Added: 4 years ago
From: badgerlad69
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  • what happen to all the rovers that where not sold

  • My father loved his rover 45 which we got in 2007 and sadly part exchanged in the middle of January this year 2010, it had served us very well but we are a family of 4 so we needed something bigger and pultipurpose so we part ex'd it for a nice mazda premacy, Yes i truely miss our rover 45 indeed i just love rovers despite the bad things ppl say about them ;)

  • When will this madness end. Well I will always own and drive a rover regardless.I've even got my own repair business dedicated to the preservation of the truly great brand. I'll never ever drive foreign s**t,this is what killed the great rover. Yes people might scoff and say rovers were not the best but so what after all they where BRITISH and we care about our people and products and we where the best at everything. Until we where invaded and everything stolen from us by foreigners !!!!!!!!!!!!

  • I agree with you but... about the foreign shit, Rover had been mixed up with it since the 80's, so in the end of the day, it wasn't that British anymore! it wasn't the foreigners who killed the British car industry, it was the management who killed it! Can you explain the fact that German, French and Italian manufactures are still owned by their nationals? Because they move on, while BL sat on it's own arse wasting time with industrial action.

  • Good god,i was in tears after watching this moving video. I've loved and worked on rovers for many years,my uncle worked at a rover dealership back in the early 80's. We've had rover cars in the family since the year dot. What a shame for a truly wonderful and superb company to be turned in to rubble. Just what is this country coming to, bloody government again forgetting to support british industry but quite happy to give our hard earned tax payers money to f**king foreigners,makes me so mad.

  • @mgzt52 Yeah and it's odd how Tony Balir has been happy spending money entering Iraq with his little dick head friend; George W Bush, but he can't even support this country's own manufacturers when they need it

  • 02.45 is wats left of longbridge thats the Q gate it was newest part of longbridge

  • why did the dmolish the place anyway, it was quite historic

  • good luck buddy, i would work at a german brand instead lol

  • The fact that the British public stopped buying British, and bought foreign tat instead because the media told them foreign was good and British was crap, is what contributed most to the downfall of Longbridge and the decline of British manufacturing; that coupled with the Thatcherite fantasy that we don't need manufacturing, and the shameful attitude of the City which refused to invest in UK manufacturing.

    We are now a shithole, and the British worker has to pay the price.

  • Blame it on the Unions

    Blame it on the goverment

    But the truth is that the British people decided to buy cars from abroad.

    We laughed at the attempt of the Japaneese to sell cars here!

    Oh but we were wrong

    China bought Rover

    Watch out for the new invasion

  • so sad to see the place be flattend so quickly, like many others have said banks and the like are being bailed out at the drop of a hat but when longbridge needed it no one gave it a second glance, so sad to see the some people just didnt care =(

  • Q.E.P.D

  • What a shame...

  • Boys I've read all your comments. They are very good and spoken with real insight. I realy don't know why the Brits have this self harming relationship with the manufacturing industry. As we are all sadly aware now the alternatives (banks,service) also collapsed putting this country into debt for years to come. Britain needs to wake up. Who is going to pay now for the do goodser's next stupid ideas and demands, also the expence account of the recycled lawers (politicians) needs to be funded

  • I worked at Lode Lane, Longbridge and Gaydon. You know I still somtimes wake up thinking about it all. I must have re-lived the last week at Rover 100 times. I realy miss my friends and the job. At 2003 I knew it would end in tears but never thought it would end so quickly. I like to laugh at the government now and see how the service and the bank sectors would save Britain but I know that thousands have lost their jobs and there is nothing funny about that. Maybe God would save us all...

  • I worked there from 1989 - 2005. Funny how the Government can plough billions into the banking industry and is even now on the verge of handing Jaguar Landrover shedloads of money, even though JLR is owned bt TATA, one of the richest companies in India!! Make you effing sick. Good luck to all the friends I never had the chance even to say goodbye.

  • loss of Rover cuts deep into hearts of the british people,though most wont admit it, some will even say it was coming.there will be mistrust and anger towards the individuals,companies and countries responsible but underneath it all, people will know who supported Rover with their purchases and who did'nt and at the end of the day if one thing could have saved it,it was more sales.they were good cars they just maybe were'nt as good as someone elses but they were ours and we built them,all of us.

  • Well Rovers were poor cars in comparison, by the end. The foreign products were better and cheaper. You can't live on dreams, or at least you can't make a living on the dreams of the past, so move on. Lets redevelop that site and do something more useful with it.

  • to CaraBrimleyRules. this subject is one for a college thesis and years of discussion not enough room on youtube. I like your positive attitude and that's sets you free instead of stewing over things and it making one sick to the stomach. You are only 25 years old so my perpective is different from yours. When I was a little boy, my Dad drove a 1966 Triumph Herald Estate, it had the most amazing turning circle and looked like no other car on the road. It got 35 to 40 mpg ..

