I had a Maestro van with the Perkins-designed diesel (iirc, Perkins dieselised the O-series) and it was a blast going the length and breadth of the country in it. That engine was unburstable, and showed what could be done. The van itself was OK, if a bit on the basic side, but it was just a van, after all. An indicated 100mph down the Shap at 2am. Cue all the finger-waggers....
Easy to poke fun at this, but remember this was when the Maestro/Montego production line was getting run down, the cars were dead in the water as volume contenders in the marketplace and they were kept in production at very low volume merely to serve as budget entry level models for fleets. South Works was closed a year later and a lot of these people in the video would have got laid off. Wonder if any of the younger people in this video still work for MINI?
it's interesting how people react to cameras these days, as they have become part of everyday life, we see people react sensibly, as they are likely to pop up online somewhere!
I remember driving a brand new M reg Montego estate hire car from Aberdeen to Great Yarmouth in I think 1994, must have been one of the last built, we lost the passenger side door mirror, two plastic wheel covers and the windscreen rubber surround on the journey but it was a nice car to drive
Rubbish. You ever worked in a factory?? Production workers on the line 'run' to the canteen for their break (not anymore though). And the line is moving...... its moving at a snail's pace.... you can see it if you look very closely.
I know they were mostly fooling around for the camera, but there's a distinct attitude of not caring and do as little work as possible - the unions probably have a lot to do with that situation, from the 70's and 80's industrial action. The environment clearly had very little investment (old oil drums as tables) so poor quality/old production line and disinterested workers - great combo for quality car production! Don't get me wrong, I had many different Austin/Rover/MG products over the years and loved all of them (at least the designers and engineers put their heart and soul into the product), but seeing this video makes me sad, and I can see why it all went wrong!
TOTALLY agree, you watch other company production lines and they are grafting ...not these lot......This was part of the massive failure of BL/ Rover Group.
Surely if you do a job day in day out you can do your job almost in auto pilot and have a laugh and joke to help break the monotony and it would be monotonous. Frowning whilst at work adds nothing to the overall quality.
To say the factory was underutilized would be an understatement, the slack discipline and outmoded facilities clearly show the maestro and montego sales were dead in the water and was only kept going to keep employment and offer a cheap fleet vehicles in an otherwise aspirational pricey rover lineup. Also Arlington securities was the property subsidiary of British aerospace the then owners of rover group at the time so asset stripping and underinvestment didn't help the cause
Lots of comments here from people who have obviously never seen the inside of a car factory, criticising things they know absolutely fuck all about. No, it’s not all shiny and bright in there and it wouldn’t have been much different in most car plants, no, the track isn’t always running because sometimes it has to stop, no, everyone isn’t working in silence because they’re human beings and human beings like to laugh and smile if they can as it makes working on a production line for nine hours a little bit nicer. Sometimes, they even stop for a cup of tea and a sandwich!
I’ve seen the inside of quite a few car factories from my time at Bosch and I’m telling you if this were Honda or BMW those blokes would’ve been taken outside and shit (metaphorically). I’ve heard stories about Cowley from people who were there. Shop stewards drunk at lunchtime, QI reports completed completed in pencil then erased at the end of the week if the numbers weeent looking good…
You shouldn't have tea and a sandwich at the same time!! Sweet (or I suppose _bitter_ if you're inclined that way), doesn't go with savoury. Not good for the palette, nor digestion.
I have from years ago and it makes this place look like a shithole. The whole remit, shows that management handn't a clue, looks like it came out of the 1920's but they would have had more pride back then.
In 1964/5 when I worked on the farina line at Cowley the line never stopped one guy ha da stroke in the back of an Austin Countryman he was taken out of the car he was working on - the line never stopped !
C'mon guys don't be so pedantic. These blokes were just fooling around for the camera, mostly at breaks. I guess you're all 100% performant during your work shift, no doubt.
Is this line actually moving? If these geezers had to work in a modern production facility they would be running to get their tasks done before the car disappears down the line!
The reason rover ceases to exist right there. Poorly cobbled together cars leads to poor customer satisfaction leads to no profit leads to no product redevelopment leads to a bankrupt business. Blame the management and government all you want but if your workforce doesn't put the effort to make a quality product customer retention is none existent. Only owned one rover a 25 it was lovely to drive but it literally fell to bits with only 34k on the clock the final straw was when the entire door handle and lock came off in my hand in a car park such a shame as I really wanted rover to succeed.
