I guess it's better than being bought out by Walmart.
Idk, hopefully they don't eff Aston Martin up.
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I guess it's better than being bought out by Walmart.
Idk, hopefully they don't eff Aston Martin up.
[quote=my porsche]Yuck, LV is so tacky. I hope they only own it and let AM run itself.[/quote]
LV isn't tacky, just the tacky bags with LV stamped all over, the one's people get to show they have a LV...
The British car industry is dying,
Bentley/Rolls Royce was shipped off to the Germans,
MG was sold to the Chinese
TVR...that's basically dead, it's about to move to Russia.
Let's hope Aston Martin stays in the UK.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]The British car industry is dying,
Bentley/Rolls Royce was shipped off to the Germans,
MG was sold to the Chinese
TVR...that's basically dead, it's about to move to Russia.
Let's hope Aston Martin stays in the UK.[/QUOTE]
At least they got Lotus and Noble :rolleyes:
Aston Martin will stay in Britain unless they want to run the brand into the ground.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]The British car industry is dying, [/QUOTE]
You think so?
[QUOTE=kingofthering]Bentley/Rolls Royce was shipped off to the Germans[/QUOTE]
Bentleys are built in Crewe.
Rolls Royce are built in Goodwood.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]MG was sold to the Chinese[/QUOTE]
Who have just announced they will be resuming assembly of the TF (why?) at Longbridge immanently.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]TVR...that's basically dead, it's about to move to Russia.[/QUOTE]
Reportedly the bodies will be built at Noble's South African facility, the engines will be supplied by Ricardo, in Britain, and the cars will be assembled by Bertone in Russ... err Italy.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]Let's hope Aston Martin stays in the UK.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I'm sure they'll announce their plan to move out of their hugely expensive, only-just-finished, high-tech flagship HQ at Gaydon, and into Louis Vitton's Parisian handbag factory on Monday.
There are still companies like Lotus, Caterham, Noble, Marcos, Morgan I suppose, it isn't much, but they are some of the most respected names in their fields.
Oh, one shouldn't forget the Japanese plants - amongst the most productive and efficient in the world - Honda at Swindon, Nissan at Sunderland, Toyota at Burnaston and Deeside.
And of course BMW build their engines in the UK, and the MINI too.
Jaguar and Land Rover are here in the Midlands, and Ford also builds Transit vans in Southampton, as well as two sites building engines.
GM also has a presence in Vauxhall.
On the commercial front LDV are producing vans in Birmingham, and Coventry itself is home to LTI - builders of the world famous London taxis.
Would you like me to remind you that the overwhelming majority of F1 teams are based in the UK, as well as companies like Prodrive, Lola and many other leading names from international motorsport?
So, what is it 1.5 million cars per year or something of that order, excluding commercial vehicles?
Yes, truly dying.
Lets see.... Toyota = Japanese
BMW = German
Land Rover, Jaguar, Ford= semi-American
Rolls/Bentley= owned by the Germans
Mini? Division of BMW
My point is that they aren't run in the UK or were UK based companies.
[QUOTE=kingofthering]Lets see.... Toyota = Japanese
BMW = German
Land Rover, Jaguar, Ford= semi-American
Rolls/Bentley= owned by the Germans
Mini? Division of BMW
My point is that they aren't run in the UK or were UK based companies.[/QUOTE]
Heres a word for you, globalization. Look it up.
Just because a company started in a country doesn't mean everything is made there...
[QUOTE=kingofthering]My point is that they aren't run in the UK or were UK based companies.[/QUOTE]
Apart from the ones that are.
Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Aston are all British companies, that are run and based in the UK.
If I buy your house and pay your bills and maybe give you a fancy new TV, but you still get to live in it as normal, are you British?
Sort of, my parents were born in a UK colony.
I've had a hard-ass week, I'm not thinking straight. Sorry if I sound stoopid. Blame America.
[QUOTE=The_Canuck]Heres a word for you, globalization. Look it up.
Just because a company started in a country doesn't mean everything is made there...[/QUOTE]
Exactly. And having a British company run by Brits doesn't mean everything would be made in the UK. For example, Renault is a French company run by French people and headquartered in Paris, and yet a larde part of their production is made in foreign countries (such as the Modus in Spain, Megane/Clio in Russia, Clio in Mexico, Bresil, Argentina, etc...).
[QUOTE]Originally Posted by [b]Coventrysucks[/b]
Yes, I'm sure they'll announce their plan to move out of their hugely expensive, only-just-finished, high-tech flagship HQ at Gaydon, and into Louis Vitton's Parisian handbag factory on Monday.[/QUOTE]
Cov, you are the master of sarcasm. :D I'm impressed.
British car industry is still thriving under the call of globalization? Get it right, they were deliberately left to operate in UK merely bacause the owners can still charge a premium on the "Country of Origin". NOTHING MORE.
British car industry is merely a puppet stage play.
Look at the Japs,now that's globalization.
[QUOTE=Ingolstadt]British car industry is merely a puppet stage play.[/QUOTE]
I don't understand why people have this attitude of attacking/ demeaning the UK car industry for no apparent reason.
It isn't the best in the world, but it is home to some of the most well known and respected brands in the business, some of the most well known and respected engineering and design consultancies in the business, and has some of the most advanced and productive manufacturing facilities in the business.
All people want to do, however, is ignore the positives (and the facts) and go on some rant (see above) about how it is "dead" and all British cars are "rubbish" etc, etc, etc.
[QUOTE=Ingolstadt]they were deliberately left to operate in UK merely bacause the owners can still charge a premium on the "Country of Origin".[/QUOTE]
What utter nonsense!
ALL cars are charged at a premium in the UK; whether they are build here or abroad makes no difference.
The strength of the pound is the main cause of problems for the UK, as it costs manufacturers much more to operate a factory in the UK than anywhere else - see Peugeot closing Ryton in favour of a cheap Eastern European facility.
That is not the fault of the industry, and the fact that despite the additional costs manufacturers are keeping their UK factories, investing heavily and indeed in some cases even opening new ones, proves that the UK is obviously offering some value that cannot be found elsewhere.
Do you have a good reason for being so negative and spiteful, or are you just surfing the wave of populist anti-Britishness? :confused:
Reply to CoventryS:
Contrary to what you've replied, i actually like British cars and Brisitsh Stuff, but i somehow could see the stubborn-ness and the overtly reliance on 'heritage' that strangles British car industry.
Would you buy a Rolls Royce made in Germany? I wouldn't. Crewe? I'd pay twice for that. Whatever technological marvels Germans tuck into their cars, they just couldn't charge it more expensive than a simple leather clad couch made in Britain; that's the reason they want the manufacturing lines, design house to stay in UK, to claim it's from UK. Skilled worksmanship? That's just a marketing tool.
Admit it, I too love British marques, but they just suck at economies of scale, business expansion etc. British car industries lack the flexibility and dynamism to catch up with the bandwagon of globalisation.
Rolls Royce
Bentley
Jaguar
Aston Martin
MG Rover
Lotus
TVR
These are prime examples.
[QUOTE=Ingolstadt]These are prime examples.[/QUOTE]
One of my English teachers a few years back told us never to use 'prime example', because it sounds stupid and isn't necessarily correct.
Sorry, just had to get that out of my head.