[ROVERNET - UK] People who buy Rovers

[Glen Wilson]

phing wrote:
> Glen
> It's a pity Rover didn't invest in competent dealers who were equally 
> , "interesting , stylish and better appointed" . The Toronto Rover 
> shop in the 60s was manned by a bunch of effettee pseudo " English 
> gents ' who looked down on the punters who fought their way through 
> the pottted palms to see the ' motors ' .Their  general attitude was  
> " One invests in a Wover , one doesn't need to test drive a superior 
> motor. A gentleman does not discuss price ; one's man looks after such 
> sordid details "
> Their incompetence, Rover's evil reputation for variable quality 
> control  and the ridiculous size of the P6 trunk were the reasons I 
> bought two brick out house Volvos in the 60s
> Cheers
> Patrick 

Well, I don't think the P6 trunk was "ridiculously" small. If you want 
to give up the styling or and the DeDion rear suspension, you can have a 
bigger trunk. It's possible to design a good-looking car with a big 
trunk, but there are trade-offs. The original P4 boot was vastly more 
sexy than the later P4 rear end.

Besides, Patrick, you man will load the fitted luggage for you anyway, 
so why complain?

;-)

Offering a model line for sale in the United States in 1960's without a 
station wagon (estate) probably indicated that Rover was just trying to 
sell a few cars as a boutique marque rather than making a serious 
attempt to sell a lot of cars in the USA.  Rover automobiles actually 
sold pretty well in the USA given the small amount of effort Rover 
invested in the undertaking.

And, of course, you could buy a lot of car in the USA for the $4300 
Rover wanted for the sporty new 3500S by 1969. The Pontiac GTO hardtop 
sold for a base price of $3,080 in 1969.  The convertible model sold at 
a base price of $3,553. For a lot of Americans, that was not quite even 
a no-brainer. The Buick Electra 225 was about equal in price to the 
3500S at $4,400, if you wanted luxury and trunk space!

Glen

Glen