# I saw a Rover automobile! In the US!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 28, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721 "2004-10-28T20:09:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/1 "2004-10-28T20:09:56Z")
I think it was [this](http://www.tripnet.se/rcos/216vitesses.html) car, the name on the trunk lid (boot?) was definitely Vitesse. It was smashed in on the passenger (right!) side but was still being driven along quite smartly by, I think, a young woman. I had no idea these cars were ever sold in the States, I wonder where it gets repaired and how hard it is to get parts for it.
About 1980 I remember Car and Driver magazine testing a Rover, a five door hatchback model. I forget the name, but the internet tells me it was also called Vitesse, but was a different car than the one I just saw. It was supposed to be quite a nice car with good road manners and performance, especially compared to the Fairmonts and Cutlasses of the day. I actually saw one locally one time. It’s the only time I’ve ever scene a Rover that was not a truck.
Any of your European dopers ever owned such a car?
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/2 "2004-10-28T20:48:00Z")
Weren’t Rovers basically Hondas for a while? Could someone have taken an equivalent Honda model and put Rover badges on it?
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### Author:  [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/3 "2004-10-28T21:02:10Z")
Looks an awful lot like an early 90s Toyota Corolla.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/4 "2004-10-28T21:13:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> Weren’t Rovers basically Hondas for a while? Could someone have taken an equivalent Honda model and put Rover badges on it?
Yes. Yes.
I saw one in the late 80’s. IIRC, it was based on the Acura Legend.
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### Author:  [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/5 "2004-10-28T21:22:29Z")
Just because this is the kind of thing that bugs me, I found a link.
And it’s [a late 80s Corolla](http://www.napoy.com/ToyotaCorolla_16SE_16v_v87.jpg) I was thinking of.
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### Author:  [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/6 "2004-10-28T21:23:39Z")
Honda and Rover built the Sterling which was based on the Acura. It did not have a good reputation for quality or reliability in the US and it did not last long. I was thinking that this car looked like a Nissan from the mid/late 80s, it was the precursor to the Altima, and I can’t think of the name right now.
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### Author:  [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-rover-automobile-in-the-us/271721/7 "2004-10-28T21:29:08Z")
This is what I was thinking of, [an 87 Nissan Stanza](http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&paId=130536897&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=29&leadExists=true&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_36_%7CD-_340_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CZ-40206&aff=national). That’s all you get from a quick search.