “entry level” and maybe a new P5/P5B luxury crossover to appease those who like that kind of thing. These would be designed for refinement and comfort.
Triumph models would deffo include a “TR” hardcore 2 seater and maybe a 21st century Stag 4 seater grand tourer.
Austin models would include an 1100 style small hatch and Montego based family hatch/crossover.
All would use hybrid power with the architecture to include full EV and/or hydrogen power as the industries improves.
All would be built in a purpose new factory built in the Midlands (the spiritual home of all three brands).
Brilliant Dave, along the same lines as me but more expanded.
BMW own the rights to the Triumph name/marque. I think Austin and Morris are owned by SAIC.
Imagine if Rover came back, it’d be great but it feels so unlikely but not totally out of the question as the brand is still owned by JLR
Would the former Honda Swindon plant be a viable production option for your relaunched brand(s)?
Great SD1 concept. Really like the old SD1 and saw the cut away show car at a museum in Northern Ireland. The right car built by the wrong people. However even if a new version came to light, people would be intrigued but don’t it would translate to sales.
Always loved the SD1 and still one of my most favourite looking cars ever. This rendition looks amazing and i would want to buy one. Shows just how good the original was.
good looking, thats a word you can use for a normal car....
a SD1, you just dont drive it
because you cant!
The SD1 was a favourite of mine in the day, excellent concept
wow, your bar being very low...i thought in the day about a nice Porsche or Mercedes SL!
but i am not a Brit, so i dont want a crappy build car!
and did you know, Mercedes and Porsche are still there.
and who won the war again???
@@Arltratlo I was probably too young to overthink things that far - it is just a beautiful car with fantastic road presence.
@@mufflejoy because its been rare or just standing around the roads with open hoods??
SD1concept is beautiful ❤😊🥰
That SD1 concept is sublime and wonderful.
Imagine the SD1 coming as a rival to the model 3 and the Seal. I’d love that
I enjoyed your take in the video and that modernized SD1 looks awesome, personally though I wouldn’t bring any of these old Marques back as such: I’d rebrand them slightly.
Instead of Rover I’d re-launch the brand under the name Sterling and instead of Triumph more associated with motorbikes possibly leading to trademark issues I’d do what Citroen did with DS and make TR its own brand.
I wouldn’t bother with Austin; I think it sounds old fashioned and fusty, maybe bringing back Morris with a retro styled Minor would be cool though.
If the car in thumbnail was a new rover comeback release, I'd buy it. Come on Jaguar Landrover, pull your finger out and get it done.
It's a pity that BMW washed it's hands of Rover, I would like to note that it's rather strange that BMW threw it's toys out of the pram when VAG got it's hands on both Rolls Royce and Bentley Motors. When BMW got it's greedy hands on RR, it dumped The Rover Group, making up some rubbish about how slow Rover was in producing the final design of the 75. It's very odd that about the same time VAG owned both Skoda and SEAT (who made mostly poor versions of FIAT products) and turned both companies around. On another note we own a Rover 75 Classic, and it's quite telling how many German sourced parts a fitted to the car. The 1998 Rover 200 that we had before had quite a few British made items fitted to it, the design has aged very well compared to it's rivals, including the Honda Civic. All that BMW did was use Rover's 4WD and FWD knowledge in helping to produce X5 among others, the MINI and the 1 Series (this going to be sold to MG Rover if they could raise the funds). A footnote, my than girlfriend's (now wife) Mini City required a replacement plastic wheelarch trim from the local Rover dealer in 2002. They had to consult a third party catalogue to order to part. Why? BMW owned the copyright for the Mini brand. They also didn't sell the MGF in the USA because it just might of sold better than the Z3. BMW helped to kill off what was left of the British motor industry. MAN also did the same with ERF, and now we are driving around in German made cars and commercial vehicles. Well done to our wonderful British government, captains of industry and our wonderful striking workers in the 1960's - 1970's you have all done a grand job of killing off our manufacturing heritage. In the words of Old Mr Grace… 'You've all done very well!' then he fell over whilst waving his walking stick.
