Virtual MG Factory Tour - lots of pics

[VWPowered]

As we know MG has gone but someones been there afterhours

 

 

photos speak louder thans words

 

pics sourced from www.photoaddiction.co.uk - www.28dayslater.co.uk - www.silentuk.com

 

*removed pics as they cant be viewed

 

but thanks for the links

[brammy777]

that should be protected.What on earth is that red car? a 75 coupe?gaydon should get that.and that pre production black car, that has a volvo/dodge look to it, is that a sign of what was to come?

[ashmicro]

BAH! Can't see the pics. Cursed Windows 7!

[Milford Cubicle]

I went down the road in my Rover 200 a couple of years ago with the intention of exploring Longbridge and a few other places. It started ingesting its own oil on the A1 outside Newcastle and revved itself to bits.

I have a feeling it didn't want to go home.

 

Most of the photos don't work, but you'll find the best selection here. He lives locally to Longbridge and has been in and out a lot since it closed

 

http://www.fotoarc.co.uk/

[Richard]

http://www.clubcela.com/modules.php?name=ETFrame&op=ver&fid=12

[fotorabia]

Dang..u could go in there with a generator and build yer own car..and whats with that Lotus 7..man...id been in there with a spare battery and get that baby out...

[RedSparrow]

That is seriously sad, for the people who worked there and the country as a whole. I can't believe so much is just lying around there. I hope some use is made of it and that they have tight security to stop it all getting trashed.

[Station]

I'm surprised by the amount of people still slating MG/Rover, 4 years after it shut.

[CortinaDave]

You'd think it would make sense to get those cars finished and sold. There would no doubt be a demand amongst rover fanatics for a 59 reg 75 etc if they got them together and for sale.

[Pillock]

I'd guess there were supplier issues, most seem to have had the in-house stuff (panels, paint) done and are awating external suppliers for electrics and trim. The letter photographed suggests money was a little (!) tight and maybe suppliers were getting a little tired of working for free.But yeah, even if they sold off a painted body and engine for a couple of grand, go down the salvage yard and you'll find a crashed model for the rest of the parts.

[gtd2000]

But yeah, even if they sold off a painted body and engine for a couple of grand, go down the salvage yard and you'll find a crashed model for the rest of the parts.

You do realise the actual car when fully built probably only cost a couple of grand in the first place.US$1069 (cost) for a fully built Dacia Logan that sells for about 8,000 Euros in a dealership

[UltimateJames]

Such a sad site to see Im not a Rover fan but its history means alot to this country and the motor industry itself. Id love to get in there for a snoop around tho

[aled]

Such a sad site to see Im not a Rover fan but its history means alot to this country and the motor industry itself. Id love to get in there for a snoop around tho

me too. i find it sad that this company could not be privatised before it went tits up, all the money that this government has given to companies with less employees,the same goes for ldv. but then again the saviours of rover might have been honda but they were shot in the foot when it all was sold to bmw and all they wanted was the mini name, they even sold on landrover.very sad to see a factory of that size with all the machinery just rusting away --cant we start an autoshite factory

[UltimateJames]

I also noticed the sign for what would have been my late mother's dream job (Door Slam Test Area) she had so much practice over the years the job would have been hers by right. (Although they'd probably have wanted her to do it time after time, not just slam it and go off in a huff for hours)

[Mr Lobster]

How recent are the pics? I thought that much of it (all of it?) was crated up and shipped to China and some of the buildings demolished.Can't imagine the lights have been left burning for the last four years?

[Mr H Sceptre]

[very sad to see a factory of that size with all the machinery just rusting away --cant we start an autoshite factory

Its all in hand:http://www.autoshite.com/third-id-115-s ... p2-278.htm

[AnthonyG]

Most of Longbridge is now just acres and acres of flat land now. There is a small part of the factory still going, which is slowly building new MG TFs mostly from parts from China (I suspect a lot of the parts are left over from the MGR days actually). The old circular showroom bit at the main gate still exits, as do various other bits.All of the powertrain (engine) plant was moved to China, and the buildings were flattened.Many of the cars that were half built were completed, I forget what the criteria was - the last to be finished is - a red 75 is in Gaydon, along with the first 75 built (in Cowley), and a BMW Dixi/Austin 7 from the BMW museum donated by Pietscrider (sp) to celebrate 'the coming together of BMW AG and Rover Group' The promised new development for all the acres of flat land has mostly not arrived, although the recession has not helped matters. There is a 'Technology Park', which actually predated the MGR bustup and was built on land created after BMW left in 2000.

[AnthonyG]

That is seriously sad, for the people who worked there and the country as a whole. I can't believe so much is just lying around there. I hope some use is made of it and that they have tight security to stop it all getting trashed.

Didn't have very tight security, as several urban explorers got in!Most of the stuff has gone now, indeed most of the buildings have been razed - those pictures are from the immediate post bankruptcy/sale to NAC days - early 2006. The unbuilt cars and protoypes were either made use of by NAC/SAIC, the rest (in particular the unpainted shells) would have been scrapped.