The Toronto Area Rover Club was founded, more or less accidentally, in 1988 when Mr. Harold Snider of Toronto "wiped out" his pristine 1981 Rover SD1 in an accident on Highway 401. After getting in touch with his insurance company, Mr. Snider was appalled to find out that they would offer him only a paltry $500 for his beloved car (see note below).

He then tried to find out the "benchmark" resale value for the SD1, a model that was pulled from the Canadian market in 1982 after two years of disappointing sales. After failing in an attempt to get a list of all Rover owners and their vehicles from the Ontario Ministry of Transport (so he could advise other Rover owners of the problem), Harold put an advertisement in the "Motoring" section of the Toronto Star, requesting interested Rover owners to meet at a hotel near Toronto's Pearson Airport. To the amazement of all who attended, more than a hundred Rover and Land Rover owners showed up.

The key result of this historic meeting was the decision to organise Rover and Land Rover owners into a club, initially known as "the Rover Club". In 1989, Tom Tollefson was elected Chairman of the Rover Club, which was then renamed the "Toronto Area Rover Club", and the first club newsletter was produced. Subsequent club chairmen have included Dave Lowe, Bill Osmond, Piers Hemmingsen, Jonathan Ward, Kevin Robinson, and John Rosenthal.

NOTE: Harold has provided us with a few more details:
"I ended up receiving much more than the original offer from the insurance company - $10,500 plus PST, plus the car. I sold the salvage for $1500. I had compelling evidence, after much investigation, that I was paying insurance premiums for my Rover based on the insurance company internal valuation of between $10,500 and $12,500. But when it came to my claim, because of their decision to write off the car, their offer was only $500. The damage was repairable, but they were not willing to foot the bill - in hindsight, they would have been ahead to repair it."

THE TARC TODAY
The club currently has on the order of 65 members. Ownership of a Rover car or Land Rover vehicle is not necessary for membership; the only prerequisite is enthusiasm. For people who are keen on Rover cars, Land Rovers, Defenders, Discoveries, Freelanders, or Range Rovers, the TARC offers a chance to get together, talk about their cars, help each other when possible, and above all, have a good time.

The club meets monthly, 7 PM on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. A new location for the meetings is currently under consideration.

There are also many special club events throughout the year. Naturally, most of the activities take place in the spring, summer, and autumn, although there is an annual Christmas party that is great fun. Events are planned to be of interest to owners of Rover cars and to owners of Land-Rover vehicles, and of course some are suitable for both. See the Coming Events page for more information.