Love the look of that concept SD1. 👍
I enjoyed that thanks for another great video,how many cars do you have?
@@RalphRalefeta 5 at the moment
@@tomdrives great,we are in the same position I still need to do P6,P4,1981 BMW 518,1978 Jaguar XJ6 4.2 engine so very extremely slowly I will get there
The SD1 Rover concept looks amazing and would sell. I am with you about bringing back Triumph also but would equally love to see Riley back as a marque which I believe BMW own. It would be great to be able to buy a new one of them!
Excellent ideals Tom. The range could include a new Austin Seven Super Mini, a small and mid range SUV with Triumph and Rover offerings like the Mustang SUV, Triumph TR advanced sports convertible and Rover fast back and sedan models.
Land rover jaguar could bring back rover as an intre level luxury brand like GM's buick. Who would want a little saloon the size of a corolla or civic like looks like a jaguar or a little suv that looks like a defender.
Sitting on our laurels, poor management and unions destroyed our car building! The Japanese brands saw potential and have since built plants here, says something!
That blue SDI looks beautiful it would sell well😮 and hopefully be British❤❤
if its all British, who else would buy it??
Everyone who owns One 30 years ago 😊
Updated SD1 has distinctive style and looks fantastic. Distinctive style defines brands and creates desire, and that’s what sells products and *that’s* why every car manufacturer strives for it because it is the most difficult thing to achieve (the rest - engines, running gear, suspension, trim etc - is pretty mundane in comparison and could all be provided by any of the leading Asian car companies).
just imagine its build with the same UK quality from in the 70s....only a real British patriot would buy it and ditch it in the ocean after 2 weeks!
@@Arltratlo
Just imagine Mini - built in Britain by British workers. Global hit for BMW
@@jaywalker1233 the new Mini, the old one died with the UK car industry...
and BMW is German and who won the war again??
@@Arltratlo
Thanks for confirming you’re a troll
@@jaywalker1233 its funny, every time a Brit got beaten in an argument by a German, all is left for him/her to say is, but we won the war....!
but now you need to explain which one, because the Americans and Russians won them for you....!
Beautiful SD , just shows that the SD 1's lines were ahead of its time as they still look fresh and current! as a middle aged bloke now with disposable income I would love one of these!!!
Your SD1 concept looks just gorgeous! It shows how much this car's design was well balanced and in advance of its time! I liked Rover SD1, though it was unreliable and poorly finished... It was a realy elegant and sporty looking car !
How Land Rover has retained its top slot for all these decades, same management same workers! Soo popular in Australia and the Range Rover remains the gold standard of the world in its sector and beyond.
My Rover 214i year 1998 is our daily driver. Most reliable car we’ve had, now for 18 years and 150,000 miles later!
I grew up with BMC, then British Leyland and then Rover. In-between I owned MG's and Triumphs . I was very upset when I saw all of that go down the pan, but it would make an old man very happy to see any of these brands come back and be made in the UK. There are a lot of multi billionaires out there, some of whom might be interested in this idea should they hear about it, (specially the older ones who might have owned a BMC/Rover/Triumph or MG etc in their youth.) Anything is possible ..
Love the concept mate. Unfortunately the market Triumph operated in doesn't really exist in a commercially viable state anymore. Saloons are mostly redundant in plans of many manufacturers today (Mondeo - Dead, Volvo saloons - dead in UK, etc.), so the Rover luxury saloon market - though likely appealing on a small scale to a limited market - wouldn't be commercially scalable either. I think the Austin segment is the one that makes the most sense - small electric runabouts with a Fiat 500 retro vibe.
However, brand Rover as a luxury 4x4 marque with the Land Rover pedigree, and then you might be onto something.
The owners of the Land Rover name would not allow a 4x4 Rover.
