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Old 22nd September 2010, 22:29   #111
Jules
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Most excellent news Paul
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Newbies do now!!
1. Plenum drains..all 3 or 4 year dependent
2. Cooling fan..All speeds functioning
3. Bonnet cable divider block
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Old 8th October 2010, 10:19   #112
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Just had a look on my W plate club, and the armrest is the vinyl one Has this been replaced or did the club and classic always have vinyl?
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Old 30th October 2010, 18:20   #113
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Just read this for the first time - so sorry to resurrect an old thread!

I have a post-facelift ZT so to a certain effect this car is less affected in that most of the changes seem to affect some nice touches that were removed from early Rover 75s after the move to Longbridge.

In the eyes of MG Rover enthusiasts, these changes have become intrinsically linked with the eventually demise of MG Rover. However I would suggest that almost all mass-produced cars go through this process at some stage. What happens is that huge amounts of money are invested in a car during its development. When it is launched and placed under the scrutiny of journalists, a new model has to be the best in class and as such it will usually be slightly more expensive than the competition.

As that model moves into middle-age, it will be discounted or the price will be held rather than increased with inflation. So to maintain profitability, small items are deleted. The manufacturer may even survey owners to ask them 'how useful do you find x or y' - if they say 'Never used it' or 'does my car have this?' a manufacturer will be tempted to delete that item.

As to the savings made - if a car manufacturer can save £20 per car (I am sure significantly more was shaved from each Rover 75) and they make 500,000 cars a year that is a saving of £10 million which could mean the difference between a loss and a move towards profitability. It was make it easier to raise the funds to finance a new model (new car development has to be a top priority for any manufacturer) or for a parent company to sell a car manufacturer (we know the Pheonix Four were looking to do this). British Aerospace did the same with Austin Rover in the run up to the sale of Rover Group to BMW.

Other changes were done by necessity. For example, I have always seen the removal of the Rover logo from the button on the key as something that had to be done when the MG ZT was launched so they could use the same key. A new key design could have been commissioned for the MG but that would have been an additional cost. So I see that change as a way of avoiding additional cost rather than a cost-cutting exercise.

I also think that most owners and potential buyers would have never noticed deletions as this is the preserve of the enthusiast. So for these reasons, it could be argued that MG Rover bosses were actually doing the right and proper thing here, even though it is a nuisance for enthusiasts who cherish their cars and keep them for an above-average period of time. It would have been irresponsible for MG Rover not to have tried absolutely everything in their power to keep the company in business.

The new MG UK company has made some issue of reversing the deletions to the TF that were introduced by Project Drive. They are able to do this because they have drastically cut costs in another way - the cars are now built in China.

After all, building cars that cost more to make than you can sell them for is not a viable way to run a business.
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Old 30th October 2010, 18:27   #114
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Whil I agree with what you've said, I totally disagree with the key comment - a key might just a lump of plastic, but it's the first thing you hold before you get in the car for the first time.

A button with "MG" or "Rover" etched on it would of cost pennies extra, and a Rover-shaped but blank unlocking button on an MG just screams "raided parts bin".

They key doesn't have to be made out of solid gold (although heavier keys "feel" more quality...), but it's a surprisingly large thing.
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Old 30th October 2010, 18:35   #115
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakg View Post
Whil I agree with what you've said, I totally disagree with the key comment - a key might just a lump of plastic, but it's the first thing you hold before you get in the car for the first time.

A button with "MG" or "Rover" etched on it would of cost pennies extra, and a Rover-shaped but blank unlocking button on an MG just screams "raided parts bin".

They key doesn't have to be made out of solid gold (although heavier keys "feel" more quality...), but it's a surprisingly large thing.
the mini shared the same key as our cars,the deleted emblem on the unlocking button could be due to that..it's a theory i have heard,regarding the quality of the key,hold it against a ford key of the same era,the rover key looks and feels quality.
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Old 30th October 2010, 19:02   #116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakg View Post
A button with "MG" or "Rover" etched on it would of cost pennies extra, and a Rover-shaped but blank unlocking button on an MG just screams "raided parts bin".
Are you sure?

MG Rover would have to had gone back to Valeo and said - "we need you to redesign the key so that it has an octagon shaped button embossed with the MG logo"

Valeo would have sucked air through their corporate teeth and said: "we will have to redesign the pressings of both the fob shell and the button and it will cost £x,000s"

They would not have said: "That will only cost a few pennies"

With the benefit of hindsight (if they knew in 1998 that they would be launching an MG version of the Rover 75 in 2001) they could have got the two designs commissioned at the same time (just like they did with the MINI and Rover 75 versions) or just gone for a round button with an open padlock image.

However, I do agree with you as it pains me to unlock my MG ZT with a blank but obviously Rover-inspired Viking ship-shaped button!
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Old 30th October 2010, 19:07   #117
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Quote:
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Are you sure?

MG Rover would have to had gone back to Valeo and said - "we need you to redesign the key so that it has an octagon shaped button embossed with the MG logo"

Valeo would have sucked air through their corporate teeth and said: "we will have to redesign the pressings of both the fob shell and the button and it will cost £x,000s"

They would not have said: "That will only cost a few pennies"

With the benefit of hindsight (if they knew in 1998 that they would be launching an MG version of the Rover 75 in 2001) they could have got the two designs commissioned at the same time (just like they did with the MINI and Rover 75 versions) or just gone for a round button with an open padlock image.

However, I do agree with you as it pains me to unlock my MG ZT with a blank but obviously Rover-inspired Viking ship-shaped button!
Even if Valeo had said it would cost a bazillion dollars, a human kidney and a small dodo, theres nothing stopping you opening it up and replacing the button with a pattern part.

It's the little things that make the massive difference - my Proton had the worlds shittest key and it pretty much set the tone for the whole car!
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Old 30th October 2010, 19:17   #118
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pab View Post
the mini shared the same key as our cars,the deleted emblem on the unlocking button could be due to that..it's a theory i have heard,regarding the quality of the key,hold it against a ford key of the same era,the rover key looks and feels quality.
Early big MINIs have a MINI logo on the button and look like a Rover 75 key:



At some stage in 2005 they started to look like this:



The badge / logo is no longer the button and the buttons are either side of the chrome logo. The key also operates the boot which would be great for my ZT as there is no keyhole in the bootlid - didn't this used to be on the early Rover 75?

As an aside, there must be a glut of MG Rover fobs around (or they are cheaper from X-Part than BMW dealers) as 'our' fobs are being sold by online vendors as a replacement for the MINI: http://www.hklock.com/hkproduct_view.asp?pid=1768
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Old 30th October 2010, 19:27   #119
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Quote:
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Even if Valeo had said it would cost a bazillion dollars, a human kidney and a small dodo, theres nothing stopping you opening it up and replacing the button with a pattern part.
That is true - but you'd then have an MG logo embossed on the Viking-ship shaped button and it would look a bit like the new MG7's grille with the MG logo on a premium Rover 75 grille:

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Old 30th October 2010, 19:34   #120
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewsemple View Post

The badge / logo is no longer the button and the buttons are either side of the chrome logo. The key also operates the boot which would be great for my ZT as there is no keyhole in the bootlid - didn't this used to be on the early Rover 75?

]
The keyhole in bootlid was fitted until the facelift version was introduced in 2004.



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