The announcement is mystifying given that at no stage during the last four years of the government inspectors' investigation has there been any suggestion of fraud or criminal activity of any kind.

Both the National Audit Office and the MG Rover administrators, PWC, carried out thorough investigations into the company's affairs and concluded there was no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing.

Lawyers advising the directors who have sat through all of the interviews and read every scrap of evidence have confirmed there has never been any suggestion of fraud during the investigation. At all times, the directors have willingly and openly accounted for their actions.

FOLLOWUP: MG Rover execs reportedly strike back amidst fraud accusations originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Findings from inquiry into demise of MG Rover finished... only took 4 years and $26M originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rendered Speculation: MG TF is coming... originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 May 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Daimler Super 8

The Rover name previously belonged to BMW, which bought the Rover group 14 years ago. Although Shanghai (SAIC) bought the rights to produce Rover products, BMW refused to license the name to them (leaving SAIC to label its cars Roewe), instead selling it to Ford who secured the name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. The Daimler name, through an age-old licensing agreement with the Mercedes parent company, is used by Jaguar for a line of even more luxurious versions of its XJ sedan range. The Lanchester name is likewise attached to Jaguar, but having produced its first motor car in 1895, has laid dormant since 1956.

Although the three brands are barely in use, they transfer ownership to Tata along with Jaguar and Land Rover. The option will remain Tata's whether or not to utilize the names, but we wouldn't expect the Indian auto giant to lay out the cash to launch additional brands while it shoulders the financial burden of the $2.3 billion acquisition. We wouldn't be surprised, however, to see Tata license any of the names it can to help raise the funds.

Gallery: Daimler Super 8

Package Deal: Tata buys 5 British marques for the price of 2 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Autoblog Garage: 2007 Range Rover Supercharged

Land Rover developing new 5.0-liter V8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MG's former Longbridge, UK headquarters has been pretty quiet since production ceased in 2005. Newly-merged owners SAIC and Nanjing want the clatter of carbuilding to once again echo through the plant and plan to base their European and overseas operations there. The plant itself has the capability to build up to three different models; the challenge is deciding which of the former rival's products to build there. MG TF roadsters will likely lead the charge, with cars due at retail locations by March 1st. MG Rover holdovers could return to their roots if SAIC/Nanjing decide to build the MG 3 and MG 7, while the newly deisgned Roewe W2, pictured above, looks like a solid possibility, as well. In addition to manufacturing, R&D and sales efforts will also be strengthened. From the sound of things, it won't be long before Longbridge is once again turning out cars (some of the same cars, even) at a healthy clip.

China's SAIC to revive historic Longbridge UK plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SAIC buys Nanjing, finally gets MG originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Industry analysts widely agree that one of the principal factors preventing Chinese automakers from succeeding outside of China is the local industry's fragmentation, with over 100 automakers vying for their slice of the proverbial pie. However, a merger announced Wednesday between two major Chinese automakers, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp (SAIC) and Nanjing Automotive Group, stands a stronger chance of succeeding in the international car market as a larger group.

The merger, which has been long anticipated, involves SAIC paying $285.7 million for Nanjing. In return, Nanjing's parent company acquires 4.9 percent of SAIC Motor Corp.

The products of SAIC's joint ventures with GM and Volkswagen Group account for 14% of the domestic market in China, selling 1.25 million vehicles in the first ten months of 2007. Nanjing, meanwhile, sold less than 80,000 over the same period, making the acquisition a merger in the same sense as Mercedes had "merged" with Chrysler. Nanjing, however, owns MG Rover, whose plants in England SAIC hopes to use as a foothold into the European market.

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

SAIC and Nanjing merge to form mega Chinese auto group originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

click above image for more views of the NASA Chariot rover

Any good article about space exploration starts with "when I was a kid...". So, when I was a kid, my older brother was working on his college thesis. He cooperated with NASA on designing various devices for use in space, the basic premise being that few of the things we take for granted here on Earth would work in a zero-gravity environment. Everything needed for use in space needs to be redesigned.

Recently Goodyear and NASA announced a collaboration in developing a special non-pneumatic tire to be used by vehicles on the Moon, and potentially, on Mars, in support of a 2004 presidential mandate to further exploration on the celestial bodies. This isn't the first time Goodyear has collaborated with NASA to develop special moon-tires, having spent over ten years developing a piano-wire-mesh tire for the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle in the 1960s. However, the new Chariot vehicle (pictured above) is expected to support ten times more weight and travel 100 times longer than the Apollo, so Goodyear's Akron Technical Center and NASA's Glenn Research Center are developing a stronger version by testing and re-testing the Apollo's wheel and tire set-up to determine where they break down. Better here than out there, because as big a pain as it is to change a tire down here, imagine mounting a spare in space.

The researchers expect to demonstrate the Chariot, with its special tires, a year from now at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, after which, they say, the findings could be applied towards the development of new tires for use here on Earth.

[Source: Goodyear]

Gallery: NASA Chariot

Continue reading Out of This World: Goodyear and NASA collaborate on airless tire

Out of This World: Goodyear and NASA collaborate on airless tire originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

England has an illustrious history of producing beautiful motorized transportation. Unfortunately, many of the Queen's car companies are either in big trouble, or they have gone the way of the Dodo. The Triumph car company made beautiful cars, but by the early 80s Triumph was associated only with unreliability and re-badged Rovers and Hondas.

Back in 1994, BMW purchased the Rover group, which included Land Rover, Mini, MG, and Triumph, among others. While Rover, Land Rover, and MG ended poorly, Mini has been a gold mine. Auto Express is reporting that the German automaker is now looking into breathing life into the famed Triumph name, and we're all for it. Imagine BMW engineering coupled with Triumph styling; that's one well-heeled couple. An additional marque could add volume to BMW while bringing down the cost of shared parts, and if BMW could manage to keep Triumph styling alive like it did for Mini, the top brass in Munich would be dizzy from cartwheels.

