JustBritish

Trevor Wilkinson, the founder of TVR, the small British carmaker known for nimble little sports cars that early owners often assembled from a kit, died Wednesday in Minorca, Spain. He was 85.

His death was confirmed by Marshall Moore, president of the TVR Car Club of North America.

The soft-spoken Mr. Wilkinson built his first car in 1947 as a race special and incorporated TVR Engineering (later simply TVR) the next year. The company name was a shortened version of his first name.
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Yes, another famous name in the manufacture of British cars has been sold – although this time on a much smaller scale. Model railway maker Hornby is continuing its expansion in the hobby market by buying up toy-car firm Corgi.

Hornby, which originally made its name with model railways, paid £7.5 million for the model car firm, which though originally a British brand was owned by a US company.

“We are pulling together the hobby elements of the British toy industry,” Hornby chief executive Frank Martin told the Guardian.

The firm also owns Scalextric, a brand that has been making a come back with Formula 1 and film tie-ins. It has also bought plastic model firm Airfix and Humbrol paints.

Martin hopes to use the formula that has worked for Scalextric for the Corgi models, hoping that not only will film-tie ins make the toys more appealing to a current generation of children, but also add value to them as collectors items.

He noted the importance of collectors to the industry.

“Toys are an enormous business these days,” he said. “There are thousands and thousands of collectors but people have also locked onto the fact that they can buy a £100 toy as a great investment. Its better than money in the bank at the moment. There are a number of people I know of who have invested tens of thousands of pounds on a portfolio of toys.”

Rapid Electronics are a leading UK supplier of electronic components, electrical products, home computing and office equipment to the Consumer Electronics sector.

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DEARBORN, Mich., April 20, 2008 – Geoff Polites, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover, has died peacefully in his home country of Australia. He was 60.

Mr. Polites, who is credited with leading the team that returned the Jaguar Land Rover business back to profitability and successfully steering it through its ongoing sale process to Tata Motors, had been battling serious illness for the past two years.

“Geoff’s untimely passing robs his family and friends of a man who was a real inspiration to us all,” said Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company. “His drive and determination, combined with his clear sense of vision for the business, played a huge role in turning round the business at Jaguar Land Rover and returning it to profitability. Geoff ensured that Jaguar Land Rover was not distracted and continued to focus on the fundamentals of the business during the recent sale process, despite at the time also fighting his own personal health battle.

“He was a trusted colleague and someone who was much respected not just by his peers but by all who had the privilege to work with him. Our sympathies are with his wife and family at this difficult time,” said Mulally.

Lewis Booth, executive vice president responsible for Ford Motor Company’s businesses in Europe, said: “For many of us at Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, we’ve lost not just a respected colleague but a great friend.

“Geoff was always someone to look up to throughout his almost 40-year career in the automotive industry. His passion for the car business was legend, but the resolve he showed since taking over as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover in 2005 was something very special.

“His leadership of the team that has put the Jaguar Land Rover business back into profitability has been exceptional. Geoff has given Jaguar Land Rover the solid foundation and established the strong management team it needs for a successful future. We will miss our friend very much.”

David Smith, Jaguar Land Rover’s chief financial officer, will take over as the acting chief executive officer at Jaguar Land Rover until a successor is appointed.

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While I am as green as the next person, or maybe even more so, this just seems wrong on so many levels. The British cabinet is debating replacing their Jaguars with the hybrid Prius. As the Financial Times reports, “Gordon Brown’s cabinet clashed yesterday over whether to replace British-built ministerial cars with Japanese Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles, amid new evidence that the government is failing to live up to its green rhetoric. John Hutton, the business secretary, led the criticism of the plan to import more cars from Japan rather than use traditional British vehicles, saying it sent out a bad signal to domestic manufacturers.”

Sad, very sad.

You can read the full article at the Financial Times site.

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