Not all Rover cars were "Cobbled" together. What we see is an old production line that came to an end with the discontinuous of both the Austin Montego and Maestro cars. The new Rover 200, 400, 600 and 800 plus later 75s and new mini were great cars in partnership with Honda until bmw bought the company.
Well it’s easy to compare everything to a German car which were probably considerably more expensive. I imagine the Montego and maestros were made to a fairly low price point for working class UK owners. If you compare them to French and Italian cars of the time they were much better. And you must have extremely good eyesight if you can effectively do quality assurance from this video
That was the problem with everything British Leyland touched, and then Rover too. They never updated the cars... Some were in production for years, sometimes over a decade without hardly any changes or improvements, while everyone else had a new model released every 3 years.
Nowt like an English man having a brew on the old Maestro / Montego production line....I take it Honda / Japanese practices were only for Rover / Honda lines
No disrespect to anyone in the video . but that kind of loafing around attitude is synonymous for lack of attention to detail and quality and is due to poor management and was probably a big factor in the downfall of Rover , I can assure anyone that this behaviour would not be tolerated in any auto assembly plant these days.., .. i remember around 1997 a supplier Quality Engineer from Land Rover called Syd Eccles used to regularly grill me and my firm for poor quality... ironic isn't it .
I use to own a Montego in the 90s it spent more time in the back yard being fixing than driving on the road I should of got a plank of wood with four wheels it would of been better the GF got sick of looking at it in the yard so scraped it when I out she got £25 for it lol I was shocked she got so much for it what a piece of cr*p it was
this video must be a massive embarrassment to those people who advocated the nationalised industries. Its little wonder the company went bust if this video is anything to go by. It only confirms what I already knew.
scabbycat cat Rover had been a private company for 6 years by the time this was filmed. Also all the videos in this south works series seem to have been filmed on the last day of production in December 1992 with those involved facing an uncertain future. I think you can understand that motivation will have been flagging at this point
" motivation will have been flagging at this point "............. i think you will find motivation would have been flagging from the very point they were nationalised. Once you give ANYONE the backing of the taxpayer , which is essentially a bottomless pit of money - why should anyone even bother to TRY ?? If you look at EVERY nationalised industry they all suffered the same effect- apathy , lethargy, laziness, lack of motivation and industrial unrest . Thatcher got the blame for the downfall of the shipbuilding industry - the workers destroyed it themselves by their demarcation rules and their restrictive practice rules which made it IMPOSSIBLE to build any ship at a profit . Thatcher sorted this country out - and no mistake !!
scabbycat cat Well, we ourselves over here had massive privatisation of State-led industries back in the '90s - telephones et al - and all but a few of those privatised companies went equally bust or sold to foreign concerns, many after having dug into the public purse for "incentives". NOW 30 years later they're trying to cap the scam - take State's money and run abroad - but it's like closing the gates when cattle have fled the field already. Thatcher did terrible things herself, but I understand that all UK's Red Robbos needed a whacking. Anyway, MG-Rover went bust in 2005 for the very same woes BL suffered: BAD management in primis and DODGY quality in secundis.
What a great set of lads all seem to enjoy a laugh at work, not always the case nowadays.
I've come to realise that working class men are the best people to hang out with.
I had a Maestro van with the Perkins-designed diesel (iirc, Perkins dieselised the O-series) and it was a blast going the length and breadth of the country in it. That engine was unburstable, and showed what could be done. The van itself was OK, if a bit on the basic side, but it was just a van, after all. An indicated 100mph down the Shap at 2am.
Cue all the finger-waggers....
Probably the engine was made outside of this plant- 100mph? in your dreams, speedo reading fast, more like 60! any faster and they fell apart.
Easy to poke fun at this, but remember this was when the Maestro/Montego production line was getting run down, the cars were dead in the water as volume contenders in the marketplace and they were kept in production at very low volume merely to serve as budget entry level models for fleets. South Works was closed a year later and a lot of these people in the video would have got laid off. Wonder if any of the younger people in this video still work for MINI?
Interesting snapshot of history, thanks for sharing
it's interesting how people react to cameras these days, as they have become part of everyday life, we see people react sensibly, as they are likely to pop up online somewhere!
I remember driving a brand new M reg Montego estate hire car from Aberdeen to Great Yarmouth in I think 1994, must have been one of the last built, we lost the passenger side door mirror, two plastic wheel covers and the windscreen rubber surround on the journey but it was a nice car to drive
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry reading your experience of driving a brand new Montego...
All filmed during lunch break. (lines not moving)
Rubbish. You ever worked in a factory?? Production workers on the line 'run' to the canteen for their break (not anymore though). And the line is moving...... its moving at a snail's pace.... you can see it if you look very closely.
