Rover

That sounds like it was an interesting lecture.

 

By the same people who think that a Mitsubishi Galant is in the same
class as a BMW 5-series?

 

Andy Bonwick wrote

Spamming ****.

 

No, it wasn't what I meant at all. You appear to fall into the mindset
that higher cost = higher quality which it doesnt' it just means that
the production process is inefficient. the point I was making was that
the cost of our operations in the UK are higher than elsewhere for many
different reasons and the customer will not be willing to part with more
cash for the same product.

--
Martin:
"For a minute there, you bored me to death."
VTR1000 Firestorm
TDR250 http://ukrm.net/BIKES/Yamaha/tdr250.html
martin dot smith nine zero three at ntlworld dot com

 

I'm not assuming anything about the engineers who made the machine
however the majority of the workforce aren't skilled engineers they are
fitters and handle turners. The global demand for skilled engineers and
its ability to pull them away from the UK only serves to show how wrong
the UK has got it when it comes to paying people.

--
Martin:
"For a minute there, you bored me to death."
VTR1000 Firestorm
TDR250 http://ukrm.net/BIKES/Yamaha/tdr250.html
martin dot smith nine zero three at ntlworld dot com

 

There aren't any customers, only poor deluded "I must buy british" fools
who put patriotism over quality. Rover got slagged off because it
deserved to and for no other reason, everyone I have ever met who has
owned a rover has complained about it, this is the reason that noone
wants them.



--
Martin:
"For a minute there, you bored me to death."
VTR1000 Firestorm
TDR250 http://ukrm.net/BIKES/Yamaha/tdr250.html
martin dot smith nine zero three at ntlworld dot com

 

Martin scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Oi! I'm not complaining about mine!

That said, even after thirty years you get the impression that the
build quality is better than the new Rovers'.

 

Those are all people who have low expectations from cars.

 

I'm fairly sure the last WhatCar/JDPower survey I read didn't exactly have
Rover leading from the front.

As a matter of interest, how many actual owners did you speak to - and what
were they comparing them to in terms of reliability,economy, comfort and
performance?

 

My ex had two 214s back in the late 80s/early 90s and never had any
problems with either of them...

....except for the first one that I spun into the front of an oncoming
transit, that is.

 

Rope wrote:

Back when American management science ruled ...

I was at Ford (Brentwood and Dagenham) in 1977/8 working on a
production line QRS - Quality and Repair Surveillance system[1]. At
that time Ford were starting to take quality very seriously. Ford
invested heavily in quality in the firm belief it paid. Not to mention
new products for that matter - the first Fiesta's came out later that
year (or maybe the year after?).

Their belief has been borne out in the intervening twenty-eight years.

While I was there a very well-researched feature was printed in the
Times, I think. It propounded the view that the European style of
management produced more efficient and higher quality manufactured
goods. It cited how electricians in Ford's German assembly plant
patrolled the line all through the shift - looking for and fixing
problems - sometimes pre-empting them. In the UK factory the
electricians shut themselves in their crib throughout the shift. As a
result the line had to be stopped and an electrician summoned if, say,
the ends of a spot welder wore out (like they do). It was re-printed in
Ford's in-house organ and widely discussed. I dunno if they did much
more about it, I'd like to think so.

How it worked then in Leyland/BL/Rover I've no idea, but I did get the
impression they were much more assertive some decades later when they
were messing their suppliers about something rotten.

[1] PDP 11/23 runing Ford's own real-time executive and applications
(sum of wot I rote) written in BCPL, the great-great-great grandmother
of C#.

 

Rope says...

And fall apart with great rapidity. That's why a teenage girl like your
Vicky can buy a fairly new Rover for peanuts, no fucker wants them.
Ours went well and was comfortable, but was painfully unreliable and
the worst car I've ever owned for urban fuel consumption. My ex-burd
used the Rover and I had Subaru Impreza Sport company cars. My Imprezas
were far better on fuel, with their 2 litre engine as opposed to the
1.6 in my Rover.

Rovers are shite and the one I bought new was a fucking shed within 3
years despite our efforts to keep it good. I would quite happily see
Rover die, and I'd lead people in a happy dance over the grave. FERITE.

 

Strange how most recent comparisons of Vauxhall and Ford's family
hatchback sized cars are comparing the build quality with that of VW
then, isn't it?

One of my team owns a rover, a well kitted out V6 estate one, can't
remember the exact model.. Anyway, he'd be rid of it in a shot if
someone offered a swap for a Mondeo.

 

[snip]

In the late 90s I was working in materials science at GM-Europe. I do
hope some of the vehicles I saw were not going into production because
they were a lemon. Mind you I suspect you have to make a few lemons to
work out what a good one is.

 

Ginge says...

That'd be a 75, supposedly built to BMW standards and it even uses some
BMW parts to like door trim holding clips. I've pulled 5 series BMWs
and Rover 75s apart. The BMW is far better built.

 

This assumes that this was not their intention from the outset. In
which case, they've done rather well for their £10.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/KH500A8/TS250C
|_\_____/_| ..74309../..18302.../..3184./.19406
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 YTC#4 PM#5
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 two#11 WG*
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4
'^' RBR Landmarks: 12 Pts: 220 Miles: 914

 

One of my colleagues owns a number (3 iirc) SD1 variants and a 75. he
thinks rover are wonderful, but then he does support Leeds.

 

More or less what I was thinking.

Nice to see someone geting something decent out of a Rover,