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copied from MiniMania forum, posted by N Kerr:
Don't know how old this news is to all anglophiles out there, but there seems to still be some hope for Longbridge and the "MG" brand:
Longbridge 'to make cars again' Nanjing Auto, the Chinese firm which bought MG Rover, has signed a "landmark agreement" which will allow production to restart at Longbridge in Birmingham. The Chinese group has signed a 33-year lease on the site, and says it is now planning to resume production of the MG TF sports car there in 2007. MG Rover went bust in 2005, at a cost of about 6,000 jobs, and was then bought by Nanjing for ?50m ($86m). But it remains unclear how many jobs will be created by the move. BBC business correspondent Russel Hayes says it is important to be realistic about the scale of the announcement. The lease includes a 6-month break clause allowing Nanjing to get out of the deal if it decides it cannot make it work. 'Optimism' Nanjing's UK chairman Wang Hongbiao said he was delighted to have reached the deal with the site's owner, St Modwen Properties. "This means that we can move forward with our business plan to build cars at Longbridge," he said. "The MG brand is famous and we are proud to project it into an exciting future." The lease means Nanjing will pay about ?1.8m a year for the South Works section of MG Rover's former Longbridge premises. The 105-acre area, which includes two car assembly plants, a paint shop and offices, accounts for about a quarter of the old site. Birmingham City Council chief Mike Whitby said he had been in the room when MG Rover collapsed in April 2005. "The sense of loss to this community and to Birmingham as a whole was profound," he said. "But today... we can celebrate in the spirit of optimism that manufacturing will return to part of the Longbridge site." The renewal of production should mean about 600-1,000 jobs, he said. MG, not Rover Nanjing's acquisition of MG Rover only included the rights to use the MG brand. The Rover brand is still owned by Rover Group's former parent BMW. The Rover marque is up for sale, however. "We have several parties that are interested in the Rover brand," BMW chief executive Helmut Panke said during a recent dinner in London. Mr Panke refused to name any potential bidders, though he pointed out that "the Chinese recognise that established brands can be very useful when entering the Western European market". Ford would be given first refusal to buy the marque, though, under an agreement entered into when the American car maker acquired Land Rover from BMW in 2000, Mr Panke explained. "Nothing would be done against their will, but if they want it they would have to step up and pay the sum," he said.
Norm
_________________ DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R. 
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