I personally would like to see the UK start to design and build vehicles again with the profits staying in the UK. We used to build good cars back in time. We know we can do it as we are doing it now by building Japanese cars. Just need to get the right people and enough finance to get it off the ground.
Rover, Triumph, and Austin belong in a world that no longer exists, and the old Rover Group era customer base is now sadly gone. As a life long Rover fan, and proud owner of a 1981 Triumph Acclaim, I couldn't bear to see those once fine old British nameplates on the boot lid of an SUV, EV, or even a Hybrid. It would be sacrilege. They need to remain where they belong; in the past. We can never go back, no matter how much we may like to sometimes. We can only ever go forwards. Which is where we need to go.
Really interested in your idea, similar to what I suggested a couple of years ago on this site, an idea I was slammed for as being stupid. What I suggested was that as these brands were then part of a conglomerate, instead of each brand all having multiple models (ok two or three, possibly a fourth model), the brand to become the model, the conglomerate to be Named (GB Motors, UK Motors, whatever but that would be the Brand), then as you say we'd have the "GBM Rover" the executive saloon, Triumph, Sport and GT, and so on. As a rebirth it should not suffer from what caused the demise, left hand not knowing what right hand was doing and left leg walking in the opposite direction of the right, it would be a brand new company.
Love the sd1 concept a lot better looking than any Ev.Trx great idea ,and I think you could relaunch the meastro with a better drive train and body used grade because it's not that much different to a skoda Fabia or a polo great vid.Rover make back to the old days as a luxury mark.👍
That SD1 concept looks amazing! Sadly, however, I don't think we'll see anything happening which comes close to this. Jaguar is teetering closer and closer to closure, and nearly every other brand is either having difficulty competing with Chinese brands or having difficulty building EV platforms. I think the market is just too saturated at the moment, and we'll probably see more existing marques collapse, rather than new marques spring to life. SEAT is dead in 6 years, Jaguar won't make it to the 2040's if they keep on selling as badly as they currently do, Dodge and Chrysler will probably see significant downscaling or even their end... It's a bleak outlook for the old guard.
Just a random thought: I keep being amazed by the logo design of Austin (and your profile pic which I assume was derived from it). It's so sleek and modern, even though it's 50 years old at this point...
You've missed a critical point. Rover went belly up in the twenties in trying compete in the mass market. It's learning curve was that you had to have an order book that was paid for in advance-rather like Rolls. You cannot create mass quality, that's what killed SD1. Concept was great, simple but only 40K odd P5's were built between 58 and 67, before the 5B came in and that was never in Rover's Plan. They were only built because Jag had nothing new in production. The plans were to drop P4 which it did in 64 and P5 sometime67/68 and then concentrate of P6.
Jaguar really sucked the money up with the XJ6, the E type was largely history by then. In order to fund Jag, Government starved the other companies and they were run on a shoestring. Add that to the petty side of Government thinking- they never did like cars and the writing was on the wall. A new Rover wouldn't stand a chance today, not with the anti car lobby. Sad but true.
you can create mass-quality, but it would come at the cost of sacrificing some more luxurious features. actually, not even that, just engineering and building the cars right would do the job. that's how toyota became what it is today.
@@ravenouself4181 I would defy anyone to say that Rover weren't doing that prior to nationalisation. That was the killer.
Really good idea, but hugely expensive to get off the ground. As an ex automotive engineer I'm aware of the costs involved. Probably better to start small may be with the Triumph maybe with the name like Triumphant therefore no name buy back. Power trains out sourced to save money. Moulded bodies to save money also on panel presses. If retro if panel dies available could be outsourced. All ancillaries are available in the market place. Yes I know it sounds like a kit car but I believe start small on a sound project and build from it. BMW will put a hefty price tag on those marks they hold may be better to start a new. That's my pipe dream.
I love Rover, Triumph and Austin too, but.. sighs! Keep up the great work / video's ..please.
