Like many other companies, Rover began by making bicycles and then motorbikes before their first car was built in Coventry in 1904.  After WW I, the company was not a great success and the decision was made in the 1930’s to move their models more up-market.  After WW II, the Land Rover became the firm’s best-seller and in 1967, Rover became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation.  Ownership later passed to BMW who eventually sold the rights of the Rover marque to Ford in 2006.