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As far as mass-production cars go, it's unrealistic to expect to be able to compete nowadays - the market is controlled by a few huge multi-national conglomerates. The only future in the Uk car industry lies with small specialist niche manufacturers i.e. Morgan, TVR
It actually mirrors the true state of the UK... over-used, under-funded and on borrowed time.

If the greedy directors of Rover have been sticking their noses in the trough at the expense of the company, who can blame them? For a number of years various chief executives and chairmen have been helping themselves to obscene salaries, taking companies into the shite, and getting even more obscene pay-offs for their incompetence---before being employed by another big company for an obscene amount of money because "well, you have to pay for quality."

It's a touch of the Terry Venables scenario. Tel is a world-class manager because he's convinced everyone he's a world-class manager through his self-promotion. He's by no means the only one in footballing terms, but is an example most folk will have heard of. He went from top job to top job effortlessly---and the lack of a huge amount of silverware didn't seem to put off prospective employers.

So long as the City insists that you need to pay top dollar for mediocre halfwits, management will continue to mismanage.

The thing is they did their damnedest, 20 years ago, to make the consumer feel guilty for buying top quality stuff, when they could have been purchasing inferior items ("but at least they're British!").

If the Japanese and the Koreans are doing well, it's because they have a hunger to succeed, and a pride in what they're doing. There are firms throughout these islands where people think just showing up (and in many cases, taking a sickie) is enough to earn their pay. And these are the people who do the most shouting when that safety net of the "work" environment is removed.

Sadly, not an unusual case, mate. Between the ones brought into daddy's firm and the possessors of MBAs, who are fluent in marketing gobshite, management seems to be a home for the not terribly bright.

Guys I reckon at the end of the day what will happen is some group of blokes will come along and the MG brand will be reborn out of the ashes of MG Rover. It?ll employ a fraction of its work force get good managers and turn over a profit. Now I know MG aint the this and that of cars but lets be honest it?s better than the magical Rover 2 or 4 series and the MG version of the 8 looks pretty good. It would be a damn shame if Longbridge was turned in to a housing estate full of houses no one could afford!

Part of the mythos of management: no matter how crap they are, the rumours of their greatness prevail.