Rover Cars, the once proud British marque, is no more. Stunningly, I have not seen this story mentioned in the newspapers I read (the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal). Or, if the story has been mentioned, it was mentioned in passing and, to borrow from EB White, Rover passed despite the mention.

Some highlights: Rover announced about a week ago that it would no longer honour (spelled with a "u" out of respect) its warranties. That's right. You had a Rover and, bam, no more power train coverage, or any coverage. That sent the British press into a tizzy.

Then, this week, we learn that after all the land had been sold out from under the factories in a desperate attempt to raise money, the company is bankrupt.

Just so you know, that means 21,000 people are out of work now in England. Twenty One Thousand. That's a lot of people, any way you write it.

And with Rover, some say, goes the heart of British industrial manufacturing capability.

Finally, with the passing of Rover, we say good bye to some of the most famous British car names:

Austin-Healey

Triumph

and of course, MG

Silly, isn't it, but I'm kind of sad.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:18 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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