Honda Car Forum

Acura decides to load up MDX
At a tender 20 years of age, Acura has established itself firmly in the
pantheon of world-class luxury cars.
at http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend...4850-4535r.htm

"Mike" <yard22192@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1160871957.769830.62940@k70g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Acura decides to load up MDX
> At a tender 20 years of age, Acura has established itself firmly in the
> pantheon of world-class luxury cars.
> at http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend...4850-4535r.htm
>

This article prompted me to ask this meaningless question... They say:

"The offspring of Honda, which has the distinction of being the first luxury
nameplate from Japan"

Did Honda make the Sterling?

Jim Tiberio wrote:
> "Mike" <yard22192@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1160871957.769830.62940@k70g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
>> Acura decides to load up MDX
>> At a tender 20 years of age, Acura has established itself firmly in the
>> pantheon of world-class luxury cars.
>> at http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend...4850-4535r.htm
>>
>
> This article prompted me to ask this meaningless question... They say:
>
> "The offspring of Honda, which has the distinction of being the first luxury
> nameplate from Japan"
>
> Did Honda make the Sterling?
>
>

Rover made the Sterling in England using the Honda/Acura Legend as the
starting point. Some claim that Honda and Rover co-developed the Legend
and Sterling.

The Legend was both popular and considered reliable in the US. The
Sterling was neither.

At that point in time Rover was pretty much what was left of the British
Leyland fiasco with the exception that Jaguar had managed to get itself
free. As such Rover owned the Rover (including Land Rover and Range
Rover), MG, Triumph and Mini brand names and probably a few others as
well. Few in the US know it, but Rover was a large maker of family cars
in addition to the Land and Range Rovers. Prior to the Sterling fiasco,
Rover cars hadn't been imported in the US since

Honda had made an investment into Rover and was cooperating on many
things. Slightly later Rover sold itself to BMW, which pissed Honda off
greatly! BMW lost a pile of money on this misadventure and eventually
sold the Land Rover portion of the business to Ford, kept the Mini for
itself and sold the remaining Rover & MG brands and business for next to
nothing to some UK investors. The UK investors then lost all of their
investment and then some. Finally Rover shut down and some of the
remaining pieces were bought by the Chinese.

john

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:36:35 GMT, John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>> Did Honda make the Sterling?
>
>Rover made the Sterling in England using the Honda/Acura Legend as the
>starting point. Some claim that Honda and Rover co-developed the Legend
>and Sterling.

Going even further back, around 1980 I think, British Leyland started
building Honda Ballades for sale in the UK, and badging them 'Triumph
Acclaim.' They sold a hell of a lot of them.
--
Dan.

John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:TR_Yg.10008$gx6.9982@trnddc05:

> Jim Tiberio wrote:
>> "Mike" <yard22192@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1160871957.769830.62940@k70g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
>>> Acura decides to load up MDX
>>> At a tender 20 years of age, Acura has established itself firmly in
>>> the pantheon of world-class luxury cars.
>>> at http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend...4850-4535r.htm
>>>
>>
>> This article prompted me to ask this meaningless question... They
>> say:
>>
>> "The offspring of Honda, which has the distinction of being the first
>> luxury nameplate from Japan"
>>
>> Did Honda make the Sterling?
>>
>>
>
> Rover made the Sterling in England using the Honda/Acura Legend as the
> starting point. Some claim that Honda and Rover co-developed the
> Legend and Sterling.
>



The Legend was a wholly Japanese model, based on the Accord.

From my understanding, the Brits resisted Honda involvement, but were
unable to counter the heavy pressure exerted by the government.
Apparently the assembly workers were most opposed, and engaged in active
sabotage of the vehicles on the line.



> The Legend was both popular and considered reliable in the US. The
> Sterling was neither.




From what I've read, no Rover model has been well-built or reliable
since the P6.



>
> At that point in time Rover was pretty much what was left of the
> British Leyland fiasco with the exception that Jaguar had managed to
> get itself free.




Bought by Ford in 1989.



> As such Rover owned the Rover (including Land Rover
> and Range Rover), MG, Triumph and Mini brand names and probably a few
> others as well. Few in the US know it, but Rover was a large maker of
> family cars in addition to the Land and Range Rovers. Prior to the
> Sterling fiasco, Rover cars hadn't been imported in the US since



About the early-'80s. The SD1 was sold here only with the 3.5 V8, as the
Rover 3500.


>
> Honda had made an investment into Rover and was cooperating on many
> things. Slightly later Rover sold itself to BMW, which pissed Honda
> off greatly! BMW lost a pile of money on this misadventure and
> eventually sold the Land Rover portion of the business to Ford,



When the British government finally decided to cut their losses in the
early-'80s and sell BL, Ford was interested in it. They were intending
to retain the Range Rover/Land Rover and Jaguar brands and in selling
off everything else.

