Ex British car doing well in China and America.

[andy222]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22304901 :doh
I wonder who sold that off?

[fred]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22304901 :doh
I wonder who sold that off?

From memory they nearly went bankrupt and were saved by vickers over 30 years ago..
Vickers were really only a military contractor so put RR back on the market..
Why couldn't a British company out bid BMW to save the company?

Makes me wonder who really won the war!!

[Dedworth]

Fred is right sold by Vickers in 1998 - nothing whatsoever to do with the Blair Govt at the time although they stood idly by as many famous British companies were sold to foreigners

[joebloggs]

although they stood idly by as many famous British companies were sold to foreigners

well thatcher started selling everything British off :doh

[Dedworth]

well thatcher started selling everything British off :doh

Correct me if I'm wrong Joe but that was state owned enterprises and allowed Joe Public to become shareholders. A bit different to classic British private companies where only the asset strippers and hedge funds gain.

But there is a connection because Labour stood by as all the privatised electricity and water co's were gobbled up by Johnny Foreigner. This shafted the consumer but earned some juicy commissions for the City Slickers the socialists were in bed with

[grahamw48]

One of the subjects that angers me the most.

The decimation and ultimate selling off of our car manufacturing heritage .

A damned disgrace...whoever was responsible. :mad:

I have two BRITISH cars on my drive !

[andy222]

I think you will find it was Ted Heath government tory who sold it.:doh

[andy222]

Correct me if I'm wrong Joe but that was state owned enterprises and allowed Joe Public to become shareholders. A bit different to classic British private companies where only the asset strippers and hedge funds gain.

But there is a connection because Labour stood by as all the privatised electricity and water co's were gobbled up by Johnny Foreigner. This shafted the consumer but earned some juicy commissions for the City Slickers the socialists were in bed with
There is no Labour connection. The torys were in power when they sold everything off. Erm majority in power. The beauty about germany is that they will invest. Something that is a swearword to Torys.

[grahamw48]

EX-British car is quite correct....along with Bentley, Jaguar, MG , etc.

Or should I say, ex-British BRAND.

[andy222]

Well the good thing is Graham they cant sell anything else off because there is nothing to sell. British car industry RIP.

[Dedworth]

There is no Labour connection. The torys were in power when they sold everything off. Erm majority in power. The beauty about germany is that they will invest. Something that is a swearword to Torys.

I did say Andy that Mrs Thatcher sold off the state owned enterprises but Labour never tried to renationalise them then rubbed their hands together when their mates at Goldman Sachs, Barclays etc trousered huge fees when the foreigners took control of them

[andy222]

But that was the initial mistake Ded. (The big sell off) it should never have happened. Getting back on to the subject of the cars. Germany invest. Do you here about strikes there? No. Why? Because the government treat there workers properly.

[grahamw48]

Absolutely.

They had 13 years to 'put things right'.

What have they got to say about that ?

Tossers.

[andy222]

They couldnt put it right. It would cost too much money to get it back.:doh

[fred]

Can someone please tell me.. How long can a company keep going when its bankrupt? (except for tax payer bailouts)...And why do we have to rely on a German manufacturer to keep a great British company in operation?
I hope your answer makes sense!!
Cheers,
Fred.

[Dedworth]

They couldnt put it right. It would cost too much money to get it back.:doh

So they wasted all the money elsewhere - benefit spongers, "asylum seekers", politically correct public sector non jobs for the cronies and so forth and when they were voted out all the money was gone

That makes sound political sense :crazy:

[grahamw48]

MG-Rover went bust under Bliar's watch.

He simply obeyed orders from his EU masters...the only country to do so of course. :icon_rolleyes:

Gutless git.

[fred]

MG-Rover went bust under Bliar's watch.

He simply obeyed orders from his EU masters...the only country to do so of course. :icon_rolleyes:

Gutless git.

Just read that The company (MG) ceased trading on 8 April 2005, with debts of over £1.4 billion!!
How did they manage to owe that kind of money Graham and who on earth could have fixed that mess?