Probably could see a rover sd1 replacement made by Jaguar as a cheaper Jag, made partly with Jaguar bits. So that it didnt complete with Jaguar cars a lot of market research would have to be made, if they got it right it could very successfully. Something like that render, would be great, it would also have to appeal to different kinda of people than Jaguars, in fact it could be more successful than current Jaguar saloons.
They could call it a Mondeo..
I would love to see a concept like this SDI for the MG Maestro and Montego 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
you need a lot of help with your mental issues!
Maybe Jaguar's new move upmarket, aiming to be a rival to Bentley, leaves space in JLR's range for a Rover revival? A new Rover SD1 would be amazing! It would be great if the Makkina built Triumph TR25 concept shown last year convinces BMW that there is potential for a Triumph revival. I would love to see Austin revived, but sadly think the time might have passed. I remember back when NAC bought the rights to MG that there was talk of Austin being revived as the less sporty version of MG.
Leaving the EU and quiting the means of easily exporting UK made cars to the continent wasn’t a smart move.
Hi Tom, I like your overall plan, particularly the partition and product areas of the brands!
I think the Austin range would need to be LFP battery based, with a ground up EV architecture, particularly as by the time the cars came to market, the 2035 ban and fines for sales of ICE cars would sabotage long term prospects.
I have ideas for Triumph and Rover too and an SD1 for the modern era would be epic.
Hydrogen is a complete non starter though, the tech is at least 20 years away!
I think a plug in hybrid for the SD1 with electric motors for rear wheel (allowing a flat floor construction for easy conversion to full EV production in the future would be sensible.
Having a vehicle platform that has a degree of future proofing makes a lot of sense.
I envisage a starting system of 2 litre engine driving front wheels and a 30 to 40 kwh hour battery for rear charging from regen, the ICE engine and also home/public chargers.
Easy to convert to full EV and this will ultimately be essential after 2035.
These are my thoughts, I would be interested in your feedback.
I agree in part. The image of the blue Rover 5door looked sharp . The problem with the original big Rover 5 door, was it looked poor compared to the Rover P6. Apart from shabby build quality, it was offered in a dismal array of colours, the interior used cheap looking fabric. The instruments looked as if they had forgotten them and strapped a box onto the dashboard. In this day and age, nearly all cars come with leather inc the steering wheel. So any bid new Rover needs to be a sharp design, with quality interior, in flattering exterior colours, which was NOT the case with the SD1. The Triumph sports car. The same thing applies as to the SD1. It needs to look sharp, with good build quality and good design inside and out. The TR6 was a terrific car, The TR7 looked rubbish after the TR6. It looked bland and soft, with a rubbish power train. It got better with the V8 installed (TR8) which it should of had to start with. You cannot be selling a rugged fast sports car and replace it with a wimpy under powered strange looking car and expect it to be a sales hit. I appreciate that the sports car in this revival would have to be a Triumph as MG is already up and running under its new ownership and are making good cars. I saw a brand new MG HS,parked up in Alderley Edge, today. It was finished in metallic black with Beige / Tan full leather. Parked amongst the ranks of Range Rover and Cayennes it looked stunning and as good as cars that cost three times as much. So in a revamp for Rover, Triumph and Austin, their history from the moment they were taken over by Leyland the company just went down hill. Poor design, poor build, cheap materials, super new designs not followed through,as shown on your previous videos. They all looked what they were, half cocked designs produced for too long, badly built with cheap looking interior and a poor reliability record. The last proper Rover that could dare to be called Rover was the early P6s, before the started putting cheap plastic grills on. It was way ahead of its time. So I would look to enter the market just under the BMW/Audi/Merc. IE, the sector where Volvo has been so successful. The car should be of a similar size to the Volvo and should look,feel and drive like a quality product. The same is true of the TR 10. Definitely not a revamp of the TR7/8. As said, all BL cars of this era, looked what they were, horrid!! As far as revamping Austin , possible, but the competition is really tough in this sector and the style and quality looks good across the sector. The revamping of Austin, although a nice idea, would have to be a mass production plan to get anywhere near profit. Nice thought though
I’m afraid you’re right to suggest it’s possibly just a pipe dream. There’s absolutely no way that this country will re-build any lost industry for any type of consumer product - cars or anything else. We can never be competitive in such endeavours again. Our only success stories now are specialist very high tech. Industries linked to military, Aerospace, and Medical products, etc. these are potentially huge cash generators, but employ relatively few people in proportion to our total workforce size.
