Re: Rover Cars Fiasco
Dear Phil
Many thanks for your kind and valued email.
All Columnists and Editors at Axis of Logic, welcome feedback from our readers: unlike the mainstream media, it is very much a core focus of our Mission Statement.
I do agree that from the mid -1960s on, the quality of BMC's (as it then was) cars became very poor: at the same time, the quality - and reliability of Continental makers, such as VW improved dramatically, as did style and engineering advance. BMW in particular were making great inroads with such as the fabled 2002 Tii.
Additionally, BMC lost its edge in design and performance: even Ford Europe, with models like the original Escort, were far in advance in engineering and performance terms of reference. The World success of the Escort in rallying, from about 1967, as well as circuit racing, is an excellent example of Ford's then progress.
Whilst I did indeed lay blame for much of the BMC/British Leyland, later MG-Rover Group's eventual failure at the British Government's door (after all, the company, in whatever guise had received approaching �4 billion pounds of British taxpayer's money lent/invested in it!), I also accorded due blame for successive incompetent management teams.
I thought that the title of this piece, makes that pretty clear!
Insofar as Detroit is concerned, I do agree that it has lost its way, almost totally. The unhappy merger of Mercedes/Daimler and Chrysler, has yet to produce any cogent and meaningful result: it is, to me, similar to the HP-Compaq scenario, in that Daimler-Chrysler were already struggling against such as BMW and Volkswagen Audi Group for market share, prior to the merger and Daimler-Chrysler were (and still do) struggling with quality, reliability and styling issues: as were Chrysler, post Lee Iacocca .
I do agree that there exists a sort of mirror image in the earlier upper class control of business ventures in the UK, to the dominance of US major corporations by a select few and have made that analogy myself on many occasions.
Additionally, in Detroit, they (and the oil corporations), were amongst the first to spend considerable sums on political lobbying, against such controls as ecological pollution and safety and it was not until Ralph Nader came along, that Detroit was forced to re-think designs and their impact upon people and the environment.
However with products such as autos, there is a far closer relationship with the product and the user than with most other manufacturing areas. A poor car disappoints and irritates on a frequent daily basis!
I have (particularly on Axis of Logic) frequently suggested that inescapable parallels now exist (which I have been tracking for some time) between the US and the UK, in terms of how the US economy and society is degrading in an almost eerily identical fashion to the earlier malaise of the UK.
Interestingly, an article in preparation, does explore the inanity of Detroit, where both GM and Ford, in their last published results, clearly demonstrates that it is the finance divisions of both companies that are allowing each to declare a profit, rather than a huge loss!
Ford Motor Credit, for example, contributed 103% to Ford's "Profit": how long this can persist is a mute point, as the US heads into a significant liquidity crisis.
Generally, I believe that both Detroit and MG-Rover (representing their respective country's automotive manufacturing industries), followed identical paths in ignoring essential engineering and production advances and became complacent, to their collective detriment, as firstly Japan and secondly Continental Europe made huge advances in terms of performance, quality, price and reliability.
Again, many thanks for writing.
Best wishes
Michael
Columnist
Axis of Logic
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:15 PM
Subject: Rover fiasco
Dear Mr. Feltham,
As a former fervent car guy who lusted after Aston-Martins, Jags, and Mini Coopers, I was aghast when I suffered the ownership of my first British car, an MG in the mid-sixties. To have watched the vaunted English marques devolve into sometimes rolling jokes was painful even for a few of us Yanks. I tended to blame Lucas, the Prince of Darkness, at the time, but it became clear that the problem was far larger.
Your thesis that government interference was the primary difficulty might be true for the English auto industry, but we see GM failing, Ford floundering and Chrysler bought by the Huns here in the US and it can hardly be blamed on the government. My thought is that there is a significant flaw in modern economies that is a carry-over from the days of the monarchs - the superficialities of the system have changed, but the one percent rule has not.
It is the elite and their misbegotten progeny that is the problem, and it always has been. I drive an ancient Mazda that delivers the driving excitement that countless dismal US, British, and Italian marques promised, but failed utterly to deliver. As I have often thought as I gaze upon a new "revolutionary" GM product - it was designed by a committee. To that extent the governmental influence has been felt over here.
Best,
Phil Toler
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Re: The Rover Cars Fiasco
Dear Helen
Many thanks for your kind email.
All of us at Axis of Logic are always very pleased to hear from our readers.
I spent many happy hours, years ago, "Playing" with cars! Still do, occasionally.
As the global automotive industry forgets its past, so much has been lost.
I owned many classic cars, when they were still current! These included a couple of Healeys, MGs (both Twin Cam and 1600 Mk.II, e Type Jags, numerous Jag saloons, even a XK 150 coupe, but that was tired.
When racing, my automotive business tended to develop a minor specialism in Cooper s and MG Midget and we were frequent buyers of the excellent Special Tuning Parts from Abingdon.
Sadly all long gone.
Whilst I had considerable personal knowledge of BMC etc, (even writing an historical article for the Mini-Cooper Heritage Club magazine a few years ago, on Cooper s road and race cars and an obituary on Bill Heynes, the man responsible for the original development of the Jaguar twin cam, straight six that started life in the XK 120, won at Le Mans, five times, as the C type and then the D type and was being used in the XJ6 until not too many years ago!),
I had to undertake copious research work for this article.
Whilst I write on business, finance and global economics (as you know), some of the facts I unearthed shocked even cynical old me!
My next Axis article also has a Detroit component (this was held back, since the Rover issue was more urgent) and it is very worrying.
I do agree with your term "malignant slugs": sums it all up nicely.
Again, many thanks for your kind and valued email.
God speed back to your native land: at least, Scotland seems to be getting more of it right, since devolution: apart from the immense over-spend on the parliament building!
Best wishes,
Michael
Dear Mr. Feltham,
I read your excellent article, The Rover Cars Fiasco on Axis this morning.
I am a transplanted Scot living the U.S.(not for long, may I say!) who enjoyed the wonders of the Morris and Austin Healey in the 60's. Incidentally, we still see the Healey here, restored to it's original beauty. Great car.
I am sad that inept, under-qualified, avaricious, malignant slugs, who, because of cronyism in Govt., get away with such thievery and treachery time and time again with only futile whispers from the workers, who are the nation.
We are experiencing the same cronyism, thievery and perfidy here, in the U.S. under the guise of the religious right, the difference being, there is no evident "thought process" in the majority of the working class about what really is going on, never mind a whisper.
Sincerely,
Helen McLean
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