TVR Moving to minsk ??
Discussion
CiderwithCerbie said:
Belarus - bigger sh*thole than Blackpool - it figures.
Er it certainly is not, Ive been to Belarus, beautiful city! Saying that after living in the former Soviet Union for 6 years, I certainly would not want a car made by them. If this is true , and I must admit I find it hard to believe, its an even bigger mistake than moving to Italy.
IMHO
Mike
I live in Blackpool and I've been to Belarus and I can honestly say Belarus is more attractive to the eyeTook my daughter to see Blackpool Uni.
Whilst parking up, there was a police raid on the house across the road.
I've never seem so many speed cameras as there are along the prom. You could lose your licence between the North pier and the South pier!
- oh and my daughter chose Staffs Uni in the end.
I used to like Blackpool as a kid...
Whilst parking up, there was a police raid on the house across the road.
I've never seem so many speed cameras as there are along the prom. You could lose your licence between the North pier and the South pier!
- oh and my daughter chose Staffs Uni in the end.
I used to like Blackpool as a kid...
JonRB said:
V8Smith said:
If this is true , and I must admit I find it hard to believe, its an even bigger mistake than moving to Italy.
I'm not so sure. Surely the Italian labour rates are as bad as ours, whereas there are definite labour cost savings to be made in moving to Eastern Europe.
Ask yourself this: If you were running a manufacturing company would you rather employ from a pool of workers who turn up on time, work hard and leave when the job is done, or from a pool of workers who turn up late, stand around all day chatting and shouting and then shamble off early afternoon for a snooze
I live for a large chunk of the year in Italy and I just do not see them as an employable group of people unless they are blindly passionate about the subject. How passionate do you think an Italian would be over an Ex British plastic car?
Styled in Italy, yes, certainly, please, oh please but if they were built there they would be back in bits by the time the container docked at Dover. Let's be honest, the Italians just can't build cars: Ferrari has come good due to huge investment by Fiat and the racing team but it isn't spearheaded by Italians where it counts, and all the other manufacturers only started producing cars that stayed in one pieve when the Germans arrived.
Building them in Eastern Europe does make really good commercial sense. Designing them in Italy enhances the 'image' of the brand and having someone like Ricardo put their name to the engine should seriously erode the perceptions of the engine.
I just have no problem with the cars not being built in England. Build them where the best result can be achieved.
The most important question to answer is why sales seriously slumped in the last few years when other manufacturers' have gone through the roof. I do suspect that it is an image thing. The easy money is pouring into Porsches and the like, it will take a few years of hard work to change this but it was done once with the Griff and Chimp and it is entirely possible it can be done again.
Good luck to TVR and NS. He is clearly a wierdish chap but I think he has the right idea to be honest.
Still looking to join the rally in London though.
Horse_Apple said:
it was done once with the Griff and Chimp and it is entirely possible it can be done again.
Things have moved on enormously since then. Back in those days the Wedges, Chimaera and Griffith offered performance that would annihilate the opposition for a fraction of the price. You could not get more 'poke for your pound'. However, these days the mainstream manufacturers are all producing seriously fast and affordable cars whilst TVR have abandoned their core values and moved upmarket to compete head-on with the big names on price and performance. In doing so they have lost their niche, especially since the likes of Mazda whipped into the vacuum they left so they'll find the market crowded even if they decide to try to return to their old niche.
Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 8th November 13:37
Horse_Apple said:
]I live for a large chunk of the year in Italy and I just do not see them as an employable group of people unless they are blindly passionate about the subject.
There is a big difference between the norf and the saath, hence the Northern League pushing for regional autonomy/independence as they say they are fed up of financing the work shy layabouts of the south. Still wondering about that one, Jon. The Tamora has been at £36.5K for years, the T350C at £38.5K and the Tuscan at £39,850 - all with a genuine(-ish) 350 bhp on tap to shift 1,100 kgs or less, whilst a Griff 500 could 'only' muster 275,tops, for similar money. I'd say TVR did up the bang-for-buck ante far enough to remain head and shoulders above the competition regarding outright performance in the early 2000s, problem was, not many people bought them nonetheless...
JonRB said:
Horse_Apple said:
it was done once with the Griff and Chimp and it is entirely possible it can be done again.
Things have moved on enormously since then. Back in those days the Wedges, Chimaera and Griffith offered performance that would annihilate the opposition for a fraction of the price. You could not get more 'poke for your pound'. However, these days the mainstream manufacturers are all producing seriously fast and affordable cars whilst TVR have abandoned their core values and moved upmarket to compete head-on with the big names on price and performance. In doing so they have lost their niche, especially since the likes of Mazda whipped into the vacuum they left so they'll find the market crowded even if they decide to try to return to their old niche.
Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 8th November 13:37
True, times have certainly changed.
If they go cheap then it will cost less to do and they will have a much larger potential audience across Europe. Speed to whip any Boxster, Z4 etc and appealing looks with a substantially lower price tag, however, I'm just not sure that this is possible to achieve with all the new regulations and everything.
Maybe the only choice is to go big or go home. That route is going to be a huge expense and while they can match performance and probably exceed that of the cars up in that league, and also match on looks it is a market that is dominated by kudos and cache, which would possibly take years to achieve, unless they went out and won Le Mans and got James Bond to drive one.
The news that many of the bidders for Aston are vieing it as a brand, rather than a car company gives an insight into this.
Also, Louis Roederer is planning to launch the most expensive bottle of chanmpagne on the market next year at £650 a bottle. Will it be better than Dom? Almost certainly not, but it will seel because to buy it is to be seen to be rich. We are all turning into ganster rappers and class is all but gone. It's about money and how much you can get others to think you have. Can TVR get into that niche? I suspect not.
JonRB said:
Horse_Apple said:
it was done once with the Griff and Chimp and it is entirely possible it can be done again.
Things have moved on enormously since then. Back in those days the Wedges, Chimaera and Griffith offered performance that would annihilate the opposition for a fraction of the price. You could not get more 'poke for your pound'. However, these days the mainstream manufacturers are all producing seriously fast and affordable cars whilst TVR have abandoned their core values and moved upmarket to compete head-on with the big names on price and performance. In doing so they have lost their niche, especially since the likes of Mazda whipped into the vacuum they left so they'll find the market crowded even if they decide to try to return to their old niche.
Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 8th November 13:37
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