That looks so good man. Well done.
lov the concept SD1, i would buy one in a heartbeat.
I still believe the management "Phoenix Consortium" had a great deal to answer for and who were never brought to answer their feck ups. Sadly people in this country aren't interested in cars like this anymore Tom, it's all about the brand on the driveway, but even these brands aren't that well built and are expensive to repair.
How did the Phoenix 4 f*** up? they intended to steal the money from the outset. They stole the money. Job done.
For someone who claims little potential to develop a British car manufacturer, you’re starting with a sound proposition! I enjoyed your thoughts as someone who abandoned the retail motor industry - including a stint with MG Rover - sixteen years ago when the industry started on a suicidal ideology.
To bring back a volume car producer would take a huge investment and sadly no government has ever had the guts to invest properly in British engineering, I could go on about this at length but I won't here. However, you did mention manufacturers like Noble, McLaren and Morgan, these are all specialist low-volume producers of highly sought-after vehicles that have made a name for themselves by offering what other manufacturers cannot, that is performance, class, style and character by excellent design. I am not sure how easy it would be to get Ford to part company with these brand names but let's imagine all the hurdles were put aside, then I believe Triumph could build a low-volume high-priced hand-built TR sports car and a sports saloon with tuned 6-cylinder petrol engines as they used to with a very limited edition high-performance saloon in the lineup. Whilst Rover went after the hand-built high luxury saloon market with a V8 offering every single extra it could possibly fit in the vehicle bespoke one-offs would be the key to raising the profile of the brand. Because all the general public wants to buy now are SUVs, Austin could design and build high-quality hand-built SUVs to rival and exceed all the other high-quality SUVs on the market. Being hand-built is the key here (and USP) all these brands were once hand-built and even offered different bodies by different coachbuilders. Look forward by looking back.
That is an epic SD1 concept design. ❤ it.
You did not mention the available Honda plant at Swindon which has only recently been vacated...better than starting from scratch !
You get the sd1 in production with new modern petrol engine, say the 245bhp audi q5 engine, or vw golf as I believe it originates and I will buy it ! Great take on the classic.
I, too, am just a car loving dude, who desperately wanted to work for BL when I was a young man. Independent brands are not an option, as the marketing would be too expensive. A BMW model would work. Quality and marque identity would be paramount. We would need to start at high value added premium car, and broaden out when finances and reputation permitted. Small niche, and scalable. There will be an opportunity, when Jag moves upmarket, and abandons the £40 to £80k. It would get one chance, and one only to get it right. Memories are long, and the critical knives would be primed. Perhaps are great design could be sorted, and manufacturing contracted out, in the first instance. Then, grow in volume, until such time medium volume manufacturing would be viable. Small cars are out. Their manufacture is abandoned to China, and Vietnam. Cooperation with the likes of like minded marques, like Ines, and McLaren, as opportunities arose. BMW can straddle classes, but only because of their coherent designs, and perceived premium quality. The GOODWILL is there, but as a country, we have a poor record of large scale, and long term investments.
A brilliant comment Raymond, thank you.
Just loving your channel. Same interests exactly, just a generation apart. I had to watch it die, in real time. I live near to the Nissan plant, and can see how it is meant to be done.
I think going along the lines of the Dacia car company. Buying a proven model out of product, restyling it for Austin brand and selling it for a low price. Given people's declining living standards, what's needed is good paying factory jobs and cheap reliable transport for the average man. Given a good product the government would have to buy lots of them to support the British car industry. Relaunching higher end brands would require too much capital and talented people for R&D of such a product with higher expectations.
