Maestro and Montego have already gone there and are still being produced as new cars (with crap engines, sadly). It would be fitting to see the other '80s MMM join them.

 

Yes, i don't have an axe to grand either way, i drove an Mg Metro for a few years and loved it (that was with a "A" Series motor). I also had a Rover GTI and that was SH*T.

Metro like the MGF would NOT work with moden low profile tyres! Once the dumped the Hydrogas in the TF, it began to work!

I know that IF they made a few quick changers and Laser weilded the shells........I think it would get up to 2-3 Stars. Not bad here, and out standing for China!

Mega

 

Mega - I don't know who you are, but I do so like your posts - they are so badly typed I don't really know what you are trying to say.

 

I did night classes a few years back to learn how to Weild.

 

I ended up doing it for a living!

:shake: :shake: :shake:

:s2h:

 

Mega - I don't know who you are, but I do so like your posts - they are so badly typed I don't really know what you are trying to say.

let's face it Jen, where one poster has 10 posts and the other has 1300, chances are most other people will know who the one is with the more posts. Welcome anyway!

I for one would like to see all 3Ms back on our streets. I do not believe in this "crash stars" stuff.

Must go now, my broadband moden is playing up. If only I had a soldiering iron, I could wield it!

pat

 

Bear with me Jan!
Theirs method in my maddness!
Mega

 

...the team from China came across the Metro tooling. Seems they very keen on the idea of using it.

You see, you cannot keep class down.

 

Don't know If its true or not, don't know if its a good idea......just it might be.
Mega

 

I would be very surspised if the Chinese do not squeeze every last drop out of MGR.

 

It does make a certain amount of sense. A cheap runabout, available as a three or five door car. Fun to drive, easy to maintain, cheap to build.

 

Build-quality aside (which even enthusiasts like myself have to admit was "variable") the '80s MMM cars were practical, spacious cars which led the pack in many ways (especially the MG versions). Perhaps the Metro Turbo wasn't the XR2i beater it really should have been, but hey ho. What I'm saying in a roundabout way is that it's not surprising these cars have taken on so well in China: all three were fundamentally great cars which, over 20 years since they were first sold, are leagues ahead of what the Chinese produce. The Montego estate is still largely unbeaten on practicality by modern cars in my view.

 

Why not reintroduce Metro in China?

Lets face it, even 1* crash-worthiness is probably no worse than most cars produced in China, most of which probably wont have been crash tested!

And the engine issue, which is the sad part of the Montego/Maestro reincarnation is irrelevant if they restart R6 production - Nanjing have the tools to build the K series.

 

Why not reintroduce Metro in China?

Lets face it, even 1* crash-worthiness is probably no worse than most cars produced in China, most of which probably wont have been crash tested!

And the engine issue, which is the sad part of the Montego/Maestro reincarnation is irrelevant if they restart R6 production - Nanjing have the tools to build the K series.

The Chinese 4x4's being imported into Europe (I forget the name - Windfinder or something along those lines) were put through a European crash test last month and scored a truly remarkable zero.

 

I am pretty certain that the Metro tooling was actually sold off to a company based in Coventry, who at one point were trying to negotiate a sale to the Iranians, but this fell through several years back. Since then and until Mike's post, I've heard nothing more on the subject.

Can anyone confirm that the line actually remains at Longbridge? The only lines I was aware of remaining there were the 600/800 line that came up from Cowley and part of the old 400 line?

Regards

John

 

*if* they were going to put it back into production, it would need one hell of a update to do so.

Sure the shell may be ok, but the interior will be 'retro', which I appreciate is appealing to some, but I doubt it would compete well today, even in China!

Then they'd have to engineer out the Hydragas units as they are made exclusivly by Dunlop.

After they'd done all that, why not just design one from scratch!?

 

The Chinese 4x4's being imported into Europe (I forget the name - Windfinder or something along those lines) were put through a European crash test last month and scored a truly remarkable zero.

Lamndwind, I think. Something stupid, anyway.

 

Theirs method in my maddness!
Mega

But not accuracy in your spelling!

 

Don't knock it, I've just watched a privately entered obsolete ten year old design of car beat the factory backed cutting edge models of Vauxhall, Seat, Honda & Lexus over 17 laps of Brands'. :lol:

 

In this case Steve "IF" is a very big word......my guess would be NO, but if yes than China only.
Mega

 

Have many of you acually seen the cars ppl in china drive?
If you exclude the tractor type things the farmers use, there all large GM based cars.
Plenty of VW's as well.
They may be a few years behind the current US models but there defently not bake bean cans with wheels!

I'll see if I can dig out some pics.

EDIT: image is here It's large sitting @ 840k but you can pic your cars...

Dan

 

I too had heard the rumours about the Metro/100 being bought by a Coventry firm. I understood that it was BMW that sold it off, pre-MGR, and that the tooling was actually in a Coventry warehouse, not Birmingham.

If they're desperate, surely the Allegro is lurking about somewhere...?

 

If they want to build in china fine, as long as they dont try and flog them over here.

The metro wasnt a bad car in its day but its totally out classed by todays modern small cars and supermini's, i'm surprised they could contemplate it even in china.

 

I am pretty certain that the Metro tooling was actually sold off to a company based in Coventry, who at one point were trying to negotiate a sale to the Iranians, but this fell through several years back. Since then and until Mike's post, I've heard nothing more on the subject.

Can anyone confirm that the line actually remains at Longbridge? The only lines I was aware of remaining there were the 600/800 line that came up from Cowley and part of the old 400 line?

John,

You are correct on all points, the Metro/100 line was stripped out and sold going right into storage in Coventry with intention of setting up production out of western Europe (a condition of sale) BMW sold the lot for 8Million GBP and it was reportedly for sale at 35Million GBP installed at factory of yours.

In the pre BMW days of Rover Group, Swindon and to a lesser degree Canley was the dumping ground for all the old tat of the company. In fact at Stratton St Margrets when BMH was looking for MG C bonnet tooling they came across, or so they say, some never used pressing tools for IIRC the rebodied TR7/8 Triumph broadside.

The Metro/100 line is long gone.

 

£35m for everything you need to build the Metro? That sounds like a bargain.

Ok, so you still have to source engines and gearboxes, and you still have to invest a fair amount more in getting a facility up and running, but even still, I would have thought that a few countries would have found that an interesting prospect: Iran, for instance, or any number of African countries, who would love to get themselves a motor industry of their own.

Imagine yourself the president of a small African country, for instance.

In return for a relatively small amount of money (for a country, that is), you could have three door and five door hatchbacks and a small van, creating good employment prospects and the chance to export to your neighbours.

Work on it for a few years, concentrate on getting component build quality right up to Western standards, and your engineering firms can start competiting with western firms for building components for some of the bigger manufacturers - Ford, Renault, Peugeot, VW and so on. You'll win contracts because of your lower component prices and proven quality record.

Then your country starts to get a name for itself in engineering excellence. Employment opportunities start to increase as foreign companies invest into your country, allowing you to get involved with more ambitious projects... creating even more momentum.

Today the Metro, tomorrow the world!