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| [[Image:Im1932Bart-p46a.jpg|thumb| 1885. Rover Bicycle. From 'Bartleet's Bicycle Book'.]] | | [[Image:ImHaynes-Rover.jpg|thumb| Advertising Sign. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1932Bart-p29.jpg|thumb| J. K. Starley's early Rover Bicycles. From 'Bartleet's Bicycle Book'.]] | | [[Image:Im061208MN-Rover.jpg|thumb| December 1906. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1906Mot-Rover1.jpg|thumb| 6 hp. From Motors and Motor-driving. Published in 1906.]]
| | [[image:Im070310MCJ-Rover.jpg|thumb| March 1907. New London depot. ]] |
| | | [[Image:Im19080912AJ-Rover.jpg|thumb| September 1908. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1946Vital-Rover1908.jpg|thumb| 1908. From 'Vital to the Life of the Nation'.]] | | [[image:Im19440526SDN-Rover.jpg |thumb| May 1944. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1920Cov-Rover.jpg|thumb| 1920. From Coventry Chamber of Commerce Year Book.]] | | [[image:Im19530606ILN-Rover.jpg|thumb| June 1953. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1920Cov-Rover2.jpg|thumb| 1920. From Coventry Chamber of Commerce Year Book.]] | | [[image:Im196010MotSC-Rover.jpg |thumb| Oct 1960. ]] |
| [[Image:Im1946Vital-Rover1921.jpg|thumb| 1921. From 'Vital to the Life of the Nation'.]] | | [[image:Im196210MotSC-Rover.jpg |thumb| Oct 1962. ]] |
| [[Image:Im70LC-RoverCycle1922.jpg|thumb| 1922. Rover Cyclecar]] | |
| [[Image:Im19410613Auto-Rover.jpg|thumb| 1941. From The Autocar of 13th June.]] | |
| [[Image:Im1946Vital-Rover1946.jpg|thumb| 1946. From 'Vital to the Life of the Nation'.]]
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| of Meteor Works, Lode Lane, Birmingham | | of Meteor Works, Lode Lane, Birmingham |
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| '''Rover''' was a British manufacturer of [[Bicycles]], [[Motorcycles]] and [[Cars]]. | | '''Rover''' was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars. |
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| * 1877/8 The company was founded by [[John Kemp Starley]] and [[William Sutton]] in 1878. Starley had formerly worked with his uncle [[James Starley]] (father of the cycle trade) who began in manufacturing sewing machines and switched to [[bicycles]] in 1869.
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| * 1883 The first '''Rover''' was a [[tricycles|tricycle]] manufactured by [[Starley and Sutton Co]] of Coventry, England in 1883.
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| * 1885 In the early 1880s the cycles available were the relatively dangerous [[Penny-Farthing]] and high-wheel [[tricycles]]. [[John Kemp Starley]] made history in 1885 by producing the '''Rover''' Safety Bicycle - a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeled designs. ''Cycling Magazine'' said the '''Rover''' had 'set the pattern to the world' and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years. Starley's '''Rover''' is usually described by historians as the first recognisably modern [[bicycles|bicycle]].
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| * 1888 [[John Kemp Starley]] made an electric [[cars|car]], but it was never put into production.
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| * 1889 The company became [[J. K. Starley and Co]] and, in the late 1890s, the '''Rover Cycle Co'''.
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| * 1896 Became a public company. The '''Rover Co''' company was registered on 13 June, under the title of the '''Rover Cycle Co''', to take over the business of [[J. K. Starley and Co]]. <ref>The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908</ref>
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| * 1901 Three years after Starley's death in 1901, the '''Rover''' company began producing [[cars|automobiles]] with the two-seater '''Rover Eight''' to the designs of [[Edmund Lewis]] who joined the company from [[Daimler]].
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| * 1905 The name was changed in November, to the '''Rover Co'''.
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| * WWI. During the First World War, they made [[motorcycles]], [[lorries]] to [[Maudslay]] designs and not having a suitable one of their own, [[cars]] to a [[Sunbeam]] design. [[Bicycles|Bicycle]] and [[motorcycles|motorcycle]] production continued until the Great Depression forced the end of production in 1925.
