MG Zero

Winds of Change

Although owned by an overseas operation, all appears well and good with the old MG - but the proof will be sales and sales will only be good if the quality is there for all the public to see.

Perhaps one day the Rover name can be once more, perhaps Austin, Morris, Riley...

But more than anything, we need, Britain needs and the world needs is a TRIUMPH!

By antonio7865 on 24 April, 2010, 1:27am

Vote UKIP lets get some British manufacturing back!

Gordon Brown and his cohorts should be ashamed; if they had lent MG Rover the £100 million for a month (yes one month!) they would be 49% owners of what will probably be a VW rival in around 10 years (see Kia and Hyundai!) Instead they've paid out over 2 billion pounds on benefits to the 20'000 unemployed from MG Rover and their suppliers in the last few years with no chance of a return, this is partly why we are in such a mess - Shame on them!

By Focus_your_mind on 24 April, 2010, 10:30am

Oh Relax, it's a Modern Gentleman.

Firstly, I doubt they care if you like it. It's meant to appeal to the asian market, where it will sell for a great deal less than what they hope some flag-wavers in Britain will pay for it. They may have changed the name (no longer Morris Garages, but now Modern Gentleman - I wish I was making this up!) but at least it will still have a Union Jack stuck somewhere on its bodywork. Of course its based on ancient technology (k-series engine!), and badly built so in essence it is a true MG. Oh, and never in a million years would Rover been a rival to VW. Never. Rover, MG and all the other old brands died out because the product was bad. Seriously bad. Why would anyone expect it to suddenly be good?

By theos on 24 April, 2010, 3:09pm

Who said they didn't like it? Perhaps Theos you should read posts before commenting!

Actually Theos you are quite wrong; all cars were bad back in the 80's, save a few Japanese and German marques. The difference was that the likes of Fiat, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen had the support of their home markets. The attitude of the British public was; foreign is better. without the home sales there was little money to develope new models and technology. The product was never seriously bad it was just seriously badly managed. The TF and 75 were very good in their day and the ZT even last year was voted #3 (up against Subaru's, S2000 and Boxster) out of a 100 for best ride handling in a JD power survey
Ancient technology? The K series was a great engine; it was ultra light weight and efficient just let down by a cheap gasket. apparently the new version is an updated and improved version so it should now work as it was supposed to have.

Prior to Leyland swallowing the Rover brand it was a fine product, famous German brands used it as a bench mark. Again shame on the goverment!

Rover will never in a million years rival VW, for once you are right; the brand is owned by Tata group (who own Jaguar and Land Rover) and cannot be revieved as an agreement was made with Ford who used it uder licence from BMW, when they owned the brand. Ford since purchased the Rover name so that it could not be used to confuse Americans who refer to LR as Rover's!

By Focus_your_mind on 26 April, 2010, 10:44am

Tiger In The Tank...

It is the year of the Tiger in China so listen to them roar!!! This particular roar has some real attitude. No longer a clumsy cub-like yowl, more a full blooded challenge.

The MG Zero is the first model I've seen from "Modern Gentleman" that truly places the big, stripey cat well and truly amongst the pigeons. It's quite a looker too with fresh, sharp lines, lots of lurvely detailing, especially from the rear. It's maybe a tad tall and the front end is a little fussy but 'hey ho', lets wait and see what it looks like in the metal. The interior is very modern and sexy, although i'm certain the white dash and detailing will be toned down for the production car, unless of course buyers receive a free pair of Ray Bans with every purchase.

It's good to hear that the Chinese have spent a bit of time and effort developing the K series engine. I agree whole heartedly with Focus_your_mind. The K series engine is an excellent power plant. Sadly, MG/Rover didn't have the funds to develop it, so towards the end it lost ground to Fords Zetec amongst others.

Isn't it time to let Rover rest in peace? Most of us know the story of Rovers demise, but chewing over old fat isn't going to bring old Rover back. At least the Chinese are making the new cars in Britain so frankly it could've been a whole lot worse...

By sgtgrash on 27 April, 2010, 10:19am

FOCUS_YOUR_MIND

Well mister Citroen man agrees 100% with that, now there's a first......

