[dragin]

Just seems to me that it would be cheaper and a better, quicker deal to go ahead and use that plant that is already built then build a brand new one in a small town way down south.

rtz you make a lot of sense since this project is indeed a long shot for NAC. Case in point, Honda took the old failed Peugeot-Guanzhou Auto plant down in Guangzhou, and got it up and running successfully in a short time. Finding the right location for a greenfield plant and getting it going is an awesome task for a fledgling like NAC.

 

[akirachan]

none.

 

[MGBMAN72]

US built MGs on-track despite CEO bailing

I just read this on Motor Authority.com:

US built MGs on-track despite CEO bailing
Monday 12 March 2007


Oklahoma Global Motors, the American side of a joint-venture determined to manufacture MG cars in the US, will continue with its plans despite the resignation of its CEO. Automotive News reports that Duke Hale has quit from his post as CEO along with two other top managers, but key investor Marc Nuttle is confident that the project will go ahead as scheduled.

Oklahoma Global Motors has partnered with China’s Nanjing Auto to build the MG TF sports coupe using car bodies sourced from the UK with drivetrains manufactured in the US by Nanjing. Nuttle expects the final licensing agreements to be signed by the end of the month.

It’s thought the reasons for the management departure centers around the downsizing of the company’s original plans. Hale wanted MG to sell up to 100,000 units by the end of the decade, but the costs involved in meeting emissions and safety standards for the required additional models would have outweighed the benefits.

The partnership will instead produce only 20,000 cars in the US and another 20,000 in the UK over the next two to three years and expects to launch the brand in the US midway through next year. If successful, Nuttle expects to see the introduction of “three or four models and a hybrid car and 50 dealers at launch.”

 

[MGBMAN72]

I am glad that Hale is no longer in charge. I thought he was quite insensitive when he talked of the "Legacy Costs" that they were getting out of. As for production target changing from 100,000 to 20,000, I think it will be a wise move. They should be able to control quality of 20,000 a year easier than 100,000 as well as maintaining a bit of exclusivity that could help resale value. Only time will tell...

 

[ash]

I am glad that Hale is no longer in charge. I thought he was quite insensitive when he talked of the "Legacy Costs" that they were getting out of. As for production target changing from 100,000 to 20,000, I think it will be a wise move. They should be able to control quality of 20,000 a year easier than 100,000 as well as maintaining a bit of exclusivity that could help resale value. Only time will tell...

welcome to CCF MGBMAN

 

[BringIt]

I can't wait for this car - I've been waiting for a weekend car since I sold my 944 Turbo and Miata...

 

[MGBMAN72]

MG project wants 40 U.S. dealers

MG Plans 40 U.S. Dealers, No Matter Where The Cars Are Built
Automotive News April 2nd, 2007 2:33 PM

Color us a little confused. Recent scuttlebutt out of MG, the British marque recently purchased by China’s Nanjing, is that the company’s planned facility in Ardmore, Oklahoma, has been ashcanned, something confirmed by an MG official recently on NPR. Why, then, is the company’s joint-venture partner in the States, Oklahoma Global Motors, telling Automotive News China that they’re still on the case? Perhaps the plans aren’t quite so dead after all.

In any case, regardless of where the cars are assembled, the plan is to have MG TFs hitting Stateside streets sometime next year, and the group expects to have a prototype coupe together by the end of 2007.

To that end, OGM is seeking to establish as many as 40 dealers in the U.S. right out of the box. Would-be dealers looking to apply for a franchise will likely be communicating with John English, the firm’s president (and former Lotus bigwig).

From Winding road.com

 

[Windy]

Thanks for posting all the USA news MGBMAN

They will get there in the end, somehow!

 

[Mega]

Trouble is a an OLD car, if sold cheap than may be ok. But there is very little room inside. Its for me and i an 12.8 stone and 5 foot 7". You think you can find a Yank who will fit?
Mega

 

[Seamaster]

I'm 6'4", 200lb, and fit in one just fine. Another thing the TF has always had over the MX5 and MR2. And that's before NAC-MG stretch it, as per the discovered prototype at Longbridge.