  • and the Bonnet and Wings lifted up to totally expose the engine and front suspension. It had a real wood dashboard and loads of character. It was a car that reflected Britains creativness at that time, the early 70's. But it was underpowered, the bumpers used to leave chalk marks on your clothes if you rubbed up against them and it ended up failing the MOT because of horendous rust probs. Then we had a 1965 Morris 1100 that used to cut out in the rain until the mechanic in...

  • installed a Unipart accessory weather sheild over the distributor so rain water did not get into the ignition...why was this not on the car from new...why was the distributor not sealed from the weather..my mother broke down in 1978 on Haldon Hill in the middle of the night with four yound children in a huge snow storm, the worst for years and we were rescued by a kind man in a Landrover. Later, we had a 1971 Blue Austin 1100 and she had to have a recon engine put in it ...

  • because it used oil [they all do that, they said] and she was bad at checking the oil, so she snapped the crank going down a long hill oneday...the ring design must have been not good for it to use oil, the engineers never fixed that, yes she should have checked the oil but you see my point. we never progressed, later she had Austin metro and she loves them but the front suspension was always needing attention and would sag and wear out tyres. she has had a Micra for years now without issue. sad

  • There's a lot of different factors, agreed. And from an outside perspective, I'd lay some of the blame with the unions. When I was younger there were always news stories about strikes and uncompetitive practices at this plant and other UK car plants. Well in the end the unions got what they deserved.

    There will be a future for the Longbridge area, even if some of it is housing there is supposed to be 10,000 jobs created. We'll have to wait and see.

  • there's a really good book called "whatever happened to the British Motorcycle Industry by Bert Hopwood" even though it's about Motorcycles, it's the same thing...intermangement squabbles and ego's, personal handshakes and cliques, corruption and downright incompetence in management...allthings that we see today from our countries...not Japan. That's not in their culture. If longbridge becomes a housing estate, it will be built by union carpenters, plumbers and brickies managed by the same...

  • types of people with the same issues and the quality of the housing will be of the same standard as our motor cars. Until we look at personal responsibility and at ourselves, we will be the same no matter what we do. It's real simple.

  • another thing...in Bert Hopwoods book, he says that when the Coventry Triumph plant was bombed in WW2 by the Nazi's, they moved and had to weld up a drill press that was damaged and this drill press was still in use in the early 80's when the Meridan plant closed...can you imagine!! this would never happen in Japan partly because the Allied forces spent billions building the place back up for them, yes its an old clique but its true. They had all the lastest and best machinery...

  • but over the years, they invested back into their plants and upgraded, we did not, we had business lunches at the Savoy, back handers and bonuses for the bosses all the time, we were getting further behind our competition...You have to ask why Unions were necessary, if the workers were happy, they would not have needed them. Idealistic views but they are my views, if the British public flew the flag, there would not be an issue but most just want a product that works as well as it possibly can.

  • Another thing about unions. If they are so bad, why are the French and German's doing so well in the auto industry and they are heavily Unionised. We even had to get the French to build our Queen Mary, how embarssasing is that. It ain't the Unions fault there is no British Motor Industry, in fact, I would say maybe it would have dissappeared a long time ago were it not for the Unions Stopping Management from making stupid decisions. Just a thought.

  • Very good words on all your comments.

    I Agree completely, but im 15 and have realised how completely fucked Britian is.

    Plus the Koreans are getting in now!

    Im buying either German,Vauxhall or maybe swedish, but no Korean or Jap-Scrap 4me.

    I really hate how Tony Bliar Fucked MG/Rover.

    Tony Bliar is a douche, also Tony Browns a douche too.

    Why and how did britian hzve to fuck up this badly goddammit it angers me!!!

    But i agree with you m8 on every word.

  • In a nutshell, the British national character that created our cars is the same British character that decides to buy a Toyota. Just because we did not work in the factory that made the Rover cars, does not mean that if we did, we would do anything differently. People seem to think the Rover workers were a breed apart like they were from some other planet...they were us, all of us. Now our national character is reflected on the roads by another countries product, thats what it says out loud.

  • Yes, Completely my man.

    The British consumer, Basically does as its told by other car makers.

    Look at the BMW Mini, We where told it was British it may be built here, but is it Fuck *British*

    But the British consumer still buys a car thats not a Mini, this is one of many example.

  • i worked in trentham seat build for 6 years and in the powertrain for 9 years,,dont miss the job but i sure do miss the lads,,what a great gang of guys!

  • cannot believe how quick they tore it down,great place to work at,laughs corrupt owners,always selling of this and that,then when FAULTY TOWERS sold the land we knew it was over for good,he quoted he had a 5 year plan but did not mention it was to close for good,,thanks for the vid happy days..

  • You never know how good it is until its gone.thats your lot Lads.Last one out turn the lights off.So long old friend.

  • Some people say this sort of industry is a dead end job and i agree to a certain extent, but for some people it was a job and it put food on the table and on my familys table when we were kids and for that i am eternally gratefull.