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| * The business was not very successful during the 1920s, and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s. | | '''See also - |
| | * [[Rover: Cars|Cars]] |
| | * [[Rover: Cycles|Cycles]] |
| | * [[Rover: Motorcycles|Motorcycles]] |
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| * In 1929 there was a change of management with [[Spencer Wilks]] coming in from [[Hillman]] as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to [[Ford]] and [[Austin]]. He was joined by his brother [[Maurice Wilks]], who had also been at [[Hillman]] as chief engineer, in 1930. [[Spencer Wilks]] stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.
| | 1905 The name was changed in November from the [[Rover Cycle Co]] to the '''Rover Co'''. |
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| * 1920 November. Exhibited at the Motor Car Show at Olympia and the White City with a lightweight [[cars|car]] weighing 9 cwt and seating two persons. <ref>The Engineer of 19th November 1920 p498</ref>
| | 1910 [[John E. Greenwood]] joined and designed a 3.5 hp machine |
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| * In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "Shadow Factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by '''Rover''', one at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941, and never regained full production.
| | c1910 [[George William Ravenhall]] was Works Manager |
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| * 1940 In early 1940 '''Rover''' were approached by the government to support [[Frank Whittle]] in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, [[Power Jets]] had no production facilities and the intention was for '''Rover''' to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in a disused cotton mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941. [[Rolls-Royce]] took an interest in the new technology and an agreement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange '''Rover''' would get the contract for making ''Meteor'' tank engines which actually continued until 1964.
| | WWI. During the First World War, they made motorcycles, lorries to [[Maudslay Motor Co|Maudslay]] designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a [[Sunbeam]] design. |
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| * After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making ''Meteor'' engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947 and would become the home of the [[Land Rover]].
| | WWI Rover Company made an agreement with [[Victor Riley]] for post-war manufacture of the Rover small car<ref> Archives of Rover Co [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=152-mss226&cid=22-1-1-3&kw=Victor%20Riley#22-1-1-3]</ref> |
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| * 1950 Designer [[F. R. Bell]] and Chief Engineer [[Maurice Wilks]] unveiled the first [[cars|car]] powered with a gas turbine engine. The two-seater ''JET1'' had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the [[cars|car]] and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the [[cars|car]] reached top speeds of 140km/h, at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The [[cars|car]] ran on petrol, paraffin or diesel oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production [[cars|car]]. It is currently on display at the [[London Science Museum]]. '''Rover''' and the [[BRM Formula One]] team joined forces to produce a gas turbine powered coupe, which entered the 1963 24 hours of Le Mans, driven by [[Graham Hill]] and [[Richie Ginther]]. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km/h) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h). This [[cars|car]] is in the [[London Science Museum]]
| | They acquired a factory at Tyseley |
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| * The 1950s and 1960s were fruitful years for the company, with the [[Land Rover]] becoming a runaway success (despite '''Rover's''' reputation for making up-market [[cars|saloons]], the utilitarian [[Land Rover]] was actually the company's biggest seller throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s), as well as the ''P5'' and ''P6'' saloons equipped with a 3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8, the design and tooling of which was purchased from [[Buick]], and pioneering research into gas turbine fuelled vehicles.
| | 1919 [[W. F. Wyley| Colonel W. F. Wyley]] (Chairman), [[Harry Smith]] (MD), [[John Kemp Starley (1877-1941)|J. K. Starley]], [[Mark Wild]] <ref>The Times, Thursday, Oct 09, 1919</ref> |
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| * 1961 Has eight subsidiaries. Manufactures of Rover cars and Land Rover commercial vehicles. <ref>[[1961 Guide to Key British Enterprises: Motor, Motor-Cycle and Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers]]</ref>
| | The business was not very successful during the 1920s, and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s. |
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| * In 1967, '''Rover''' became part of the [[Leyland Motor Corporation]], which merged with the [[British Motor Holdings]] to become [[British Leyland]]. This was the beginning of the end for the traditional '''Rover''', as the Solihull based company's heritage drowned beneath the infamous industrial relations and managerial problems that beset the British motor industry throughout the 1970s.
| | 1926 J. K. Starley is MD. <ref>The Times, Friday, Mar 05, 1926</ref> |
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| * 1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Full and detailed description of the BRM gas Turbine Car. Also showed 2000, 3-Litre and 110 models. <ref>[[1963 Motor Show]] p89</ref>
| | 1929 there was a change of management with [[Spencer Wilks]] coming in from [[Hillman]] as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to [[Ford]] and [[Austin]]. |
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| * 1970 '''Rover''' combined its skill in producing comfortable [[cars|saloons]] and the rugged [[Land Rover]] 4x4 to produce the [[Land Rover|Range Rover]], the first car to combine off-road ability and comfortable versatility. Powered by the ex-[[Buick]] V8 engine, it had innovative features such as a permanent 4 wheel drive system, all-coil spring suspension and disc brakes on all wheels. Able to reach speeds of up to 100 MPH, yet also capable of extreme off-road use, the original [[Land Rover|Range Rover]] design was to remain in production for the next 26 years.