By citroen5947 on 27 April, 2010, 10:46am

Ok........

I'm assuming this is just a concept. Sure, I agree with most here that the Chinese owned MG plants are starting to get things together and yes, the K Series engine as used in latter day Metros and later on badged as Rover 100's is a great little engine but I really hope the illustrations above from AE don't actually come to fruition like that because it looks like a mish mash of several different cars from some angles. Front end: new Polo and MK6 Golf and for that matter new Scirocco anyone? The rear quarter profile on the 5 door looks like a Renault 14 from the 80's or earlier, and I haven't yet made up my mind what the rear end looks like. Come on MG, surely you can do better than that. Even the new MG6 looks better than that and that isn't great.

By nick7 on 27 April, 2010, 11:18am

Not full of eastern promise.

Its hard to think of a brand which has been more compromised by having the badge fixed to ordinary saloon cars.

Look at what BMW has done with Cooper and just imagine what potential MG has.

By catriona55 on 27 April, 2010, 12:17pm

Not suitable for the UK market.

£15 000 For a car with an engine from the 1980s.

The K series may have looked good on paper in the 80s and 90s but i'm afraid the engine has missed the boat.

The english want more than a badge with great heritage on their bonnet. They want a decent engine under the bonnet that will be quick, cheap to tax and cheap on fuel.

By gaffer1986 on 27 April, 2010, 1:15pm

Bob Lewis

What is it with Eastern namings?

Zero= nothing, null, nought, nix - or alternatively, and worse still, the Zero fighter was the predominant warplane used by the Japanese suicide pilots in WW2. (Is this car also a deathtrap?)

Unfortunate Eastern naming (apart from those awful Lucies and Daisies) reminds me of the Mitsubishi (or was it Toyota?) Starrion of the 80s. Urban legend has it that it was supposed to be called the Stallion, but somewhere along the production line the local pronunciation of Stallion got substituted! (Good story anyway.)

By robertcglewis3 on 27 April, 2010, 3:03pm

ZERO Its all in the name

Zero originality?The Car looks ok just like any other modern hatch its got a hint of Fiesta about it and the Rear Exhaust is a copy of a Corsa VXR.If they are to succeed then they must look at replicating Kia and Hyundai by offering a long warranty and a good dealer network.Kia have only succeeded because they have built european style cars with good build quality and 7year warranties.I would never have bought a Kia 5years ago but i would consider one now.I am not bothered whether the chinese MG is a success or not i am not nostalgic,the world has moved on.If i have to buy something built in UK then i would buy a Nissan or Honda.MG have to make something very special with good build quality they cannot just rely on a few misty eyed die hard fans to buy their cars.If they can match other far eastern companies then i wouldn't rule one out but they have to prove their worth as other companies have done.

By nickbsmooth on 27 April, 2010, 4:50pm

Looks like the MG will have a shot, lets hope it's new masters understand their customers!

The Stallion story is totally true, the guy in charge of badging couldn't pronouce Stallion, and said Starion due to a lisp! The name stuck. Mitsubishi made war planes (the Zero fighter) during WWII. They thought naming the new (at the time) FTO Zero fighter would go down well in Japan, however, due to their peoples very proud nature, anything to do with losing was never going to be a roaring success, the name was dropped!

I agree no point being nostalgic anymore, we need to secure jobs and being in China's pocket in years to come may not be a bad thing (well it's the best we can hope for!) the Chinese can afford to put a 7 year warranty on their cars due to the low production cost, whether made here or in China, the parts are going to cost pennies. If they do this and offer 0% and then if the first batch of customers are very satisfied, we could see this snowball ala Kia/ Hyundai.

As for the styling, as long as it's not offensive, as it is not the be all and end all for some; just look at the Multipla, Fusion, Picasso, C3 and Rio to name a few, these have all been massive sellers yet all are butt ugly!

By Focus_your_mind on 27 April, 2010, 5:07pm

MG ?

An MG ? Can't be, where is the vertical chrome MG radiator, the rear slab tank, wire wheels, sweeping wings and running boards. It's also got a roof instead of a canvas hood. No, this can't be an MG.

