The last of the British cars --
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/business/worldbusiness/23rover.html?

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1983 Mercedes 300SD
1987 Mercedes 300SDL
2001 VW Passat 2.8 AWD
2007 OM642 Jeep WK 4x4

I sure wish they'd start building new upgraded "retro" P6's for export to North America.

DM

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 23, 2005

LONDON, July 22 (AP) - Administrators for the MG Rover Group, the bankrupt British automaker, said Friday that it has been bought by Nanjing Automobile of China.

The announcement ended months of speculation about the future of Rover, the country's last major automaker, but also raised questions about how much production Nanjing would retain in Britain - and how many jobs would be affected.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which took over administration of Rover when the automaker filed for bankruptcy in April, said Nanjing had bought the assets of both MG Rover Group and its engine-producing subsidiary, Powertrain Ltd.

The terms were not disclosed, and PricewaterhouseCoopers said it did not intend to announce further details Friday. A person close to the deal, however, said Nanjing paid just over £50 million ($88 million).

Nanjing had faced two competitors in its bid to buy Rover's assets - an offer from China's state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which prompted the company's collapse earlier this year when it pulled out of talks about a merger, and one by the British businessman David James to buy two parts of the company.

Tony Lomas, joint administrator at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in a statement that the "level and conditionality of S.A.I.C.'s bid left Nanjing's bid as the preferred way forward."

Unions had supported the Shanghai Automotive deal because they believed it was the most likely to restart substantial production at the Longbridge plant in central England, which was forced to close with a loss of 6,000 jobs when the company collapsed.

Mr. Lomas said Nanjing plans to begin hiring to accomplish its plan for the company, which includes relocating the engine plant and some car production to China, while retaining some production in Britain. It also plans to develop a center for research and development in Britain.

Rover had hoped the earlier deal with Shanghai Automotive would generate cash to allow it to introduce new models and stem the falling sales of its current makes. The company, which turned out 40 percent of the cars bought in Britain in the 1960's, had not produced a new model since 1998 and held only a 3 percent share of the market at the time of its collapse.

The British government plowed millions of pounds in emergency loans into the company to keep it operating for a short time as its bankruptcy provided an embarrassing backdrop to the ruling Labor Party's election campaign, which was centered on the strength of the British economy.

PricewaterhouseCoopers ended those loans and closed the factory when the prospects of a bidder for the entire group appeared to vanish.