| | 1930 He was joined by his brother [[Maurice Wilks]], who had also been at [[Hillman]] as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963. |
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| * 1976 The '''Rover''' ''SD1'' of 1976 was an excellent car, but was beset with so many build quality and reliability issues that it never delivered its great promise. A savage programme of cutbacks in the late 1970s led to the end of [[cars|car]] production at the Solihull factory which was turned over for [[Land Rover]] production only. All future '''Rover''' [[cars]] would be made in the former [[Austin]] and [[Morris]] plants in Longbridge and Cowley, respectively.
| | 1932 [[E. Ransom Harrison]] (Chairman) and [[H. Rowe Graham]]. <ref>The Times, Friday, Dec 02, 1932</ref> |
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| * 1981 [[Austin Rover Group]] was formed in 1981 as the mass-market [[cars|car]] manufacturing subsidiary of [[BL]]. In the 1980s, the slimmed-down [[BL]] used the '''Rover''' badge on a range of [[cars]] co-developed with [[Honda]]. The first Honda-sourced model, released in 1984 was the '''Rover 200''', which, like the [[Triumph]] ''Acclaim'' that it replaced, was based on the [[Honda]] ''Ballade''. (Similarly, in Australia, the [[Honda]] ''Quint'' (known in Europe as the ''Quintet'') and ''Integra'' were badged as the '''Rover''' ''Quintet'' and ''416i''.) In 1986, the '''Rover SD1''' was replaced by the '''Rover 800''', developed with the [[Honda]] ''Legend''. By this time [[Austin Rover]] had moved to a one-marque strategy and was renamed simply '''Rover Group'''. The [[Austin]] range were now technically '''Rovers''', though the word '''Rover''' never actually appeared on the badging — there was instead a badge similar to the '''Rover''' Viking shape, without wording. These were replaced by the '''Rover 400''' and '''Rover 600''', based on [[Honda]]'s ''Concerto'' and ''Accord''. This was to prove to be the turn-around point for the company, steadily rebuilding its image to the point where once again '''Rovers''' were seen as upmarket alternatives to [[Ford]]s and [[Vauxhall]]s.
| | In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "[[Shadow Factories]]" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941, and never regained full production. |
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| * 1994 The takeover by [[BMW]] saw the development of the '''Rover 75''', before the infamous de-merger in 2000. [[BMW]] retained the rights to the '''Rover''' name (and the associated portfolio of brands such as ''Mini'', [[Triumph]] and [[Austin-Healey]]) after it sold the business, only licensing it to the Phoenix consortium while it was in control of '''Rover'''. The BMW management knew that '''Rover''' needed a new product lineup to be competitive with [[Opel]]/[[Vauxhall]], [[Volkswagen]], [[Ford]] and the other leading mainstream volume manufacturers. The ''75'' was the first part of this lineup. The MINI was the second. To replace both the 200 and the 400 with a more direct successor to the 1980s 200 was the '''Rover 55''' (R30 project) intended to combat the [[Opel]] ''Astra'', [[Ford]] ''Focus'' and [[Volkswagen]] ''Golf'' in the competitive and lucrative European small family [[cars|car]] segment. This high volume semi-premium vehicle was cancelled in 2000, just as the '''Rover''' group was sold. The [[BMW]] 1-Series is considered by some to be the result of this project. [[BMW]] has the rights to the R30 project's engineering and design.
| | 1940 In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support [[Frank Whittle]] in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, [[Power Jets]] had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in Bankfield Shed, a disused cotton weaving mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941. |
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| * 2005 The company continued as the [[MG Rover Group]] but production ceased on April 7, 2005, when it was declared insolvent. In July 2005 the entire company was sold to the Nanjing Automobile Group, who indicated that their preliminary plans involved relocating the Power-train engine plant to China while splitting [[cars|car]] production into '''Rover''' lines in China and resumed [[MG]] lines in the West Midlands (though not necessarily at Longbridge), where a UK R&D and technical facility would also be developed.
| | 1942 [[Rolls-Royce]] took an interest in the new technology and an agreement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making ''Meteor'' tank engines which actually continued until 1964. |
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| ==Motorcycles==
| | After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947.. |
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| '''Rover''' produced [[motorcycles]] in 1899, from 1903 to 1906 and from 1910 to 1927. | | 1946 [[Maurice Wilks]] became technical director. The company was in difficulties because steel quotas were allocated on the basis of a company's export sales, and the Rover luxury cars did not sell well overseas. Faced with an allocation of steel enough for only 1100 cars, instead of the 20,000 planned annual output, Rover needed a short-term project to keep the production lines running at Solihull. This led in 1947 to the development of the [[Land Rover]], based on the American jeep, by Wilks and his design team. The Land Rover was produced at Solihull. |
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| * 1899 Having already got its roots in the [[bicycles|cycle]] industry, the company first experimented with power and exhibited a machine at the Richmond Show. They built a [[tricars|tricar]] in bath-chair form, with twin rear wheels and the driver and [[De Dion]] engine fitted between them. At the front was a single small wheel and a seat for the passenger.