By Sharp on 27 April, 2010, 8:17pm

It's the 21st centuary - time to move on

Sharp - You are living in the past- Do Ferrari's have chrome bumpers, do Jag's still have wire wheels? No. Neither should a 21st centuary MG, though using a couple of classic styling cues in a new way is not a bad thing, as long as the lines and proportions look right. Lets see what the finished product looks like then comment

By Focus_your_mind on 28 April, 2010, 1:15pm

Lets go back to the 1930's

Focus_your_mind

Have you heard of Irony?

By Sharp on 28 April, 2010, 7:09pm

It'll never look like this in production. If it looks anything like the MG6 then it'll be pretty bland.

By B1G_B3AR1 on 29 April, 2010, 1:07pm

This is NOT an MG - Full Stop!

Comments from an Austin Motor Company man from real Longbridge!

Like the so-called MG6 this also looks as though it was designed by a drunken pork butcher. Badly designed and ugly looking cars do not become MGs by merely sticking an MG badge on the nose - or sides!

Its supposed to have been designed and engineered in Britain? Whoever knocked this up should be ashamed of themselves - it really looks as though someone did it on the computer with some cheap CAD programme!

The actual present build ROEWE 750s I have been in and experienced in Shanghai are great cars and their changed detail to the original is better and in good taste inside and outside. This offering is very much not so.

I am sure SAIC with all their connections to AUDI and VW etc can do much better!

I am thankful I do not have to sell these for a living in Europe - I would starve!

By vandenplas4litre on 30 April, 2010, 11:13am

Not keen

Good luck with it but I wouldn't say its good looking. Prefer the Rover 25!

By Ian2861 on 1 May, 2010, 12:00pm

Another MG (Moronic Goon)

Sharp - your post was more moronic than ironic . I'm sorry but I can't see the irony in your post - have you heard of sarcasm? As that is what your post was, assuming you meant it to be tongue in cheek.

By Focus_your_mind on 4 May, 2010, 4:37pm

Focus_your_mind

You are just an objectional little twerp .....

By Sharp on 4 May, 2010, 9:23pm

Congratulations Focus, you have successfully brought politics, verbal diarrhoea and malice to this forum.

1) Politics, whoever in their right mind could advocate Ukip with its policies that would bring economic disaster to this country needs their heads examining. This column is not the correct venue for politics.

2) Verbal diarrhoea, you repeatedly place multiple posts as if yours are the only opinions that are correct or that matter.

3) If you don’t like something you resort to calling someone a moron,

You my dear fellow are the moron

By BigLen on 5 May, 2010, 5:46am

Thats focussed

Focus your mind, I suggest that you need to leave your keyboard for a while and try to get out more. Meet real people.
Get a life.

By Motorman76 on 5 May, 2010, 1:53pm

Trawling for a fight

It seems to me that FYM is just one of those pathetic characters that trawls sites like this just looking to pick a fight or annoy people. Crawl back under your stone.

By HemiHead on 5 May, 2010, 4:33pm

mmmmm MG

Look, let's sort out the blurb regarding the K-series engine. For a start, it's a damned good engine. Secondly, the engines in these cars will be the N-series - a design based on the K but which has been heavily re-engineered by Lotus,
Now, we all know how this government thought of manufacturing and let's hope that pretty soon we will have one that thinks about a more balanced economy. The bond markets will dictate that we pay off GB's pathetic management of our economy through GDP anyway, which means that wee will need to export manufactured goods.
And now, those cars. Yum yum. I have been waiting for news like this since 2005, when I bought my then new ZS. I usually replace them every three years but have been holding out for news like this as I know I can trust the build quality from Longbridge and I don't get any of the little rattles and stuff failing that quite a few of my pals have had with other popular brands.
I am undecided wheather to hang on and go for the Zero or go for the MG6. What ever it is, it will be an MG.

