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Welcome to XPower-MG.com
29 Dec, 2007 - 8:22 AM - by Jerry
Welcome to one of the oldest and busiest established MG internet sites. We are proud to be associated with all MG & Rover products, past present and future. If you would like to become a member we have the following interactive facets: Forum - Gallery - Blog - Arcade BELOW Jason Hughes at Rockingham Race Day!
0 Replies \| 271 Views

Chinese TF's are nearly here.

13 May, 2008 - 8:12 PM - by Tootall

Taken from the Birmingham Post;

Quote:

Chinese-built MG TF sports cars will finally roll off production lines in Nanjing on May 20, it has emerged.

Nanjing Automobile (NAC) confirmed the date to a group of British journalists during a tour of production facilities.

The date is four months ahead of the expected relaunch of production of the two-seater at Longbridge.

NAC, which is far more open than of late, said there was a high degree of anticipation in China for the car and that it already has hundreds of advance orders for the model.

In expectation of the high demand, the company is arranging to take on an extra 1,000 people at its plant.

Yang Junhu, vice general manger of Nanjing MG, said: "It is a very exciting time for us – we started work on this in 2005 and we think the car will be popular."

The success of the car in China may have a bearing on what happens at Longbridge. While confidence in MG in China is strong, in Europe there are fears the brand may have difficulty re-establishing itself.

The MG TF is based on a design which first appeared on UK roads back in 1995 and is thought to need something of a facelift if it is to grab the attention of more demanding European drivers.

This being said, the design of the TF’s nearest rival – Mazda’s MX-5 – is even older and that has retained its popularity with very little alteration.

NAC has pledged additional new models will be built at Longbridge in the near future, with one of them being an updated roadster and coupe.

Others are thought to be a new large car, possibly an updated version of the former 75 model, together with two new mid-range models. The Nanjing plant is already supplying engines and other body parts to the UK for eventual assembly at Longbridge.

4 Replies | 129 Views

Chinese Motor Show Pictures
30 Apr, 2008 - 10:08 AM - by Jerry
Absolutely loads of MG pictures here. May add a few to our Gallery!
11 Replies \| 301 Views

Longbridge MP wants answers.

07 Apr, 2008 - 7:55 PM - by Tootall

Taken from the Birmingham Post;

Quote:

Almost all of the 6,000 former car workers who lost their jobs when Longbridge collapsed have found re-employment - but three years from the crash they are no closer to finding out the official reason for the factory's closure.

A long-awaited report commissioned by the Government into the events at MG Rover remains unpublished and, according to Richard Burden MP (Lab: Northfield), until it is no one will "achieve closure on the closure".

Latest requests to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform - which took over responsibility for the report from the now-defunct Department for Trade and Industry - for the report's publication date are batted off with the response: "We have no date yet. We want an accurate and thorough investigation that gives all the answers."

However, Mr Burden said this simply wasn't good enough and the ex employees, their families, the Longbridge community and Birmingham as a whole deserved answers.

"It is beyond a joke," he said. "I simply don't understand why it is taking so long to produce the report and until it is published then we shall never achieve closure on the closure."

Latest figures have shown that the independent report has so far cost around £11 million and in the process of their deliberations inspectors have run up almost £100,000 in hotel bills and £30,000 on food bills.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee has estimated that the total cost of MG Rover's collapse to taxpayers, creditors and former employees was almost £1 billion.

This included more than£600 million owed to employees and unpaid creditors, and costs of £270 million to the taxpayer.

The four members of the Phoenix consortium - John Towers, Peter Beale, John Edwards and Nick Stephenson - that rescued Rover when BMW pulled out are currently managing assets that will ultimately be sold and the proceeds placed in a trust fund set up to benefit redundant Longbridge workers and their families.

However, they have said they are not in a position to do anything until the report is published.

A clearly exasperated Mr Burden added: "If that is the case, then it is just further justification for the report to be published as quickly as possible."

He said that the Phoenix consortium had a vested interest in seeing closure because if they failed to provide any money for former workers then that was likely to be their legacy - not the fact that they saved Rover when no one else would.

Mr Burden said he also hoped that the assets being managed by PricewaterhouseCooper would be declared shortly in the hope that exemployees would get something back.

Figures released today by the Rover Task Force show that of the original 6,346 who made claims for Jobseeker's allowance, 5,979 are no longer claiming Working Age Benefits - this equates to 94.2 per cent.

Of the 5,979, 5,801 are known to be working and 139 are registered for Jobseeker's Allowance.

David Cragg, regional director of the Learning and Skills Council in the West Midlands, said: "The closure of MG Rover was a devastating blow for the local community - unprecedented in its scale.

"Now, three years down the line, the fact that the vast majority of ex-MG Rover workers are back in employment is testament to that commitment to our core objective - delivering the right skills that will meet employers' needs and creating opportunities for individuals."

He said the challenge going forward was to make sure that everyone continued to build on the work that had been done so far, not only in Longbridge but in disadvantaged communities throughout the region.

However, while the majority of workers have found alternative employment, very few of them are actually employed making cars.

Hopes were high last year that Shanghai Automotive, which took on the MG brand from Nanjing, would soon begin producing sports cars from their base at Longbridge.

Around 50 dealers across the UK had been told that the MG TF would be launched in September and had confidently expected to see it in showrooms by now.

But quality issues with the Chinese-made components have caused further delays and now no one is sure when production might recommence.

Suggestions were that SAIG were eyeing developments at nearby Jaguar and Land Rover to see what might happen there.

It was hoped they would see the advantag

... [Read More]

6 Replies | 210 Views

Roewe 550 news from AutoExpress

24 Apr, 2008 - 8:42 AM - by Jerry

Beijing Motor Show - Roewe 550 unveiled
Chinese firm reveals Ford Focus rival that's set to be built in Britain.

Text: Mat Watson / Photos: Guy Bird
22nd April 2008

Quote:

This is the car which will put MG back on the map – in Birmingham. It’s called the Roewe 550, but Auto Express can exclusively reveal that an MG-badged version is on its way, and is likely to be made at Longbridge.

The 550 has been designed to appeal to British buyers – the lines were penned by a team of leading UK stylists working for Roewe’s owner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). The Chinese firm recently bought NAC MG, and is now looking to use the famous octagon logo to give it a slice of the lucrative European market, as SAIC has decided not to bring the Roewe badge here. A car based on the 550 will be the first MG to go on sale.

It’s a saloon that’s roughly similar in size to Ford’s Focus, and should cost about the same, too. The sharp lines follow closely from last year’s Roewe W2. But the roadgoing version, which will go on sale in China next month with a 1.8-litre turbo-charged petrol engine, has a new slatted grille. Inside the modern theme continues, with a curved dash and two-tone finish that’s similar to the BMW 3-Series. However, it’s highly unlikely that the Roewe’s build quality will be anywhere near a match for the German machine.

But building the MG version at Longbridge – which has had £39million of investment ploughed into it by NAC MG, and still retains a small but experienced workforce – should ensure this model will deliver the quality demanded by European buyers.

Before the Birmingham plant returns to mass production, it will be used to assemble small numbers of the TF. There had been speculation this plan had been scrapped, but an NAC MG official told Auto Express that things are back on track, and TFs are likely to start rolling out of the factory gates within the next six months.

8 Replies | 312 Views

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