P.S. China's EV companies are streets ahead because of the Chinese government slashing taxes and investments in R&D. No accident.
@TomDrives
Nice one man , totally agree with you !!!!
A hot new allegro !!! A bigger metro !! ???
You made some excellent points. The main issues with that leviathan aka BLMC were Unions 50% Government 30% Appalling Management 15% Low Morale - Workforce 5%. Having said that BLMC were not the only British motor manufacture to suffer in much the same way e.g Rootes etc.
We saw similar disasters for Britain in the decimation of what was once the worlds largest Ship Building country.
Nissan had a first class idea when they insisted on, basically, one union. This has seemed to work pretty well - so far.
In my opinion this has gone past the point of no return with more and foreign cars flooding our market especially with starting to enter from a country that could be described as one of our potential enemies - China.
What about ADO 16? The A35 is a bit too retro? The Minor would perhaps be the most iconic car, after the mini. A Hatchback Modern Minor on a shared platform with the TRX and stretched under the new SD1?
Interesting… I would relaunch the Rootes Group… Hillman to do battle with VW and other continental and Asian manufacturers. Singer for mid-range of cars and retro sports cars (built by Morgan but using aluminium instead of an ash frame. Humber to take on the high German brands. Sunbeam to become a rival to all of the supercar brands. Both Commer and Karrier would be light vans to mid-range truck and bus specialist. Armstrong Siddley as a rival to Rolls Royce/Bentley and AEC for busses and trucks and Scammell for heavy commercial vehicles. They would all be powered by a series of British designed and built running gear and run on LPG, hybrid and later hydrogen. I can only dream
This is brilliant. Very well done. M.
I think if they had done what they tried in 1988/9 when they dropped all the marques and tried to concentrate on Rover as the brand name, 20 years earlier when BL was formed it might have helped the company trim the range down, build better quality products, not have brands internally competing with other products and taking sales, more profit...
It was daft in the 70's going into a BL dealer and having so many competing vehicles sat there with different badges
The way I would start these marques back up would be as small volume hand built units with a steel space frame chassis and a non steel body. Either composite or alloy panels! Fully independent (air-ride) suspension, lightweight alloy engines and gearboxes giving an overall weight of less than a ton fully fueled! Certainly for the smaller models and the sports vehicles!
Every model to be an updated version of the original models in their styling, with 3, 4, 5, door versions of the family cars, and possibly a proper estate car included in the lineup!
Just another thing I'd like to add: I think there's a lot of potential for a very basic, cheap car. Like, as basic as it gets. Austin 7 level basic. Just the bare necessities, an electric drivetrain with a diesel/petrol range extender, and cheap to maintain.
I live every day believing they will all one day make a return. Lots of hope and dreams. The one up side of electric cars means retro is making a comeback
Watched from Old Harbour Jamaica. In the 1960 British cars dominated the Jamaican market and we use to swear by them.
What’s the most popular brand now over there?
@@tomdrives Japanese 🚗 Toyota mainly. The only new English brand I see in some number is Jaguar.
I think that British Leyland failed for just one reason. Merging car companies is a bit like a marriage: two is enough!
Why anyone marries once is a mystery, why anyone marries twice is a bigger-mystery 😂 I`ll get my coat ....
@@marcushull12 I'm widowed now but we got married because we loved each other.
Late father in law bought a brand new SD1 in 1981 it was rubbish fitted with no rear shock absorbers then the drivers door card fell off ripping out all the wiring within 6 months it had gone back to Bristol Street motors, he bought an Audi, that’s it
The decay was after WWII. The initial production was only models approved by government who did however alter the taxation of cars post war. The only luxury cars initially were those that had much aluminium in them as this was not on ration but it limited the production to about 1000 as that was the life of the style of presses. The workforce returned from war and found significant wage rates because they has struck for improvements whilst others were fighting. They wanted the same and housing and pensions and NHS. There were sick lists and grandmother ill lists and foremen to square. The management was severe and the workers were severe and nothing improved. The badge engineering was because many small firms could not survive pre or post war market conditions. Then the politicians had a go on the big is bright mentality but how can you expect thousands of engineers engaged in diverse projects to throw their own ideas away and work happily on someone else’s? Leyland built lorries to high standards and the motor industry was a world apart.