[grahamw48]

Well, it had been a nationalised company for long enough, and bailed out with taxpayers' money on more than one occasion, so presumably SOMEBODY in government must have had some responsibility. :Erm:

They could have retained ownership of the brand names at least....as that Russian :censored: has done so with 'TVR'. :mad:

How many billions were pumped into the mis-managed greedy banks, to save them. ?

[fred]

How many billions were pumped into the mis-managed greedy banks, to save them. ?

There lies the hypocrisy IMO...

[andy222]

Can someone please tell me.. How long can a company keep going when its bankrupt? (except for tax payer bailouts)...And why do we have to rely on a German manufacturer to keep a great British company in operation?
I hope your answer makes sense!!
Cheers,
Fred.
Because the germans invest. EASY.

[andy222]

So they wasted all the money elsewhere - benefit spongers, "asylum seekers", politically correct public sector non jobs for the cronies and so forth and when they were voted out all the money was gone

That makes sound political sense :crazy:
So where is our money going now?. Oh I forgot its going towards education in Pakistan.:doh. Thats wise spending for you I guess.:Brick:

[Dedworth]

So where is our money going now?. Oh I forgot its going towards education in Pakistan.:doh. Thats wise spending for you I guess.:Brick:

Good point :Cuckoo:

[grahamw48]

...and India, home of Tata, buyer of Jaguar.

You couldn't make it up. :NoNo:

Isn't the 'global economy' great, when you've given everyone else in the world your inventions, secrets, industrial processes, tooling and marketing, trained them how to use it all to set up as a cheaper competitor and then given them the whole lot in a neat ready-to-wear package. Oh, not forgetting a few billion in aid, just in case they should be gracious enough to buy some of your remaining tatters of products, and not send too many terrorists over to bomb you. :icon_rolleyes:

[jonnijon]

When you think of what the UK had at one time. Great private companys like De Haviland who built the Comet, the worlds first jet airliner and much more. It makes me so sad to think we cannot manufacture things like this anymore. :bigcry:

[grahamw48]

TSR2...oh, the Labour government scrapped that. :NoNo:

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXdJxjvQZW4

[alan_macd]

When you think of what the UK had at one time. Great private companys like De Haviland who built the Comet, the worlds first jet airliner and much more. It makes me so sad to think we cannot manufacture things like this anymore. :bigcry:

Really not a great example of British industry considering the number of deaths from the early Comets.

Still, at least Rolls Royce Cars are growing and adding more jobs in Crewe and it's nice to see a vid of a British manufacturing success.

[Dedworth]

Really not a great example of British industry considering the number of deaths from the early Comets.

Still, at least Rolls Royce Cars are growing and adding more jobs in Crewe and it's nice to see a vid of a British manufacturing success.

Actually Crewe is now Bentley (VW Group)......since 2003 Rollers have been built at Goodwood, West Sussex

[jonnijon]

The fault that caused the crashes of Comets was the window design, they were square not round as plane windows are today.

[grahamw48]

Correct.

Working with pressurisation was still a comparatively new thing then.

It was a great shame that more extensive testing wasn't carried out before they were put into service, but of course it's always easy to be wise in hindsight.

The British aircraft industry could have forged ahead, but instead, the 707 of Boeing was able to take the orders......and the rest is history. :NoNo:

Fortunately for them, our Sir Frank Whittle had created a jet engine for the Americans to use. :icon_rolleyes:

[andy222]

Actually Crewe is now Bentley (VW Group)......since 2003 Rollers have been built at Goodwood, West Sussex
The point is its german owned.

[jonnijon]

Yes Graham,and the first thing the Labour government did after the war was to present Russia with two latest design rolls royce jet engines as a gift. :NoNo:

[grahamw48]

Yes Graham,and the first thing the Labour government did after the war was to present Russia with two latest design rolls royce jet engines as a gift. :NoNo:

Yes, I remember reading about that. Unbelievable. :doh

At least they were sensible enough to doctor the Concorde plans when they discovered the Ruskies were getting access to them.

- Hence the 'Concordski' nosedive. :biggrin: