Rover Sails Off Into the Sunset BMW has finally given up on
Rover, after years of red ink and opposition to British subsidies from
the EU. Both unions and the British government were rightly concerned over
Rovers fate when rumours of the sale were first confirmed, but the truth
is Rover's demise in recent years has been as much due to BMW's neglect
as to past history and high costs in Britain. In six years, when all of
Rover's models needed to be replaced, when the company desperately needed
new, more profitable models, only one significant model was introduced,
the 75. In that same time period almost every BMW model has been replaced
and new models introduced. The new Mini (being kept by BMW) has yet to
materialise, and other replacements, planned from the beginning, are still
nothing more than codes. Even the profitable Range Rover/Land Rover line
has only recieved minor updates since being acquired by BMW, as competitors
(and BMW) introduce more luxurious and refined models. Bernd Pischetsrieder,
BMW's former chief, was probably naive about the viability of reviving
some of Rover's more gloried marques, but the opposition within BMW to
diverting the required funds for development certainly doomed Rover in
the end and added to BMW's pain.
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