Blue Oval Staff Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ford Motor Company will purchase the Rover brand name from BMW. Click here for the story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I wonder what value woudl this bring to FoMoCo ... could they start building small luxury/or/sports cars branded Rover? Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I hope this is NOT bad news for Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSenstad Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I wish I could cry about financial woes and make major purchases. Wonder what they will buy in a few years with all the money they make off of our concessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenJ Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 IT'S NOT a valuable asset! When was the last time Rover ever offered a car worth buying? Quit wasting money on English Marquees! They are nothing but money pits ridden with bad product! Has Ford learned nothing from their money pit Jaguar? Rover doesn't offer ANYTHING that Ford in NA or Europe doesn't already offer! This is a grade A STUPID move! While they are at it, why don't they just bend over backwards and buy every other tiny dying Brittish Marquee from TVR to MG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 (edited) IT'S NOT a valuable asset! When was the last time Rover ever offered a car worth buying? Quit wasting money on English Marquees! They are nothing but money pits ridden with bad product! Has Ford learned nothing from their money pit Jaguar? Rover doesn't offer ANYTHING that Ford in NA or Europe doesn't already offer! This is a grade A STUPID move! While they are at it, why don't they just bend over backwards and buy every other tiny dying Brittish Marquee from TVR to MG! this is not the AUTOMAKER .. this is the TRADEMARK - I have no idea further - but I know this is nothing physical (no plants, no employees, no models etc) - just the ownership of the trademak for the Rover brand. The basic reason I see Ford buying this is so in the future no chinese company does not force them to pay royalties for using Land Rover, and Range Rover on their vehicles and in advertising ... there might be more to it though. Igor Edited September 18, 2006 by igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 (edited) This only makes sense if they are looking to keep anybody from using the Rover name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. If they do purchase the name, I wonder if they actually would use it? Edited September 18, 2006 by NLPRacing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenJ Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 (edited) this is not the AUTOMAKER .. this is the TRADEMARK - I have no idea further - but I know this is nothing physical (no plants, no employees, no models etc) - just the ownership of the trademak for the Rover brand. The basic reason I see Ford buying this is in the future no chinese company does not force them to pay royalries for using Land Rover, and Range Rover on their vehicles and in advertising ... there might be more to it though. Igor Had to get it out of me. I waas getting worried for a moment that is all. I'll go back and re-read the article just in case. Edited September 18, 2006 by StevenJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J2D Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 IT'S NOT a valuable asset! When was the last time Rover ever offered a car worth buying? Quit wasting money on English Marquees! They are nothing but money pits ridden with bad product! Has Ford learned nothing from their money pit Jaguar? Rover doesn't offer ANYTHING that Ford in NA or Europe doesn't already offer! This is a grade A STUPID move! While they are at it, why don't they just bend over backwards and buy every other tiny dying Brittish Marquee from TVR to MG! This is the kind of shit that causes investers to say SELL your ford shares. Why buy a name too use on your trucks when most of them are Alpha/Numeric anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertlane Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 This only makes sense if they are looking to keep anybody from using the Rover name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. If they do purchase the name, I wonder if they don't actually would use it? I would agree with this. A Chinese company was to get the Rover name from BMW if Ford didn't file an objection. This same Chinese company already purchased the Rover tooling. I think this move is more of a way to protect the Land Rover nameplate. I can't see Ford actually using the nameplate any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misteredog Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 It's probably just to prevent some other competitor, e.g. Hyndai from buying the name and using it as a luxury brand or upmarket SUV brand to compete agaist LandRover and Jaguar. As it is many people in the states seem to confuse Rover and LnadRover already. The could also use the Rover name on an EUCS based car as a replacement for the X-Type, giving Jaguar dealers an entry level luxury car to sell without sullying the Jaguar name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 It's probably just to prevent some other competitor, e.g. Hyndai from buying the name and using it as a luxury brand or upmarket SUV brand to compete agaist LandRover and Jaguar. As it is many people in the states seem to confuse Rover and LnadRover already. The could also use the Rover name on an EUCS based car as a replacement for the X-Type, giving Jaguar dealers an entry level luxury car to sell without sullying the Jaguar name. Exactly, I have no idea why everyone is freaking out. We can sit and complain about Ford management being inept, but at least this shows they have learned from the Futura and GT40 incidents. I mean get real do you think they give a rats arse about Rover cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkisler Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 This only makes sense if they are looking to keep anybody from using the Rover name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. If they do purchase the name, I wonder if they don't actually would use it? I agree with your comments. In my opinion, this looks like a very good defensive move to keep Chinese (Nanjing