David James CBE, the corporate doctor who was brought in to save the Millennium Dome, has issued details of the 'British backed' bid to save MG Rover from falling into Chinese ownership, which is reported to require funding of some £80-90m. It includes developing a three-model MG sports car range, together with the provision of contract engineering and production services to third party manufacturers under a revived *** Vanden Plas *** brand.
: David James CBE, the corporate doctor who was brought in to save the : Millennium Dome,
Now there's a track record to be proud of.
: has issued details of the 'British backed' bid to save MG : Rover from falling into Chinese ownership, which is reported to require : funding of some ?80-90m. It includes developing a three-model MG sports car : range, together with the provision of contract engineering and production : services to third party manufacturers under a revived *** Vanden Plas *** : brand.
I just can't see why anyone would want to buy the company. One reasonable but aging model (the 75), a few outclassed relics (the rest of the Rover range) and a set of chavved up Saxos for the middle aged (everything with an MG badge). Historically plummeting sales. Rotten build quality. Brand names owned by BMW. Monumental pensions shortfall.
Valuable chunk of real estate. Ah.
Ian
PS What do you bet it will depend on a large amount of our cash to "save" a thousand jobs or so?
Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
When you consider the point at which he was brought in, and the raw material he had to work with, he didn't do too bad a job.
If you look at those tangible assets, no - there's not much. The MG brand is (AIUI) still on the table. There's still a lot of excellent engineering skill there. It's viable.
Which isn't a Rover asset, but leased.
Compared to the other uses Gordon and Tony will put it to, given half a chance, I wouldn't be too gutted.
: Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, : sounding much like they were saying : : : >: David James CBE, the corporate doctor who was brought in to save the : >: Millennium Dome, : : > Now there's a track record to be proud of. : : When you consider the point at which he was brought in, and the raw : material he had to work with, he didn't do too bad a job.
As I recall it, the building itself was brought in on time and under budget, while the exhibition got half the projected visitor numbers and lost several hundred million. Which bit was he responsible for?
: > I just can't see why anyone would want to buy the company. : : If you look at those tangible assets, no - there's not much. : The MG brand is (AIUI) still on the table. There's still a lot of excellent : engineering skill there. It's viable.
Except that the MG brand has been reported to belong to BMW. Was that report wrong? Ian
So, yes, he was brought in very late, saving us all from a complete white elephant...
If people like him had been listened to, rather than the HMG advisors akin to those of the 'King with new cloths', the whole thing wouldn't have even got off the memo pad - in short he did do a good job considering what he was given to work with...
It depends on what the original lease agreement states, the MG name might well have reverted back to BMW or it could still be held by the MG-Rover administrators.
"Ian Johnston" wrote in news:cCUlhtvFIYkV-pn2-t1GYgCsdQzFu@localhost:
I loved the accounting strategy. Whenever the costs looked about to go over budget, simply re-estimate the number of visitors. Actually getting half the projected number wasn't a bad job. There never was any way they were going to get the number they projected.
Half the problem, was with the media, seems like every report I heard/read about the Dome was bad, even before it opened. Everybody just jumped on the bandwagon to slate the Dome, seemed like it became the national pastime. If I remember right didn't they extend the opening period to deal with all the punters who wanted to go there?
Anthony ( snipped-for-privacy@614kingsway.freeserve.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
I don't recall that - you may be right, but I'd be surprised.
If I remember right, didn't they drop the "advance booking only" fairly sharpish when it turned out that nobody could be bothered?
I know two people who went.
One Aussie who was over here with his family, trekked out all the way, looked at the price on the ticket booth, mentally converted to Aussie Pesos, picked himself up off the floor and got straight back on the tube.
One exhibition stand designer, who went for work/research purposes. He forced himself to spend a full half an hour there, and came out laughing himself silly.
Vanden Plas - that brings back memories. my dad had a VP Austin 1300 which was lovely. All leather wood wool and toggle switches. Pinic tables are all. It has the twin carb so was reasonably nippy (this was the 70s). It handled OK and was a bit like a mini Rolls or something.
We liked it so much my mum got a VP, unfortunaely this was the Allegro version. Which wasn't so interesting. Same nice walnut but it just didn't have the style to carry it off.
simon ( snipped-for-privacy@liffeisabitc.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Registered yesterday.
That's not a particularly clever move. In the circumstances, while the David James team were fairly silly not to register it before the press releases/rumours, they shouldn't have any circumstances in getting it handed over. The rules are fairly clear.
The .com is going to be more interesting - registered 1999 to a guy in the States.
But aren't co.uk names for UK based companies and individuals and therefore more appropriate to any vanden plas product than a dot com address? A friend of mine tells me that anyone who claims to have an interest in an internet address has no automatic right to an address already registered, whenever that registration takes place.
simon ( snipped-for-privacy@liffeisabitc.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
In the circumstances - Press Releases on the 18th, with this domain registered on the 19th by a third party, I'd suspect that there could be a very strong claim under point 3c of Nominet's dispute policy, with 3a being quite likely too, unless the guy's just being awkward.
However, looking back at the press releases, I don't see any reference to "Vanden Plas", so that may just be speculation on a publication's part. Everything I'm reading refers to "Project Kimber" and a bid vehicle called Magma. I can't see them being daft enough to be aiming to revive a brand name like that, without having nabbed the domain names.
Besides, Jag are still using VdP as a trim level in some markets, and I can't picture Ford passing it over easily.
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Evidence of Abusive Registration
a. A non-exhaustive list of factors which may be evidence that the Domain Name is an Abusive Registration is as follows:
i. Circumstances indicating that the Respondent has registered or otherwise acquired the Domain Name primarily:
A. for the purposes of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the Domain Name to the Complainant or to a competitor of the Complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of the Respondent's documented out-of-pocket costs directly associated with acquiring or using the Domain Name;
B. as a blocking registration against a name or mark in which the Complainant has Rights; or
C. for the purpose of unfairly disrupting the business of the Complainant;
There is a VP Allegro 1500 driving around Bath with a For Sale notice in the window. Not pristine, but in reasonable nick. Not my type of car, but I thought I would mention it in case anyone is desperately looking for one.
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