Now I know why my Austin has so many problems.
Looks like more a Disneyland than a car factory 😁
This video literally sums up why the we lost the british motor industry. A German car factory of the time looks another world
Jones In The North I know they weren’t pumping out shit like BL were
204driver At many times the cost.
The Maestro production line was the most advanced production line in Europe when it opened look it up.
I’ve met hundreds of BMW owners at work etc but never met anyone who bought a new one?????
I know they were mostly fooling around for the camera, but there's a distinct attitude of not caring and do as little work as possible - the unions probably have a lot to do with that situation, from the 70's and 80's industrial action. The environment clearly had very little investment (old oil drums as tables) so poor quality/old production line and disinterested workers - great combo for quality car production! Don't get me wrong, I had many different Austin/Rover/MG products over the years and loved all of them (at least the designers and engineers put their heart and soul into the product), but seeing this video makes me sad, and I can see why it all went wrong!
That wasnt why it went wrong. If you read the history it was the workers that were over.
TOTALLY agree, you watch other company production lines and they are grafting ...not these lot......This was part of the massive failure of BL/ Rover Group.
Surely if you do a job day in day out you can do your job almost in auto pilot and have a laugh and joke to help break the monotony and it would be monotonous. Frowning whilst at work adds nothing to the overall quality.
To say the factory was underutilized would be an understatement, the slack discipline and outmoded facilities clearly show the maestro and montego sales were dead in the water and was only kept going to keep employment and offer a cheap fleet vehicles in an otherwise aspirational pricey rover lineup.
Also Arlington securities was the property subsidiary of British aerospace the then owners of rover group at the time so asset stripping and underinvestment didn't help the cause
I believe BMW called Rover the "English Patient" !
Lots of comments here from people who have obviously never seen the inside of a car factory, criticising things they know absolutely fuck all about. No, it’s not all shiny and bright in there and it wouldn’t have been much different in most car plants, no, the track isn’t always running because sometimes it has to stop, no, everyone isn’t working in silence because they’re human beings and human beings like to laugh and smile if they can as it makes working on a production line for nine hours a little bit nicer. Sometimes, they even stop for a cup of tea and a sandwich!
I’ve seen the inside of quite a few car factories from my time at Bosch and I’m telling you if this were Honda or BMW those blokes would’ve been taken outside and shit (metaphorically). I’ve heard stories about Cowley from people who were there. Shop stewards drunk at lunchtime, QI reports completed completed in pencil then erased at the end of the week if the numbers weeent looking good…
You shouldn't have tea and a sandwich at the same time!!
Sweet (or I suppose _bitter_ if you're inclined that way), doesn't go with savoury.
Not good for the palette, nor digestion.
I have from years ago and it makes this place look like a shithole. The whole remit, shows that management handn't a clue, looks like it came out of the 1920's but they would have had more pride back then.
Exactly mate being miserable at work adds nothing to the overall quality and low morale is a total negative in any workforce. Well said.
In 1964/5 when I worked on the farina line at Cowley the line never stopped one guy ha da stroke in the back of an Austin Countryman he was taken out of the car he was working on - the line never stopped !
Such good looking cars. It is said that the Bulgarian built Maestros were better built.
Lost era!
Brilliant.
Good times!
4:08 ...and hits the bonnet. LOL
Longbridge's MG Rover for Her Majesty the Queen to SAIC's MG Motor for His Majesty the King.
C'mon guys don't be so pedantic. These blokes were just fooling around for the camera, mostly at breaks. I guess you're all 100% performant during your work shift, no doubt.
None of these guys did a real days work, it was all stoppages, one out all out.
Even more reason to be focused on your task than playing up for a camera.
Is this line actually moving? If these geezers had to work in a modern production facility they would be running to get their tasks done before the car disappears down the line!
RIP DAD !
The reason rover ceases to exist right there. Poorly cobbled together cars leads to poor customer satisfaction leads to no profit leads to no product redevelopment leads to a bankrupt business. Blame the management and government all you want but if your workforce doesn't put the effort to make a quality product customer retention is none existent. Only owned one rover a 25 it was lovely to drive but it literally fell to bits with only 34k on the clock the final straw was when the entire door handle and lock came off in my hand in a car park such a shame as I really wanted rover to succeed.
And to those who think I'm talking rubbish check mot history on KT03 GMF that was my rover 25 impression.
And who knows the history of your car. I have seen appalling German cars owned by friends and family.