Auto) from using a name that many would confuse with the premium Land Rover brand. Suppose, for instance, that the Chinese decided to sell not-so-great cars in Europe or the US using the Rover brand. Additionally, the Rover brand does have history/recognition in the UK, so buying the brand name is also a defensive measure for Ford branded vehicles there. Although Ford could decide to use the brand for differentiated cars, I can't imagine it's in the cards. It's not as if Rover cars are highly regarded, and there is very little name recognition left from the old days in the US with the Rover 3500 and the later Honda platform attempt to revive the brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Rover could possibly become the European Mercury. Rebadged Fords with different grills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 In the end, the price isn't going to be that high, as it was already pretty much decided when they bought land rover a while back. This does protect the LandRove name, and gives them the possibility of a low cost product name. What it also does is put a barrier in place for SAIC, who wanted to produce rovers for sale in Europe to get a foot in the door. Now, they have to start with unfamiliar branding, or, pay royalty rights to FoMoCo (easy revenue stream) for use of the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman100 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I think they are buying it in order to package the name with other British marques they plan on selling - Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc. It will make the others more attractive to a purchaser by eliminating confusion in the consumer's mind. One would think even Ford isn't that dumb that they would actually think of selling a product under the Rover name. Will they keep Land Rover? That is the only English marque in question at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJSteve3 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I wonder if the Triumph name is available - they could reassemble the J-R-T juggernaut.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philsshon2 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 they could make rover like vauxells. Same cars as europe, but with different trim for the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I think the obvious reason is to prevent Rover/Land Rover confusion. By purchasing the Rover name, Ford avoids lawsuits over trademark confusion in the UK, EU, U.S., etc. Ford almost certainly has no intentions of launching yet another brand, especially in the U.K., where (with the demise of Rover), Ford has become sort of the de facto "home" car company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkoesel Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I think they are buying it in order to package the name with other British marques they plan on selling - Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc. It will make the others more attractive to a purchaser by eliminating confusion in the consumer's mind. That was my first thought also. Taking it a step further, it could be a strategic move to get SAIC to pay a premium price for Land Rover if they wish to obtain the Rover name. In other words they could use the Rover name as leverage to get SAIC to take Land Rover as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I think the obvious reason is to prevent Rover/Land Rover confusion. By purchasing the Rover name, Ford avoids lawsuits over trademark confusion in the UK, EU, U.S., etc. Ford almost certainly has no intentions of launching yet another brand, especially in the U.K., where (with the demise of Rover), Ford has become sort of the de facto "home" car company. That's what I was thinking too. Plus, this would give Ford the option of selling premium "B" and/or "C" vehicles at the Land Rover/Jaguar dealers under the Rover name kind of like what BMW does with the MINI brand. After all, the original "Mini" Cooper was a Rover... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I'm sure that selling PAG to a Chinese consortium is extremely unlikely. Bill Ford, regardless of the smearing he's taken on this board, has a conscience, and is unlikely to sign off on a deal that will effectively destroy the last remnants of the British car industry. The idea that a Chinese car company would know better how to run a luxury car division than Ford is laughable. It's the kind of argument that makes sense only to those rejectionists who believe that Ford has been the worst of all possible owners of AM, LR, Jag, etc.--or that these businesses are, collectively, irremediable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 (edited) I'm sure that selling PAG to a Chinese consortium is extremely unlikely. Bill Ford, regardless of the smearing he's taken on this board, has a conscience, and is unlikely to sign off on a deal that will effectively destroy the last remnants of the British car industry. The idea that a Chinese car company would know better how to run a luxury car division than Ford is laughable. It's the kind of argument that makes sense only to those rejectionists who believe that Ford has been the worst of all possible owners of AM, LR, Jag, etc.--or that these businesses are, collectively, irremediable. they are not selling jag .. preiod . Ford said it over and over again and the media and WS refuse to listen, trying to sound surprised every time Ford repeats it ... they are not selling it ... LR might go - again it is healthy, with good product, and IIRC only the LR2 uses ford platform. Besides - while LR has a huge cachet in the off-road community, Volvo's image reaches there too - with several clever products, Volvo could become a fierce LR, Hummer and Jeep competitor. Igor Edited September 18, 2006 by igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkoesel Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I'm sure that selling PAG to a Chinese consortium is extremely unlikely. Richard, I'll bet he'd sell to the highest bidder and never look back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Richard, I'll bet he'd sell to the highest bidder and never look back. If he were that cold-blooded, he'd've moved wayyy faster on NA capacity reduction. And he wouldn't've planted grass on the roof of DTP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.