[MartinW]

Great news, Windy! But Austin was always a "Bread & Butter" brand here, although it did sell ok in the US, but most remember the Austin-Healey sports car. One model that most older Americans will remember is the Austin America based on the ADO16 1100/1300 range in the 1960s, and perhaps the Austin Marina in the 70s.

 

[Windy]

Great news, Windy! But Austin was always a "Bread & Butter" brand here

I think Zhang Xin is saying that when they start producing "Bread & Butter" cars then they will revive Austin, at the moment they are reviving the MG TF, MG ZT and Rover 75 - they are not "Bread & Butter" cars and will be MGs.

(I've corrected the link if anyone who can read Chinese properly would like to comment)

 

[Hudson]

Actually, in the US the answer is surprisingly quite precise down to the model year and engine capacity or maybe most American males I have spoken to are just plain enthusiasts!

You got lucky. MOST Americans treat the automobile like the appliance that it is. There are a large number car enthusiasts who will tell you amazing details on their vehicles of choice...but "large number" pales in comparison to the 200 million drivers in the US today. And precious few Americans understand their automotive history, though.

A Land Rover is NOT a "Rover"...it is a "Land Rover."

 

[MartinW]

Windy
Sorry, didn't mean to sound demeaning by using the term Bread & Butter, should have said less exciting brand, but you're right, it does make sense to use it on the mainstream models. Many people felt that the Rover brand was diluted when cars previously badged as Austin were then badged as Rover. however, Austin and Morris were two of the main rivals at one time with the Mini originaly being launched as both Austin and Morris to cater for the brand loyalty amongst buyers. And of course, the Austin 7 is to Britain what the Ford Model T was in the US, and the 7 got BMW on its feet way back in the 1930s. So much heritage to play on. By the way I am a fan of the Austin having owned this rare Austin, www.austinapache.co.uk

Hudson, I think that comment applies to most countries - for many the only real concern is that it starts in the morning! Here in the UK it seemed that deliberately or otherwise, most called the MG saloons Rovers! It was not uncommon to see the media refer to them as Rover, and many used the term, rebadged Rover, which of course it was, but the rebadging went deeper than many realised or gave the MGs credit for.

 

[Windy]

Windy
Sorry, didn't mean to sound demeaning by using the term Bread & Butter, should have said less exciting brand,

Actually I understood that and I think its a good description of Austins past, although with this being an international site maybe others didn't.

Not sure Nanjing think of it quite that way though, in an interview published today and while opening their new engine factory in Nanjing, MG Project Director Zhang Xin has given us some more info on the future of Austin:

http://auto.sina.com.cn/news/2006-09-26/1347218476.shtml

Zhang Xin :

It mainly depends on the marketing plan, as we now have 20 brands.

Will be conducted in accordance with the strategy of marketing and promoting product planning.

Austin, because it has connotations of the brand, and the MG brand is not the same connotation, which used to reflect the aspirations of the middle and vector handling, we will be a classic cars, and Austin linked to the above brands, the response to defy history, we have done a very exaggerated Concept Cars That the revival of the Austin, into a space vehicle, these are marketing people need to do."

Zhang Xin, general manager of Nanjing MG

 

[Hudson]

Here in the UK it seemed that deliberately or otherwise, most called the MG saloons Rovers! It was not uncommon to see the media refer to them as Rover, and many used the term, rebadged Rover, which of course it was, but the rebadging went deeper than many realised or gave the MGs credit for.

In this case, that seems to be more correct. Since Ford has never produced a "Rover" Land Rover, there's no reason to call the vehicles "Rover" (aside from the "lazy American" attitude).

As for MGs being called Rovers....MG Rover couldn't be too upset about that. MG Rover didn't own the Rover name and needed to move the whole brand to a more stable nameplate...one they owned. Equating the MG vehicles and the Rover vehicles shouldn't have been a problem.

In the US, however, nobody knows what Rover is. Yes, we had the old Rover 2000/3500 and the later SD1 3500 (the Sterling doesn't count since it wasn't sold as a Rover in the US), but nobody remembers them except for British car enthusiasts. MG, however, holds many memories and should have great brand recognition if Nanjing were to ever launch the brand in the US.

 

[matchbox-dave]

I heard - I think it was on BBC's "Top Gear" - that TVR would like to buy the MG brand. Any news on that?

And by the way: the Rover 75 was a nice car, well constructed by BMW. But even at its time it was hardly competitable with "real" BMWs like the E46 3-series, and even non-premium cars like the VW Passat scoort much higher in all quality related issues. And if SAIC plans to put this back into production in 2009 or later this car will be hopelessly overaged. Who wants to buy that?

David

 

[Hudson]

I heard - I think it was on BBC's "Top Gear" - that TVR would like to buy the MG brand. Any news on that?

There was talk of that, but I believe that's old news. Nanjing, apparently, has the rights to the MG name.