AUTOCAR
Vol 165 No 12 (4626) AUTOCAR TEST
NEWS
Renault Espace
2000 TSE TEST UPDATE Nissan Prairie 1.8 LONG-TERM TEST Nissan Prairie 1.5 BUYING SECONDHAND Volkswagen Golf
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and Jetta Mk I SPORT Belgian Grand Prix 12 Manx Rally 16 Zandvoort F3 17 Nogaro ETC 17 FEATURES
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Austin Rover chairman Musgrove: assessing production potential of MG EX-E
GERMAN SALES BOOST FOR AR As Austin-Rover scooped the Frankfurt Show with its MG EX-E concept car, chairman Musgrove emphasised the importance of the German market
Frankfurt Motor Show 28 Turbo Sierra 4 x 4s 36 Rally tyre testing 41 Me and my car:
David Jensen 65 REGULARS News 3 Sports news 10 Eoin Young's diary 18 Opinion/Letters 20 Insight 24 Test results 66 New car prices 70 A Haymarket publication Published weekly by Haymarket Publishing Ltd, 38-42 Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 OJE, England (telephone 01-977 87871. Telex 8952440. Back numbers, 12-14 Ansdell Street, London W8 51R (telephone 01-937 72881. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper. Subscription rates: Home, £53; Europe, plus overseas surface mail E60; Middle East Airmail E72.50; Canada, Africa, India airmail £83; Australia, New Zealand, Japan airmail £93; USA airspeed USS135; Canada, South America, Mexico airspeed USS135. Printed by Thamesmouth Web Offset Ltd, Basildon. Photosetting by Meadway Graphics, Romford, Essex. Second class postage paid atJamaica,NY11431. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Publications Expediting Inc, 200 Meacham Avenue, Elmont, New York 11003. Postmaster —send address changes to Publications Expediting Inc. ISSN 0005- 092X. Reprinting in whole or in part of any matter appearing in Autocar is forbidden except by permis- sion of the publishers © Autocar 1985. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The enthusiastic reception for the MG EX-E concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show has encouraged Austin Rover's executives to press for approval of one or more running prototypes.
AR chairman Harold Musgrove would go no further than to say that EX-E did have "manufacturing feasibility." He did, however, confirm that future studies with the car include assessing those production possibilities.
Musgrove said that he was proud of the sales achievements of Austin Rover in Germany and suggested that the coming XX executive car could be the one to shift traditional German prejudice against imported models.
At present Germany is a key market for the company and the prime target for its development plans. This year AR had its best result in Germany for five years, despite the problems created by the German government's dithering over emission control regulations.
The regulations have now been decided upon and AR, like most of the other car makers, has come up quickly with a range of modified models that are able to meet the new demands, without catalytic conver-
ters, and so qualify for the considerable tax advantages offered by the German government.
In fact, AR can offer 10 models capable of running lead-free, these to be introduced on to the market progressively. The Rover 213, with its Honda engine, already complies and the MG Maestro 2.0 EFi will be ready by October, the Mini Mayfair and Metro 1300 by November and the Montego EFi and Estate by January.
slow spread of lead-free fuel stations across Europe could seriously restrict their movements.
Musgrove said that he accepted that the larger cars would need catalytic converters to comply with the rules, but he revealed that the new K-series engines for the up to 1.4-litre class would incorporate the latest lean burn technology to stay within the rules and be very economical.
Metro, Maestro and Montego are in the category A class of tax concession, the Mini and Rover 213 in the more severe — but high tax concession — category C.
In the case of the Mini, the job is done by spark advance, according to the gear in which the car is running. The Maestro and Montego need a deceleration valve and some changes to electronic control for the engine.
Musgrove was quick to stress that avoiding the use of catalytic converters should help to make AR products more popular with the Germans. Apart from avoiding the extra costs involved, the AR solution does not insist that the cars must run exclusively on lead-free fuel.
This is seen to be an important factor when selling to a nation of inveterate travellers who fear that the
Meanwhile, Musgrove was giving away no clues as to the marque name of XX, due to go on sale here next year. Ray Ketchledge, president of the newly-created US import company, says that no name has been chosen there either although speculation is that Rover seems unlikely. When it does appear, the US specification XX will be hitting the marketplace some eight months behind the Honda version to be sold through the new Acura network.
Price of XX in the US will be around 22,000 dollars — about 2000 dollars more expensive than the Honda — and it will feature luxury touches such as leather trim and carpets. There are no plans to support it with any other models until around 1990 when the second product of the Honda/AR co-operative, the midsized YY, is introduced there.
18 SEPTEMBER 1985 AUTOCAR 3
