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Thread: Bertone in trouble?

  1. #16
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    Copied/pasted from: http://news.windingroad.com/earnings...entrepreneurs/
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    TVR Changes Hands Yet Again, This Time To Florida Entrepreneurs
    Filed Under: Earnings/Financials, Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Trends, Convertibles, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Super Cars, Automotive News, TVR February 28th, 2007 5:07 PM


    This is all getting a bit absurd. If you’re just catching up with us, embattled British supercar manufacturer TVR appears to be getting passed around like the clap.

    In our last episode, the Blackpool-based concern was purchased out of receivership by Russian plutocrat Nikolai Smolenski—the very man who owned the company before it fell into administration at the hands of PFK Partners. It’s been one week since that time. Now, it turns out, Smolenski has quietly pawned off the marque on a pair of Florida-based businessmen, Adam Burdette and Jean Michel Santacreu.

    As the story goes, TVR’s new owners believe that the company can sell about 5000 units per year, and it says they already have 2000 cars ordered by U.S.-based dealers (yes, this sounds fishy to us, too). Further, Burdette and Santacreu apparently only see a trickle of TVRs heading back to Blighty… perhaps 250-500 cars.

    So who is going to build ‘em? Ricardo Engineering, a well-regarded supplier, has apparently been tapped for powertrain R&D, and the cars will be assembled in Italy by Bertone. The duo says that they can begin building new TVRs within three months.

    Yikers.
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    The operative word there, I reckon, is 'quietly.'

    Unless the author of this is wrong, it looks like TVR is headed stateside, at least in name, where I prophesy it will putrify, mold, dessicate and die.

    I hope I'm wrong.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by LandQuail View Post
    Unless the author of this is wrong
    The February 28th press conference merely announced Burdette and Santacreu as "managing partners", not "new owners".

    Smolenski intends to remain onboard until TVR becomes profitable and his investment can be recouped, at which point he will transfer his stake in the company to Bungle and George.

    David Oxley is still MD, and Jason Oxley Sales Director.

    Quote Originally Posted by LandQuail View Post
    The duo says that they can begin building new TVRs within three months.
    Where are they then?

    Where are the contracts with Ricardo, Bertone etc?

    Where are the American type approvals?

    Has anyone in the USA actually placed an order?

    Does TVR have any customers, aside from a few people in the UK still waiting for their cars to be finished?

    What happened to the supposed announcement in April, regarding production?

    Where's this new Typhoon that was supposed to be unveiled at Geneva?

    Is the production tooling still sat in storage?

  3. #18
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    They're all in somebody's feverd and confused head, apparently; likely some Floridian's head at that, and I'm not even going to get into my feelings about Florida...

    If I've given you the impression, Coventrysucks, that I'm enthusiastic and optimistic about TVR's chances of survival in the U.S. of A., then I deeply apologize.

    Hearing TRV had gone under hit me like a suckerpunch to the gut. Hearing Smolenski had bought it back for $3 million was like getting sprayed in the face with shit-mist, and hearing about two cocksure douchebags from Florida buying up all the offal that remained and making such promises as new models within months was like getting hit point-blank in the dick by an Anna Kournikova power serve.

    This all leaves a man feeling pretty ****ing weary and pessimistic about the next few occurrences waiting in the wings for the near future.

    If TVR has to go — and I earnestly hope somethign snatches it from the fire before it's reduced to oily, sooty notingness— I'd just like to see it go quickly and with as little further pain as possible.

    Let's have a final TRV Board of Director's meeting where they crash two remotely-driven Speed 12s into each other at top speed (with Smolenski standing, boyish good looks briefly intact, at ground zero if the EU would approve it) and call ballgame on the whole sordid mess.

    Jeers.
    Last edited by LandQuail; 05-13-2007 at 12:10 AM.

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