| | 1947 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman), <ref>The Times, Thursday, Jan 16, 1947</ref> |
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| * 1901 '''Imperial Rover''' motorcycles were produced.
| | Launched in 1948, the [[Land Rover]], a small four-wheel drive vehicle, was originally intended as a farm vehicle, to be more versatile than a jeep. An immediate success, used as much on the road as off it, it sold better than the Rover luxury cars. The Land Rover saved the company, and turned Rover primarily into a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles. |
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| * 1903 After a gap of a few years a well-designed machine appeared. This had a single 2.25hp engine with a mechanical inlet valve and spray carburettor. The frame had two down-tubes, to increase rigidity, and braced forks.
| | 1950 [[Rover]] built the first gas-turbine powered car: ''Jet One''<ref>The Times, Jul 02, 1971</ref> |
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| * 1904 The engine increased to 3hp and there was also a 4hp [[forecars|forecar]] with the option of a water-cooled engine. It had two-stage chain transmission and included a clutch.
| | 1953 [[Rover Gas Turbines]] Ltd, a private company, was formed as a subsidiary<ref>The Times Sep 03, 1953</ref> |
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| * 1905 The frame changed to a single downtube and a 2.5hp lightweight was added. The [[forecars|forecar]] remained on the list, with wheel steering as an option.
| | 1954 E. Ransom Harrison retires due to ill health and [[H. Rowe Graham]] is new chairman. <ref>The Times, Friday, Oct 15, 1954</ref> |
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| * 1906 The range continued for the year, but then the firm turned its attention to [[cars]] for a while.
| | 1956 H. Rowe Graham (Chairman) <ref> Times, Friday, Nov 23, 1956</ref> |
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| * 1908-1909 Their involvement with the trade continued with the supply of complete cycle parts to the British branch of [[Motosacoche|MAG]] for the ''Motosacoche Motor Unit''.
| | 1958 Spencer Wilks is Chairman. <ref>The Times, Tuesday, Nov 25, 1958</ref> |
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| * 1910 They returned late that year with a model designed by [[John E. Greenwood]]. It had a rear-mounted [[Bosch]] magneto, [[B and B]] carburettor, belt drive from an adjustable pulley and [[Druid]] forks.
| | 1961 Rover Company were manufacturers of "Rover" cars and "Land Rover" commercial vehicles. <ref>[[1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE]]</ref> |
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| * 1912 Spennell's lists them at Garfield Rd, Coventry (Tel. 518) and as manufacturers of [[motorcycles]]. <ref>[[Spennell's Annual Directory of Coventry and District, 1912-13]]</ref>
| | 1964 69th AGM. [[George Farmer|L. G. T. Farmer]] is Chairman. <ref>The Times, Wednesday, Nov 18, 1964</ref> |
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| * World War I. They kept going throughout the war by supplying private owners (until 1916) and the military. Machines were produced for armies both in Britain and in Russia. They made minor changes including the option of [[Armstrong]] or [[Sturmey-Archer]] three-speed hub.
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| * 1917 They added a 654cc [[J. A. Prestwich Industries|JAP]] V-twin model for service use and that, together with the single, comprised the post-war range.
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| * 1921 All except a ''TT'' model now had chain drive.
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| * 1923 The twin was dropped and a neat lightweight with a 249cc engine appeared. It had ohv and looked very modern as the three-speed gearbox was a unit enclosed by the crankcase.
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| * 1924 That model alone continued for the year.
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| * 1925-1926 The lightweight was replaced by a 345cc version which ran on for a few years.
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| * 1927 Was the last year of '''Rover''' [[motorcycles|motorcycle]] production.
