Cargolex
ABFM 2015: Rover P6 3500 S
You would be hard pressed to find many Americans who are even dimly aware of Rover, despite the fact that Land Rover and Range Rover are very well known and liked here. Rover cars never had much of an impact here, which is down mostly to Rover’s schizophrenic marketing schemes and constantly changing management. About once a decade, from the fifties to the nineties, the various incarnations of Rover would decide they needed more of a presense in the U.S., make an effort, and then abandon it just as quickly.
In the late 1960s, this effort focused on the P6 3500 S, which used the old Buick 215 V8, now in the form of the Rover V8. The P4 and P5 had trickled in to the U.S. through private importers and Rover’s official branch in New York, and P6 imports began in late 1965.
The sophisticated P6, with its rigid chassis, ample power, subtle modern styling, and comfortable interior deserved to be a winner. And overseas, it generally was – it was a quality executive car, fast, quiet, and advanced. But in the United States it suffered from a problem that several other import brands would experience – a small number of shaky dealers and a high price compared to what Americans were used to.
List prices for the P6 put it up against expensive conventional American cars like the Buick Riviera or even the cheapest Cadillacs and Lincolns. Consider that these early P6s were four-cylinder cars of relatively compact dimensions. Compared with the array of features, huge engines, and the known-quantity cachet those cars had, the Rover was a maverick choice.
This was really our market’s loss, because the P6 is a great car to drive if a complicated one to service in some respects.
Still, the press loved the P6 and the car was widely lauded at the time. The addition of the V8 helped a great deal. Aside from the power boost, there were also visual cues as to the hotter nature of the V8. U.S. spec 3500 S models got a unique triple hood scoop, as seen on this lovely red car, which lives in Bremerton, Wa.
For a brief time it looked like Rover might see some modest success with the 3500 S, but sales never topped more than 3,000 a year. And then the company changed its plans again and decided to pull Rover from the U.S. in late 1971.
Of course, during this period Rover had become part of Leyland, which then became part of British Leyland after the merger with British Motor Holdings. The management and integration issues of this era are well publicized and it’s no surprise that BL management decided to focus on selling more sports cars to Americans and not bother anymore with the Rovers.
A decade later, BL would again decide that Americans needed Rovers, this time in the form of the SD-1. They launched a pilot program, sold about 1,000 of them, and promptly packed up shop again. Seven years later, a different Rover management returned with the Rover 800-based Sterling...
©2015 A. Kwanten.
ABFM 2015: Rover P6 3500 S
You would be hard pressed to find many Americans who are even dimly aware of Rover, despite the fact that Land Rover and Range Rover are very well known and liked here. Rover cars never had much of an impact here, which is down mostly to Rover’s schizophrenic marketing schemes and constantly changing management. About once a decade, from the fifties to the nineties, the various incarnations of Rover would decide they needed more of a presense in the U.S., make an effort, and then abandon it just as quickly.
In the late 1960s, this effort focused on the P6 3500 S, which used the old Buick 215 V8, now in the form of the Rover V8. The P4 and P5 had trickled in to the U.S. through private importers and Rover’s official branch in New York, and P6 imports began in late 1965.
The sophisticated P6, with its rigid chassis, ample power, subtle modern styling, and comfortable interior deserved to be a winner. And overseas, it generally was – it was a quality executive car, fast, quiet, and advanced. But in the United States it suffered from a problem that several other import brands would experience – a small number of shaky dealers and a high price compared to what Americans were used to.
List prices for the P6 put it up against expensive conventional American cars like the Buick Riviera or even the cheapest Cadillacs and Lincolns. Consider that these early P6s were four-cylinder cars of relatively compact dimensions. Compared with the array of features, huge engines, and the known-quantity cachet those cars had, the Rover was a maverick choice.
This was really our market’s loss, because the P6 is a great car to drive if a complicated one to service in some respects.
Still, the press loved the P6 and the car was widely lauded at the time. The addition of the V8 helped a great deal. Aside from the power boost, there were also visual cues as to the hotter nature of the V8. U.S. spec 3500 S models got a unique triple hood scoop, as seen on this lovely red car, which lives in Bremerton, Wa.
For a brief time it looked like Rover might see some modest success with the 3500 S, but sales never topped more than 3,000 a year. And then the company changed its plans again and decided to pull Rover from the U.S. in late 1971.
Of course, during this period Rover had become part of Leyland, which then became part of British Leyland after the merger with British Motor Holdings. The management and integration issues of this era are well publicized and it’s no surprise that BL management decided to focus on selling more sports cars to Americans and not bother anymore with the Rovers.
A decade later, BL would again decide that Americans needed Rovers, this time in the form of the SD-1. They launched a pilot program, sold about 1,000 of them, and promptly packed up shop again. Seven years later, a different Rover management returned with the Rover 800-based Sterling...
©2015 A. Kwanten.