tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580859787586941167.post324982716763722229..comments2024-03-26T08:03:51.952+13:00Comments on all about cars: The Rover 200: 1996-99RayCeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11459801818458845271noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580859787586941167.post-58260195013761964652012-08-29T07:12:47.702+12:002012-08-29T07:12:47.702+12:00You are right about BAe. they bought the company o...You are right about BAe. they bought the company off the government for a very good price with a clause they had to keep it for so many years. They did just enough to raise its value and when the time was up, tried to sell it to Honda. <br />Honda was concerned that taking full control would put British buyers off the brand, so simply offered to up their stake. BAe then approached BMW. <br />The RayCeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11459801818458845271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580859787586941167.post-80924738023915748172012-08-28T22:13:37.912+12:002012-08-28T22:13:37.912+12:00True, though at the time Rover was owned by BAe - ...True, though at the time Rover was owned by BAe - a company big enough to have invested in new models if it had chosen to. Unfortunately they seemed to regard Rover as a hindrance, rather than an opportunity. At the time, Rover had a competitive engine range, good styling, and a brand with a lot of good will, following the success of the 200. Surely it would have been worth trying to do somethingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580859787586941167.post-3603760788620738502012-08-28T08:04:52.444+12:002012-08-28T08:04:52.444+12:00Hi Chris. I think the problem was Rover never had ...Hi Chris. I think the problem was Rover never had the money to develop a car independently of Honda. Then the royalties that they had to pay to Honda mean they never would.<br />BMW came along and though they had the money, found the volumes too low to recoup costs. Platform sharing was the way forward with BMW, but that only happened with the 75, because BMW had a platform they had developed andRayCeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11459801818458845271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580859787586941167.post-87564997351655745142012-08-27T21:30:41.924+12:002012-08-27T21:30:41.924+12:00Essentially the 1989-95 200 was replaced by a comb...Essentially the 1989-95 200 was replaced by a combination of the smaller 200 and the larger 400. Once again, Rover tried to straddle 2 market segments (as it attempted with the 600) and failed. The 400 was particularly disappointing because the styling was awful...apparently Rover was presented with a fait accompli by Honda, and there was very little they could do to make it look better. The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com