By sclaret on 5 May, 2010, 8:16pm

mmmmm MG

Look, let's sort out the blurb regarding the K-series engine. For a start, it's a damned good engine. Secondly, the engines in these cars will be the N-series - a design based on the K but which has been heavily re-engineered by Lotus,
Now, we all know how this government thought of manufacturing and let's hope that pretty soon we will have one that thinks about a more balanced economy. The bond markets will dictate that we pay off GB's pathetic management of our economy through GDP anyway, which means that wee will need to export manufactured goods.
And now, those cars. Yum yum. I have been waiting for news like this since 2005, when I bought my then new ZS. I usually replace them every three years but have been holding out for news like this as I know I can trust the build quality from Longbridge and I don't get any of the little rattles and stuff failing that quite a few of my pals have had with other popular brands.
I am undecided wheather to hang on and go for the Zero or go for the MG6. What ever it is, it will be an MG.

By sclaret on 5 May, 2010, 8:54pm

Sobered up ?????

Sfunny Focus Your Mind has gone a bit quiet...... perhaps he has sobered up. Or maybe realised what a prat he has made himself look. Good riddance.

By Wheelnut2006 on 6 May, 2010, 7:53pm

A Welcome return for MG

Firstly may I say how disappointed i am by all the haters on this forum, MG rover where both iconic and great makes in there time and continued to make great cars close to there demise!
The K series was a great engine let down by a poor head gasket design "lack of R&D funds" which was fixed by the use of the MLS modified gasket in later years! I like to think of MG Rover as the iconic British bulldog struggling against the odds, lack of finances and back handed deals by later owners BMW "Phoenix" and lastly by our own government.
Frankly what MG Rover achieved during it's last decade was nothing short of miracle and I cant wait to see what happens next! Who ever owns them!!!
Back to the K series issue, This engine was never intended to be more than a 1400 cc which was a reliable damp liner engine with good head gasket reliability. but when Honda started charging so much for there power-plants that only a minuscule profit could be made something radical was needed .
Thus the fully wet liner'd 1.4 1.6 & 1.8 unfortunately the old gasket design couldn't cope with the extra torsional twisting from the thinner blocks.Tthe new MLS gasket is a much sturdier design and copes very well.
I run a company that specializes in K series head gasket replacement and have great respect for this engine!
I think what else we need to appreciate is that whoever owns MG will be bringing much needed jobs to the UK and hopefully bring back some national pride in what the British can achieve after all it may be Chinese owned but mostly designed by British designers and engineered by MG with Ricardo.
The N " Modified K series" series has already gained good reviews and i'm sure will do just fine until MG find newer power plants!
When the MG6 is launched in November I will be first in line with deposit in hand!

By MJSautoandmarine on 14 May, 2010, 8:59pm

Stop getting personal just add to the debate

Sharp, Big Len, Motorman76, hemihead and Wheelnut 2006.

Thanks for your comments. like you I mearly expressed and opinion, my personal views. Yes went quiet because I was busy having a life! I did not come on here to pick a fight I am just passionate about Mg I've owned several and never had a problem. Yes I drive a focus now but I am looking forward to test driving the MG 6 and just hope it handles they way I expect of an MG and assuming they sort out a few of the styling issues I would be ready to buy one. I am not a racist, xenophobe, alcoholic or a pathetic little twerp. Just expressing my annoyence that people get more excited about 11 overpaid footballers playing badly. Than they do about British jobs and pride in anything we made, or ideed made. You are far to quick to judge and form an opinion of me whilst making comments about a product and brand most of you have never driven or owned. I suggest rather than ranting at me you should look at the state of our ecconomy and praise anyone who will invest in us whether that is the motor industry, retail, electronics or whatever. Rather than sitting smuggly in your armchairs laughing at the prospect of this company potentially employing thousands of workers and helping our trade deficit.

As for Wheelnut2006 you haved added abosolutely nothing to this debate other than wrongly implying I'm a heavy drinker, you are wrong on that front, and why don't you add your own views regarding this product rather than hurling an incorect analysis of my state of mind whilst I was bothering to contribute to this debate!

By Focus_your_mind on 19 June, 2010, 2:19pm

Yes why not buy the ever so reliable toyota's ( how many have been recalled )

By brucy on 10 July, 2010, 7:31pm