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MGR@10 Month

On 8 April 2005, the then Trade Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, announced that after talks between MG Rover and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation had broken down, the Birmingham-based carmaker – which had just celebrated its centenary – had been placed into ‘receivership’. Of course, she had meant administration, but the message was clear: it was now over for MG Rover. Now, 10 years on, AROnline recalls those events, talks to the people most intimately involved, and gives first hand accounts of what the death of a carmaker really felt like.

History

History : MG Rover and Matra

1 February 2018 Keith Adams 18

MG Rover and Matra? Now there’s a winning combination, and one not as outlandish as it seems. Briefly, the two companies considered joining forces to build a Rover-badged version of […]

Concepts and prototypes

Concepts and prototypes : MG ZT-T 4WD – what might have been…

6 December 2017 Clive Goldthorp 21

This MG ZT-T four-wheel prototype offers a fascinating insight into how MG Rover had the hardware to get on board the lifestyle estate car market – before it had chance […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : Zed or dead? How a miraculous marketing strategy kept MG Rover on life support

24 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 40

Craig Cheetham About 12 months ago, I was giving my previously-owned MG ZS 180 a lick of wax outside the house when a cruel passer-by, with nothing but pre-conceived ideas […]

AROnline

MGR@10 Month : A Dealer’s Tale – Jon and Tim Wilcox of A. E. Wilcox and Son

17 April 2015 Clive Goldthorp 19

Words: Clive Goldthorp Photographs: A. E. Wilcox and Son Limited and Geoff Cottle Any AROnline readers who also happened to be readers of the Daily Telegraph back in the dark […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : A look back at the Save MG Rover Rally in 2005

16 April 2015 Keith Adams 11

Ten years ago today, an estimated 600 Birmingham-built cars made an important pilgrimage to Longbridge. They were there in order to support MG Rover’s workers and their families, whose futures were cast into uncertainty […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : A Salesman’s perspective…

15 April 2015 Mike Humble 9

Our man Mike Humble talks to former Phoenix Retail salesman Mark Newton about his experiences at the coal face selling new MG Rover cars immediately prior to that fateful day in April 2005. Tell […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : The demise of MG Rover – an American view

14 April 2015 admin 18

Richard Truett The very last auto industry event MG Rover (MGR) took part in came on 12 April 2005 in Detroit. Alan Warburton, Iain Fleming, James Scott and Neil Butler […]

Events

MGR@10 Month : Preview – Pride of Longbridge 2015

13 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 16

This year’s Pride of Longbridge event takes place this coming Saturday, 18 April 2015, and AROnline will be there to cover it. This year’s event promises to be especially poignant, as […]

MG6

MGR@10 Month : 10 years on, the latest from Longbridge

13 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 15

Vehicle production at Longbridge may no longer exist as we knew it, but there is still a car assembly presence at the former MG Rover site, with CKD MG models […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : The Battle for Survival

13 April 2015 admin 18

David Morgan regularly sends in fascinating, well-researched historical features, often focusing on key models and moment in BL/A-R/Rover Group history. What follows is an excellent dissection of events leading up […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : Interview with MG Rover Product PR Manager, Kevin Jones

10 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 20

For the latest instalment in our MGR@10 Month coverage, Craig Cheetham catches up with MG Rover’s former Product PR Manager (among other things), Kevin Jones. Kevin, who is now Head of Communications […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : The Campaigner’s view

10 April 2015 Keith Adams 6

Of all the people intimately involved in MG Rover’s fall into administration and the devastating aftermath in the community, Gemma Cartwright MBE is probably the most qualified to speak about […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : The Test and Development Engineer’s view

8 April 2015 admin 7

Ten years on, one of MG Rover’s talented engineering team, Nic Fasci, tells AROnline how he was affected by the announcement that his employer had been put into administration and […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : Keith Adams through the looking glass…

8 April 2015 Keith Adams 23

Keith Adams recalls the fateful day, 10 years ago, that MG Rover went into administration.  ‘It’s over. They’ve called in the receivers.’ A simple text message from my friend […]

Concepts and prototypes

Concepts and prototypes : MG Rover RDX60 (2000-2005)

6 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 43

Craig Cheetham If MG Rover was to survive in any way beyond early 2005, it needed a car that could not only compete in the bustling compact medium sector against […]

MGR@10 Month

MGR@10 Month : A motoring journo’s view…

3 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 27

Craig Cheetham March 2005.  I was 27 years old, and at a stage in life where thing were about to change considerably. I was engaged to be married, and about […]

AROnline News

News : AROnline launches MGR@10 Month

1 April 2015 Craig Cheetham 23

Craig Cheetham Today is the first day of April 2015, and for many of us it’s astonishing to think that the demise of the MG Rover Group was a whole decade ago. […]

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News : ‘Royal’ Bentley T-Series to go under hammer

by Keith Adams in AROnline News 0

Currently, auction bidders seem to like cars with a bit of provenance – and Silverstone Auctions is hoping that the 1970 Bentley T1, once owned by the Duke of Devonshire, for sale on 24 May will tick [...]

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