Blog : Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, AROnliners

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and all that – and, in the spirit of peace and goodwill to everyone, I thought I’d extend season’s greetings to all of AROnline‘s faithful readers. It’s been an interesting year in the car industry, the classic car world and on this very site, and we’ve been here to continue documenting the past, present and future of the British motor industry.

In reality, and despite the uncertainty that Brexit’s brought us, the British car industry looks in great health. Jaguar Land Rover and MINI are pumping cars out of their factories at record rates, while Honda, Nissan and Toyota are still very much making hay at their UK factories, too.

Despite Vauxhall being cut loose from General Motors, it would seem that its new master, PSA Group, seems very keen to keep open its UK factories, and make sure that the UK’s second biggest brand – and the oldest still building cars here – will be given some much-needed love. Any doubts over the company’s future should be sidelined the first drive you take in a Grandland X. It’s not perfect, but it’s an excellent car, pitched at the heart of the new car market.

We’re going to be bigger and better in 2018

As for AROnline, we’re still very much alive and kicking. Despite the general pressure on enthusiast car websites from the likes of Facebook, as well as the SEO-savvy big online players, our unique mix of ‘narrow-and-deep’ coverage of the history of the British motor industry means there’s still a place – even if it’s getting harder to prise people from the all-enveloping monster that is Facebook.

The site underwent a massive transformation in 2017, and I’ve been slowly, carefully, maintaining the best stories on the site, making sure that the are regularly updated and stay relevant. There are so many gems buried in the 7000-plus pages of AROnline that I need to make sure that new people keep finding them, and experiencing the joy of discovery that I did all those years ago when I started on this online adventure.

I still have a huge archive of original strategy documents, product development papers, and press kits that need summarising and digitising – and, now that technology has made this process quicker and the website makes it easier to host this information, this is front-of-mind for me in 2018. AROnline will still be the best place to come for the most detailed information about BMC>MGR…

And on a personal note, have a great Christmas and New Year break, and see you on the other side…

Keith Adams

13 Comments

  1. Hi Keith, I’ve been following your site since 2005 and it just keeps getting better and better.
    Have a great Christmas.

  2. Hi Keith, thanks for all the great work on what is a great site, looking forward to reading more in 2018. Have a great Christmas and all the best for 2018

  3. May I take the opportunity to wish everybody a happy festive season.
    I will also take the opportunity to make a confession of something that some readers may feel is beyond the pale. No, it is not my political beliefs, Outlook on Brexit or general world view.
    I confess that I like Brussel sprouts!

  4. May I echo others sentiments? As a follower for longer than I can remember I have come to relish my daily dose of AROline. Best wishes to all, may 2018 be another classic year!

  5. Following this site for years.
    Bookmark label to one of my favorite websites is quite old: The UNOFFICIAL Austin-Rover Web Resource
    Thank you for your efforts and continue with the good work in 2018
    Merry Christmas and all the best in 2018

  6. Keep everything going Keith. This is one of my favourite sites and reminds me of the amazing work which went on in British industry over the years – but was never acted upon or shown with investment.

    If only Rover et al taken a gamble at being the leader at times and we could still have Rover cars being on sale. It’s such a shame that through tiny investment and poor management we have lost so much.

    But look at what we did. The designs. The concepts. The engineering. Proud, British values. I wish some of the concepts were given a chance now (can you guess which articles I like to read the most?!)

    Merry Christmas one and all. And a happy new year.

  7. Yes, Merry Christmas to you Keith and all ARonline followers.
    As another year passes since the demise of MG Rover, it reminds me of how I miss seeing their cars on the road everyday – but it cheers me up to see the odd MGR product from time to time (and the restored classics) I look forward to further frequent visits to the site in 2018.

  8. Happy Xmas to everyone.

    Been following the site for years and has allowed myself as well as many others to appreciate what the British Motor Industry was and still is capable of.

    Am one who thoroughly enjoys reading about the projects and prototypes, whether they were what-ifs which never reached production or the road-not-taken for those projects which did. Also enjoyed picking at the minds of others who graciously imparted obscure or otherwise unknown knowledge / titbits on various projects or plans within the British Motor Industry, allowing the rest of us to see things in a new light.

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