Not all Rover cars were "Cobbled" together. What we see is an old production line that came to an end with the discontinuous of both the Austin Montego and Maestro cars.
The new Rover 200, 400, 600 and 800 plus later 75s and new mini were great cars in partnership with Honda until bmw bought the company.
Well it’s easy to compare everything to a German car which were probably considerably more expensive. I imagine the Montego and maestros were made to a fairly low price point for working class UK owners. If you compare them to French and Italian cars of the time they were much better. And you must have extremely good eyesight if you can effectively do quality assurance from this video
30 years ago today.
Hahaha the bloke at the begining, I swear its Michael Barrymore.
No wonder it shut, and I had 28 years in the industry at Solihull. The workforce and management at Solihull was a joke
14.14 Got to have Chalky in there.
Dónde está el fusible de la calefacción?
Actually, this is a new video of the modern Lada factory
I am sure that in the Autovaz (Lada) factory there is more seriousness and discipline 🤔
Not a single car finished or moved.
These cars were dated in 1992
That was the problem with everything British Leyland touched, and then Rover too. They never updated the cars... Some were in production for years, sometimes over a decade without hardly any changes or improvements, while everyone else had a new model released every 3 years.
1992 ? More like 1892. Their work ethic was sit around scratching your arse waiting for tea break.
You mean very long strikes?
Fucking idiot. Read the history then you'll understand
Nowt like an English man having a brew on the old Maestro / Montego production line....I take it Honda / Japanese practices were only for Rover / Honda lines
It's a disgrace. No wonder we have no car industry here anymore. Laughingstock.
Fucking idiot. Read the history and then you'll understand
When you employed lazy unmotivated doughnuts, the results were obvious!
Idiot. Read the history and you mind understand
No wonder they went bust
Idiot. Read the history then you'll understand
@@lucyellenroe6029 and?
Fuck off
@@lucyellenroe6029 ohhh NICE 😉😉😉😉😉🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧👑👑
No disrespect to anyone in the video . but that kind of loafing around attitude is synonymous for lack of attention to detail and quality and is due to poor management and was probably a big factor in the downfall of Rover , I can assure anyone that this behaviour would not be tolerated in any auto assembly plant these days.., .. i remember around 1997 a supplier Quality Engineer from Land Rover called Syd Eccles used to regularly grill me and my firm for poor quality... ironic isn't it .
I use to own a Montego in the 90s it spent more time in the back yard being fixing than driving on the road I should of got a plank of wood with four wheels it would of been better the GF got sick of looking at it in the yard so scraped it when I out she got £25 for it lol I was shocked she got so much for it what a piece of cr*p it was
no wonder the cars were shit
How come some are still going
Fucking idiot. Read the history then you'll understand
@@lucyellenroe6029 Bravo 😉😉🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍👍👑👑👑👑I LOVE YOU ROVER LONGBRIDGE OPERATIONS LTD ROVER GROUP
this video must be a massive embarrassment to those people who advocated the nationalised industries. Its little wonder the company went bust if this video is anything to go by. It only confirms what I already knew.
scabbycat cat Rover had been a private company for 6 years by the time this was filmed. Also all the videos in this south works series seem to have been filmed on the last day of production in December 1992 with those involved facing an uncertain future. I think you can understand that motivation will have been flagging at this point
" motivation will have been flagging at this point "............. i think you will find motivation would have been flagging from the very point they were nationalised. Once you give ANYONE the backing of the taxpayer , which is essentially a bottomless pit of money - why should anyone even bother to TRY ?? If you look at EVERY nationalised industry they all suffered the same effect- apathy , lethargy, laziness, lack of motivation and industrial unrest . Thatcher got the blame for the downfall of the shipbuilding industry - the workers destroyed it themselves by their demarcation rules and their restrictive practice rules which made it IMPOSSIBLE to build any ship at a profit . Thatcher sorted this country out - and no mistake !!
Thats communism for you...never really works
scabbycat cat Well, we ourselves over here had massive privatisation of State-led industries back in the '90s - telephones et al - and all but a few of those privatised companies went equally bust or sold to foreign concerns, many after having dug into the public purse for "incentives". NOW 30 years later they're trying to cap the scam - take State's money and run abroad - but it's like closing the gates when cattle have fled the field already. Thatcher did terrible things herself, but I understand that all UK's Red Robbos needed a whacking. Anyway, MG-Rover went bust in 2005 for the very same woes BL suffered: BAD management in primis and DODGY quality in secundis.
Clearly you know nothing then. Prick
Plonkers.
Embarrassing
idiot. Read the history then you'll understand