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| [[National Motorcycle Museum]] exhibits:-
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| * 1925 Rover 250cc
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| ==Bicycles==
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| * 1896/7 Directory: Listed under cycles. [[Peck's Trades Directory of Birmingham, 1896-97: Cycles|More details]] <ref>[[Peck's Trades Directory of Birmingham, 1896-97: Cycles]]</ref>
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| | 1965 Bid for [[Alvis]] <ref>The Times, Saturday, Jun 05, 1965</ref> |
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| | 1967, Rover became part of the [[Leyland Motors|Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC)]], which already owned [[Triumph Motor Co|Triumph]]. |
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| == See Also == | | == See Also == |
| * [[Rover - List of Models]]
| | <what-links-here/> |
| * [[Rover: 75]]
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| ==Sources of Information== | | == Sources of Information == |
| * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_%28car%29] Wikipedia on Rover Cars | | <references/> |
| * The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
| | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_%28car%29 Wikipedia on Rover Cars] |
| * [http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/britbikes/] Ian Chadwick's motorcycle web site
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| * [http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/rover.htm] Cyber Motor Cycles web site
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| * * [http://www.motorarchive.com/] Yesterday's Antique Motorcycles web site
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| * Miller’s Price Guide to Classic Motorcycles
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| * Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5 | | * Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5 |
| <references/>
| | * Coventry’s Motorcycle Heritage by Damien Kimberley. Published 2009. ISBN 978 0 7509 5125 9 |
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| | [[Category: Cars]] |
| | [[Category: Cycles]] |
| | [[Category: Motorcycles]] |
| | [[Category: Motorcycles - TT Races pre-WWI]] |
| | [[Category: Town - Coventry]] |
March 1907. New London depot.
of Meteor Works, Lode Lane, Birmingham
Rover was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars.
See also -
1905 The name was changed in November from the Rover Cycle Co to the Rover Co.
1910 John E. Greenwood joined and designed a 3.5 hp machine
c1910 George William Ravenhall was Works Manager
WWI. During the First World War, they made motorcycles, lorries to Maudslay designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a Sunbeam design.
WWI Rover Company made an agreement with Victor Riley for post-war manufacture of the Rover small car[1]
They acquired a factory at Tyseley
1919 Colonel W. F. Wyley (Chairman), Harry Smith (MD), J. K. Starley, Mark Wild [2]
The business was not very successful during the 1920s, and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s.
1926 J. K. Starley is MD. [3]
1929 there was a change of management with Spencer Wilks coming in from Hillman as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to Ford and Austin.
1930 He was joined by his brother Maurice Wilks, who had also been at Hillman as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.
1932 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman) and H. Rowe Graham. [4]
In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "Shadow Factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941, and never regained full production.
1940 In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support Frank Whittle in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, Power Jets had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in Bankfield Shed, a disused cotton weaving mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941.
1942 Rolls-Royce took an interest in the new technology and an agreement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making Meteor tank engines which actually continued until 1964.
After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947..
1946 Maurice Wilks became technical director. The company was in difficulties because steel quotas were allocated on the basis of a company's export sales, and the Rover luxury cars did not sell well overseas. Faced with an allocation of steel enough for only 1100 cars, instead of the 20,000 planned annual output, Rover needed a short-term project to keep the production lines running at Solihull. This led in 1947 to the development of the Land Rover, based on the American jeep, by Wilks and his design team. The Land Rover was produced at Solihull.
1947 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman), [5]
Launched in 1948, the Land Rover, a small four-wheel drive vehicle, was originally intended as a farm vehicle, to be more versatile than a jeep. An immediate success, used as much on the road as off it, it sold better than the Rover luxury cars. The Land Rover saved the company, and turned Rover primarily into a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles.
1950 Rover built the first gas-turbine powered car: Jet One[6]
1953 Rover Gas Turbines Ltd, a private company, was formed as a subsidiary[7]
1954 E. Ransom Harrison retires due to ill health and H. Rowe Graham is new chairman. [8]
1956 H. Rowe Graham (Chairman) [9]
1958 Spencer Wilks is Chairman. [10]
1961 Rover Company were manufacturers of "Rover" cars and "Land Rover" commercial vehicles. [11]
1964 69th AGM. L. G. T. Farmer is Chairman. [12]
1965 Bid for Alvis [13]
1967, Rover became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), which already owned Triumph.
See Also
Loading...
Sources of Information
- ↑ Archives of Rover Co [1]
- ↑ The Times, Thursday, Oct 09, 1919
- ↑ The Times, Friday, Mar 05, 1926
- ↑ The Times, Friday, Dec 02, 1932
- ↑ The Times, Thursday, Jan 16, 1947
- ↑ The Times, Jul 02, 1971
- ↑ The Times Sep 03, 1953
- ↑ The Times, Friday, Oct 15, 1954
- ↑ Times, Friday, Nov 23, 1956
- ↑ The Times, Tuesday, Nov 25, 1958
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ The Times, Wednesday, Nov 18, 1964
- ↑ The Times, Saturday, Jun 05, 1965
- Wikipedia on Rover Cars
- Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5
- Coventry’s Motorcycle Heritage by Damien Kimberley. Published 2009. ISBN 978 0 7509 5125 9