 

[Windy]

Trouble is a an OLD car

Mega

No Mega - The USA version will be a NEW car:

The machinery is up and running. MG Rover officially is back in production with new models for the first time since 1998, but with a “Made in China” sticker on the new sheetmetal.

The first cars off the new $362-million line in China are the MG TF two-seat convertible sports car (a modern copy of the popular original), and the MG7 series (a sedan based on the Rover 75 and MG ZT) in regular- and long-wheelbase form—all for the Chinese market.

The engines are Euro4 compliant in preparation for the European rollout later this year.

The Longbridge plant is gearing up to start assembly of right-hand-drive versions of the TF for the U.K. Tentatively Job One will be the end of May for sale in late August or early September.

At this point, Longbridge plans to build the TF convertible only, cranking out about 1500 of the mid-engine cars this year and 8000 or more in 2008, its first full year of production. Next year the car will find its way into other key European markets.

The U.K. plant does have the capability to add the MG7. Officially, it is not part of the immediate product plan, but cautious optimism pencils it in.
Additionally, the TF will undergo a change in about 18 months, at which point the addition of a coupe could be considered.

For those left panting in the U.S., the future is less clear.

The way things are shaping up, North America will be the last continent to get its hands on the Miata-like roadster.

How long we must wait is being determined in 11th-hour negotiations that continue between NAC and Oklahoma Global Motors (OGM), the company that wants to build a plant in Ardmore, OK.

Last summer, NAC created a stir with promises to build a plant in Ardmore and return the MG to the U.S. for the first time since 1980. Plans were to start with about 550 people building the TF coupe, slated to grace showrooms in 2008.

A new company was created—MG Motors North America Inc., based in Oklahoma—to oversee sales, marketing and distribution of the models.
But, legally, all that is in place is a letter of intent—a final deal has not been signed as the two sides haggle over details of the license agreement and production rights.

OGM is taking a buyer-beware stance, exercising prudence in ensuring the assets NAC bought from Rover Group are free from prior claims and other potentially messy issues that can arise in the wake of bankruptcy, explained Wes Stucky, president of the Ardmore Development Authority, who is anxious to see the project proceed.

Stucky said the mid-April deadline appears pretty firm—at which point the plant will be a go or dead in the water. He is hopeful the final details are being ironed out successfully.

The original plan was to start production at the new Oklahoma plant in early 2008, and have cars in showrooms that summer.
Stucky said that is an aggressive timeline, but “potentially doable.”

Should things fall apart, and a decision is made to source the TF for the U.S. from the U.K. (talk about alphabet soup), officials say it would take at least a year to homologate the car.

The good news: everyone recognizes the importance of the North American market, and where there’s a will, and money to be made, expect a way.

http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/12773/future-of-mg-in-the-us.html

 

[MartinW]

So the real problem with federalising a car for US sale is time? And one can short-cut that by building it in the US?

 

[BigFatGuy]

I really hope this works out. I'm hoping to get hired by MG when I graduate.
I'd love to buy a TF coupe too.

 

[Windy]

I really hope this works out. I'm hoping to get hired by MG when I graduate.
I'd love to buy a TF coupe too.

Welcome BigFatGuy,

Its always good to have someone local to post the local news and take some photos of the progress , I hope you will be visiting here regularly...

How long til you graduate?

 

[BigFatGuy]

Thanks Windy.
And just to clear things up, no I'm not a fat guy. I just think the handle is funny.
2 years until I graduate. Might be too late to get in on the ground floor, but I'm sure they'll continually need new people......

Yeah, as stuff gets built and progresses I'll try and get some pics and the local perspective.

 

[rinlv]

MG Dealerships in US ?

does anyone have point of contact to get on the list for becoming a MG dealer in the US??? TIA

actual phone number would be nice..

 

[Windy]

Its a little old but you could try some of the numbers listed here: http://www.okcchamber.com/page.asp?atomid=1614

 

[m14]

MG NAnjing hasnt released any PR lately of their OKLAHOMA plant

 

[rinlv]

Thanks

 

[mgrovernut]

I think the planned launch for MG in the USA is late 2008.