  • My dad worked there for years and to see Longbridge as it is right now is very sad.I still cant believe its all gone.The whole factory industry has fallen on its arse since.The only ones that are just about surviving are the ones not making car parts.

  • I used to work in the office block in P gate, shown @ 2:31, still miss the place and all the great blokes there

  • sad to see !! never worked there but in motor trade and worked for a mg/rover dealer. Huge blow to the already dwindling if non existent british car industry. Wonder what that town is like now ?

  • its dead mate just one Q gate MG factory left and that is tiny.

  • Very upsetting to see it the way it is now, I worked in the West Works on the old Mini, I have to pinch myself that it has gone.

    It will never be the same.

  • was longbriedge completely demolished??

  • Not all of it, the old and new west works have gone and the east works and the north works and the office block building.

  • Long live Rover!!

  • Rover´ll always be the best car!!! I´ve two rovers (a 75 and a 214 of 1994) and I haven´t had problems, they are great and very nice. I hope someday rover comes back but I´d like that they were british no chinnese

  • Rover the best

  • I'd like to say a big big thank you to the people of Longbridge for building me great cars over the last twenty-odd years. There's loads of us up here waiting to see what happens there and are holding on to our cars before trading them in. We know we can rely on Longbridge cars.

  • Great - and very sad video. I was just thinking the other day of the comparison between the Government's hands off attitude to Rover at the end compared with the Northern Rock crises and the £55 - £150(rumoured)billion that they have pumped into that 'at the drop of a hat.' I can't help but wonder how much more could have been saved.

  • I Worked at longbridge for 29 years,last 6 years on the water test in CVB, I Have another job now, but will never forget the people, and memories I have can not be destroyed. I just miss the people I worked with so much it hurts.

  • i worked at longbridge from 1990 to 2000 makes me sad & angry that it had to end the way it did.Great job to have.I hope Tony Blair & his cronies are happy!

  • Have the chinks sold off the land? I suppose they could reconstruct this gradually, after all, it must have been getting on.

    Hopefully NAC will succeed, invest in new models and make new models. They say european & UK MGs are going to be made here, so, hopefully jobs in Birmingham will rise. How could the demolition people do that Think of all the unemployed people in Birmingham and all of the heritage that was destroyed.

    Lets all pray that NAC get it right and see the return of Longbridge.

  • Well, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who worked at Longbridge. I've owned 2 cars from there and they've both been brilliant. A 1991 Rover 214 and currently own a 2000 MGF. The MGF is the most wonderful car I've ever owned. I'm still deeply saddened by it all.

  • Nice video,its a shame british industry is going this way.Soon we'll be a nation of big ugly warehouses full of goods made in china.I work in a town (Corby) thats just lost 1000 jobs from different companies moving abroad,its a sad state of afairs. Chris.

  • I fully agree with sentiment. The problem is the relative difference in the cost of labour and how everything is implemented, we just can't compete as easily unless the money is already there for us to build ourselves up. MGR suffered from poor investment, and management right to the end. But for me it is a blessing in disguise. I made the decision to get my engineering degree and this is my ticket out, I'm 28 and this is my only major shot. Once I have this, it'll open loads of doors for me..

  • Instead of just building cars I'll be literally making cars. Evolving and improving is key otherwise you'll find yourself stuck. A few of my mates from Longbridge have done the same thing - I wish anyone luck with whatever they're doing now though - it is sad to see this place go down.

  • I worked in the flight shed in 1963 and paintshop before that. used to have lunch in the Cofton Park...All gone now,with good memories of what a good Nation we used to be

  • fantastic piece of work my friend , i noticed the other day that the old charles clarkes of wolverhampton building in chapel ash are beeing pulled down. god please save great british industry

  • God,this was the Bostin Austin,and it's gone.Few people realise what it meant to us Brummies........

  • This video is 5*, made me cry. Thanks

  • hi im ex mg rover biw new west miss it so much 1995 2005

  • Rover Mg forever......last original british car

  • is that where all the mg rover cars were made? if so how are they going to build the new mg cars? confused !!

  • Hi James

    Yes, All MG Rover cars were made here.

    As you can see it was a massive plant.

    The new MG's will be built in the part that hasn't been demolished. CAB 1...etc

    Thanks for your interest

  • wow!!! jamesdude92!!! your name is like mine!!! Cool!

  • If NAC can make MG shine, why not. MG and Rover are British, no matter where they are, who is using them.

  • I watch this with a heavy heart. I spent 17 years of my life at longbridge. Mr T----s, you had a chance to make a lot of us happy and blew it. Long live the memory of Longbridge, i for one will miss you forever.

  • nice video. WANT MG-ROVER AGAIN!!! not nanji

  • Thank you for this video.

    Sad,but its reality.

    Want MG Rover back!

  • its so sad to see all this this should have never happened John Towers and his consortium are to blame for all this.

    A VERY VERY SAD MOMENT FOR US ALL

  • Very nostalgic memories...so sad to see it all gone!

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