So we come to today. What are we going to use. Tata are about to close the only viable steel plant. So we will pay inflated price for any steel not made from washing machines or tin cans. You cannot found an industry on that. We need steel, a lot more consistent power, oil, machine shops and tool rooms, press manufacturers, machine tool manufacturers massive supply chain and people who pay their bills on time throw out industry. People forget this but I spent some years ordering factory spares knowing the supplier would not be paid after a month but after 90 days if he shouted loud enough. In spite of the the factory went to China where it eventually failed. My comment at the meeting of management and works representatives was if management could not control what was going on a hundred yards away how did they propose to control it 8 thousand miles away in a country who’s language they could not speak. I went out twice and it was clear it was going to be a disaster.
You refer to restoration of past names. Forget it their time and history has past. Never go back! You are stuck with the history of the failing of those names. Invent new one; call your three prongs after counties or something. Do not labour to reproduce an old design even in part as they are stuck with the hazards of the day. Changeable battery packs so you buy two and have one charging and the other in use. Reduce weight so standard brakes and tyres can cope and of course extend range. The industry might have to finance a national charging structure. Who knows. History not as before but heading for a new horizon!
Love the SD1 design! If only it could be put into production!
Id love to bring reliant back. With its fibreglass on rolling chassis past, a modern ev skate with a carbon fibre body would be a good update
Roger 75 as a cabriolet say in that azure blue or navy metallic would have been a killer … except that I had a saloon and the mpg was horrendous!
The Rover name is owned by a foreign company now just as SAIC of China owns MG and the same applies to other British marques.
It would take another 'industrial revolution' to relaunch a British industry with new names just as the US is doing with Tesla and Rivian.
We need to have more battery producing giga factories to begin with and then the industry would build around that infrastructure.
it would take a miracle to bring back the british car industry. A completely new type of engine. Something like a hydrogen car for instance.
Make it one brand call it Anglo. Then name the different types after old British car companies.
The luxury model - Jensen.
The regular euro-box - Rover.
The small citycar - Mascot.
The small affordable sportscar - Triumph.
The awesome mid-engined, rwd, manual supercar - TVR.
The executive in the '70s was out of touch. They didn't note the demise of motorcycles. (When Panasonic opened a factory in Sth Wales. There was one restaurant. Not one for the exec, one for mgt and one for the workforce.)
I don’t know why JLR don’t import Tata cars as a sub brand into right hand drive markets such as the UK and Australia as they make some interesting cars these days. Maybe they could revive the Austin name as an entry level sub brand
I can't see Austin ever coming back (Mini sort of covers the best bits of Austin/Morris heritage), and as Triumph is owned by BMW any new small sports car would end up with BMW or Mini badges. With Jaguar being relaunched as a £100,000+ car maker with a limited 3 car range, I don't think it's impossible that Rover could be relaunched if the car market was to move away from SUVs. In that scenario there would likely be capacity at existing JLR factories as the Range Rover, Defender and Discovery model ranges would have to be slimmed down, or the Castle Bromwich plant could be brought back into action if not too far into the future. I would relaunch the brand around the type of products Rover were developing in the 60s and early 70s when the Range Rover was conceived. Why not a Rover sports car like the P6BS/P9, and a modern luxury saloon with clean detailing like the P8 was destined to be. That SD1 concept looks amazing too. I suspect they would end up being EVs though unless the JLR Hercules Fuel Cell experiments have a break through
Think I would want a modern take on Morris rather than Austin. A modern take on a Minor could be awesome. Traveller SUV?
Instead of investing in Man Utd football club, Jim Radcliffe could have made this dream a reality! I would like to know what happened to all of the other smaller British brands, such as Morris, Riley, Hillman.