UK Insurer Parts the Most Unreliable and Costly Car to Fix

In an article on a BMW-faced Honda Accord we found for sale on Craigslist back in 2008, we wrote that in a perfect world, our ultimate car would be “designed by Italians, engineered by Germans, built by Japanese and marketed by Americans”.

So, what’s the worst car one could imagine? Well, if we played around with the above statements, we’d say one designed by Japanese, engineered by Americans, built by Italians and marketed by Germans.

But UK insurance firm Warranty Direct had something a little bit different in mind. Instead of playing the origin card, the company decided to check out its database of 50,000 live policies on cars aged five years on average to part the UK’s most unreliable vehicle that would break down every other month and cost an average of £2,050 (equal to US$3,270 - €2,330) to fix each year.

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Silverstone Organisers Ask: What is the Best British Sports Car of All Time?

The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

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MG Preparing an Array of New Models to Conquer Europe

SAIC Motor Corporation, the owner of MG Motors, plans to develop several new models for the British brand in order to boost sales outside its home market in China. The Chinese owner of MG Motors has already spent £1 billion ($1.64 billion) to re-launch the MG and Roewe brands (former Rover) and intends to invest another £2.2 billion ($3.6 billion) to achieve annual sales of 700,000 by 2015.

In 2010, the two brands sold 160,397 cars, most of which were delivered in China, with only 2,000 units exported to other markets. This past April, MG launched its new mid-size MG6 in the UK, the first new car to be assembled at the British firm’s Longbridge plant in 16 years. The company said that when it completes the development of a diesel version, it will offer the car to rest of Europe. "We will not go into mainland Europe without a diesel," UK managing director, William Wong, told Autonews.

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Canadian Man Throws a V12 into a 1967 MGB GT

If you are a car guy like Mark Sawatsky of Winnipeg, Canada, and you happen to have a Jaguar 5.3-liter V12 and an old 1967 MGB GT lying around in your garage, it doesn’t take too long to come up with an impressive project. For Mark it was the creation of racecar to compete in the modified class of the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). Read more »

MG6 to Start Production at Birmingham site on April 13, Prices Start from £15,495

The fastback version of the all-new MG6 will soon become MG Motor’s first all-new model to pass through the gates of the firm’s Longbridge factory in 16 years. The last time MG showed a brand new model was in 1995 with the MG F, a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive roadster. According to the British automaker, the first series production model will roll off the assembly line on April 13, 2011 at precisely 11:00 am.

MG Motors, which now belongs under the umbrella of China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) group, will follow up with a sedan version of the MG6 this summer. Both the four-door saloon and the five-door fastback will be offered with a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s good enough for 160 ponies and 215Nm of peak torque at 1750-4500 rpm.

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New MG6 Saloon First Photos, Goes on Sale in the UK this Summer

Having been delayed for a couple of months due to some negative consumer feedback, the MG6 four-door Saloon model has now taken over the social media scene. The first photos of the ₤17.000 Focus rivaling MG have been posted on the British firm's facebook page. The MG6 Saloon is scheduled to land in UK showrooms this summer, a few months after the first batch of MG6 fastback's reach their owners.

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Beijing Show: MG Zero Supermini Concept

This year's edition of the Beijing Motor Show saw China-owned MG unveiling the 'ZERO', a thinly disguised concept of an upcoming production model in the supermini segment -most likely called MG3- that could go on sale in China first and then in Europe as early as next year.

The company emphasized the fact that the 4m long supermini was developed in the UK by MG Global Design team, led by British MG Design Director Anthony (Tony) Williams-Kenny, based in Birmingham.

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Holy Rover! 1980's Metro Ad Featuring Batman and Robin

The Rover, MG Rover, Austin and whatever other brand the Metro was sold under, was a forgettable mini that wasn't taken very seriously, even by the company that made it. This may explain this late 1980s-early 1990s advertisement spoofing the 1966 Adam West-era Batman and Robin TV series.

The one-minute long commercial shows the dynamic duo swapping their funky 1960s Batmobile for the British mini because "it's rush hour in Gotham city and the Batmobile is big"...

The ad ends with the message, "When you got to.... pick up a penguin, Metro gets you going." Holy priceless collection of Etruscan snoods.... Enjoy the video after the break.

MG to Bring Three New Cars to Europe – U.S. Plans Scrapped

In addition to a revamped version of the current TF LE500 roadster, NAC, the Chinese owner of MG is planning to introduce three new models in Europe according to company’s managing director, Gary Hagen. “We’re planning a four-car range of MGs – first to arrive will be a mid-sized saloon sharing its platform with the Roewe 550. The planned introduction for this car is late 2010 and, looking at today’s marketplace, I see the main opposition as being the Mazda 6,” said Hagen in an interview with the British website Austin Rover Online. -Continued

“After that, there will be a C-segment compact and a B-segment supermini – and, no, that won’t be the MG3 SW, which has been a major success for us in China. Clearly, we have the capacity to build these cars in Longbridge and the Chinese are keen for this to happen,” added Hagen.

NAC MG’s managing director also took the opportunity to shed some light on the company’s ‘on and off’ plans for a return into the North American market. “We’re starting with the UK and Ireland and, once we’re up to speed, we will be pushing to sell in Europe. The USA isn’t on the short-term radar as an anticipated market for us but, with the right product, it would be good to return there,” Hagen told Austin Rover Online. The MG brand disappeared from U.S. dealerships in the early 1980s.

Via: Austin Rover Online

Ford buys Rover nameplate

"We feel it is in interests of our Land Rover business to have the Rover brand. We are acquiring it and we're not looking to sell it. We believe it is a valuable asset for us"

That's what a Ford spokesman told Reuters concerning the company's decision to exercise its right to buy the Rover brand name from BMW. What the spokesman didn't say is that Ford was "scared to death" when it heard that Chinese automakers SAIC and Nanjing (they have both brought the rights to manufacture former MG Rover models), where in contact with BMW to buy the Rover nameplate. Why? Well, imagine a Chinese made Rover SUV reminiscent of a Land Rover model...

Technorati Tags: Ford, Land+Rover, SAIC, Nanjing, PAG, Rover, autos, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles,

BMW reaches an agreement to sell the "Rover" brand name

According to a report from Automotive News, BMW has reached an agreement to sell the rights of the Rover brand name. Although there has been no leak concerning the company's name, it is speculated that the main candidates are two Chinese automakers, both of whom are under state control (!). Nanjing Automobile which acquired MG Rover assets and the sportscar brand MG, and Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) owner of design rights to two Rover models including the 75

The newspaper states that a spokesman for BMW confirmed a report in the German financial daily newspaper, Handelsblatt stating, "A binding agreement was made".

Although it seems like a done deal, BMW will need to obtain Ford's consent due to legal issues as the latter owns Land Rover -acquired from the BMW Group a few years ago. Basically, this means that Ford will give its consent only if the future owner of Rover's name strictly avoids any conspicuous connections with SUV vehicles.

I think that Ford should be very, very, very cautious with this one. Can you imagine the surprise on the face of a Ford's Group manager if he sees a Rover LT3 or a Rover Sport in the 2007 Shanghai Motor Show ?

Technorati: Rover, BMW, Nanjing+Automobile, MG+Rover, Shanghai+Automotive, SAIC, autos, auto+news, vehicles, cars, automotive