Click the Read link to view more renderings of what a triumphant return of Triumph might look like.

[Source: Auto Express]

More speculation of Triumph return originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tata confirms interest in Jaguar, Land Rover

Tata confirms interest in Jaguar, Land Rover originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 26 Aug 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Autoblog Garage: 2007 Range Rover Supercharged

Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2007 Range Rover Supercharged

In the Autoblog Garage: 2007 Range Rover Supercharged originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shacking up - Nanjing and SAIC form partnership originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on the image above to view our high-resolution image gallery.

It's had a lot of challengers, and to stay at the top, Land Rover has been rolling out consistent updates to its flagship Range Rover model. Last year it was the upgraded engines: the 305-hp 4.4-liter V8 and the supercharged 400-hp 4.2-liter V8. For this year, the Range Rover gets upgrades to the interior and to its traction systems.

Inside, the Range Rover's luxurious cabin has been updated with a new instrument panel, air-con unit, new airbags and new trim, switchgear and storage compartments. The front seats have been outfitted with new head restraints designed to minimize whiplash, as well as an in-seat air-cooling system (optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models). Underneath, the Land Rover's Terrain Response system has been fitted as standard equipment, as well as an electronic rear differential (which, like the seat cooling system, is optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models) to supplement the center e-diff. There's also a new electronic parking brake that automatically disengages when you start driving.

The new changes might not amount to much, as Land Rover draws up plans for the Range Rover's all-aluminum replacement, but with heavy competition from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Land Rover can't afford to rest on its name alone.

Press release after the jump, and high-res images in the gallery below.

Gallery: 2007 Land Rover Range Rover

Continue reading Small changes for big Range Rover in 2008

Small changes for big Range Rover in 2008 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

India's Tata Motors interested in Jaguar and Land Rover originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With Ford selling off parts of its Premium Automotive Group (PAG) one at a time, it remains uncertain if Land Rover and Jaguar will end up under the same ownership in the future. In the meantime, Land Rover is collaborating with Jaguar on a future flagship model that will draw on Jaguar's expertise to produce a new Range Rover with a lighter-weight construction that could expand both upmarket and down.

Based on a new aluminum structure called Premium Lightweight Architecture, the next Range Rover is anticipated to shed about 40% off the unpainted unibody's weight, and some 800 pounds off the curb weight. Applying the magic formula of less weight and more power from a revised engine line-up, also benefiting from Jaguar collaboration, would contribute to improved performance and fuel economy. An all-new 5.0-liter V8 could produce about 350 hp, or as much as 460 supercharged, while the existing range of diesels are anticipated to be bored out from 2.7 liters to 3 and from 3.6 liters to 4. If Land Rover chose to shoehorn in the smaller Jaguar/Land Rover turbodiesel into the lightweight Range Rover, it would create a lower model in the range, while the top-end, supercharged version could fetch as much as $200,000 and feature a full spectrum of luxury equipment to anchor the SUV's position at the top of the luxury sport-ute market.

A new styling direction, led by new design chief Phil Simmons, is expected to include shorter overhangs and de-emphasized greenhouse to give a tauter and less top-heavy appearance. If given the green light for development by Ford or by any future parent company, the Range Rover would be the first in a series of new models from Land Rover, to be followed by a new Discovery (LR2), Freelander (LR3), Defender and Range Rover Sport.

[Source: Motor Authority via AutoWeek]

Next Range Rover to go upmarket, downmarket and lighter-weight originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The talks with Fiat -- held between Ford of Europe head Lewis Booth and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne -- fell through last month. Fiat was interested in Land Rover because of the pace of SUV sales, and the fact that its "five brands are almost nonexistent in the growing global SUV market." Fiat was also interested in Land Rover's US dealership network, thinking Alfa might be able to pair up with them. Jaguar interested Fiat for its RWD platforms and V6 and V8 engines. But Marchionne ended the talks over fears its credit rating would be adversely affected by acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover.

PAG lost $327 million last year, but could be in the black this year, overall, having reported a $402 million pre-tax profit in the first quarter. Jaguar, however, has held things back: it has lost $500 million to $1 billion every year for the last six years, and Jag itself says it will be in the red this year and next. Neither Ford nor Fiat would admit to the talks, but Ford said it "is continuing to assess a number of strategic options for all of its operations. We're not specifying what they are and what we're evaluating."

[Source: Automotive News]

From the "That Was Yesterday" files: Jag, Land Rover, Volvo are on the block originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mercedes relents: Will go it alone like BMW originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 May 2007 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Imagine you're overweight. A friend of yours tells you about a diet he got great results from. If you do the one simple thing he did, you'll lose around 1,000 pounds. You'd try it, wouldn't you? That's what's in store for the next generation Range Rover, with plans to give the Posh-UV an all-aluminum chassis.

The newer, lighter Range won't arrive until 2012, but engineers have sought approval to build it with a rivet-bonded aluminum monocoque. To do so, it would employ lessons and technology from the Jaguar XJ sedan. In light of the cost involved, such construction would also be spread throughout the Land Rover line. Weight savings for the Range Rover would be around 40-percent, equating to anywhere from 300-500 kg over the current version, a change that would seem to be all pro and no con. Engines would also be borrowed from Jag -- the same lumps expected to power the XF sedan. The 350-450 HP engines would go a lot further in an aluminum Range, as would a speculated hybrid version.

A decision on the aluminum option hasn't been made yet, but it is expected to get the go-ahead.

[Source: Motor Authority]

The new Range Rover: Coming with aluminum! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 May 2007 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Roewe W2 Concept

Roewe W2 concept a Chinese delight originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.