The government was aghast that the damned Americans might own British
icons, and turned the deal down. The remnants of BL were then sold to
British Aerospace (BAe). BMW bought it from BAe.



> kept
> the Mini for itself and sold the remaining Rover & MG brands and
> business for next to nothing to some UK investors.



Who formed the ill-starred MG Rover Group, recently in the news during
their impending takeover by the Chinese.



> The UK investors
> then lost all of their investment and then some. Finally Rover shut
> down and some of the remaining pieces were bought by the Chinese.
>


And Ford ended up owning Range Rover anyway!

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

TeGGeR® wrote:

>
>
> The Legend was a wholly Japanese model, based on the Accord.
>
> From my understanding, the Brits resisted Honda involvement, but were
> unable to counter the heavy pressure exerted by the government.
> Apparently the assembly workers were most opposed, and engaged in active
> sabotage of the vehicles on the line.
>


Wikipedia's entry has a slightly different take on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_800

John

John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:f98Zg.3449$4T6.2864@trnddc02:

> TeGGeR® wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> The Legend was a wholly Japanese model, based on the Accord.
>>
>> From my understanding, the Brits resisted Honda involvement, but were
>> unable to counter the heavy pressure exerted by the government.
>> Apparently the assembly workers were most opposed, and engaged in
>> active sabotage of the vehicles on the line.
>>
>
>
> Wikipedia's entry has a slightly different take on it:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_800
>



Shit. I shouldn't rely on memory so much, should I?
It appears the Legend and the Rover 800 were in fact a collaborative
effort.

No mention of Rover resistance in the Wiki article. It was there,
though. At the time, there was the thought Honda-Rovers would not be
"real" Rovers. The government prevailed though.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

TeGGeR® wrote:
> John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com> wrote in
> news:f98Zg.3449$4T6.2864@trnddc02:
>
>> TeGGeR® wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> The Legend was a wholly Japanese model, based on the Accord.
>>>
>>> From my understanding, the Brits resisted Honda involvement, but were
>>> unable to counter the heavy pressure exerted by the government.
>>> Apparently the assembly workers were most opposed, and engaged in
>>> active sabotage of the vehicles on the line.
>>>
>>
>> Wikipedia's entry has a slightly different take on it:
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_800
>>
>
>
>
> Shit. I shouldn't rely on memory so much, should I?
> It appears the Legend and the Rover 800 were in fact a collaborative
> effort.
>
> No mention of Rover resistance in the Wiki article. It was there,
> though. At the time, there was the thought Honda-Rovers would not be
> "real" Rovers. The government prevailed though.
>
>


Don't be sure Wikipedia has it really right either .

John

"John Horner" <jthorner@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:TR_Yg.10008$gx6.9982@trnddc05...
> Jim Tiberio wrote:
>> "Mike" <yard22192@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1160871957.769830.62940@k70g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
>>> Acura decides to load up MDX
>>> At a tender 20 years of age, Acura has established itself firmly in the
>>> pantheon of world-class luxury cars.
>>> at http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend...4850-4535r.htm
>>>
>>
>> This article prompted me to ask this meaningless question... They say:
>>
>> "The offspring of Honda, which has the distinction of being the first
>> luxury nameplate from Japan"
>>
>> Did Honda make the Sterling?
>
> Rover made the Sterling in England using the Honda/Acura Legend as the
> starting point. Some claim that Honda and Rover co-developed the Legend
> and Sterling.
>
> The Legend was both popular and considered reliable in the US. The
> Sterling was neither.
>
> At that point in time Rover was pretty much what was left of the British
> Leyland fiasco with the exception that Jaguar had managed to get itself
> free. As such Rover owned the Rover (including Land Rover and Range
> Rover), MG, Triumph and Mini brand names and probably a few others as
> well. Few in the US know it, but Rover was a large maker of family cars
> in addition to the Land and Range Rovers. Prior to the Sterling fiasco,
> Rover cars hadn't been imported in the US since
>
> Honda had made an investment into Rover and was cooperating on many
> things. Slightly later Rover sold itself to BMW, which pissed Honda off
> greatly! BMW lost a pile of money on this misadventure and eventually
> sold the Land Rover portion of the business to Ford, kept the Mini for
> itself and sold the remaining Rover & MG brands and business for next to
> nothing to some UK investors. The UK investors then lost all of their
> investment and then some. Finally Rover shut down and some of the
> remaining pieces were bought by the Chinese.
>
Much more in depth than I thought. Thanks for the great reply.

Jim Tiberio wrote:

>>
> Much more in depth than I thought. Thanks for the great reply.
>
>

I'm glad you appreciated it. Now if only the nitwits in Detroit would
have studied the history of the once great and now vaporized UK based
auto industry then perhaps they could have avoided the situation the 2.5
find themselves in today!

John