Dr Ian Pogson

Sometimes in life one thinks something along the lines of “I’ve been here before!”  That is my thought every time that I am dragged around M&S at Longbridge – formerly the site of my ex employer MG Rover.  Then that feeling came over me again as I was chauffeured up the drive to JLR and Aston Martin’s gates at Gaydon.  I had already had the shock of seeing how the local village of Lighthorne Heath had been massively developed with very new houses across the green fields and down to the M40.  I suspect these were speculatively built for some of the 10,000 or so JLR employees who used to be on site before the Covid crunch came and the Company contracted and people also worked from home.  I suspect very few JLR employees live there!

I had worked as a contractor for JLR from 2015 to 2019 and also for a short time as a BL Technology Supervisor in the 80’s.  So, memories came flooding back of what had been there in those far off days as well as more recent times.  Another memory was falling off my electric motorcycle on the notoriously slippery roundabout at the entrance.  Broken clavicles can really hurt.  How did I manage to get back up on it and ride into the site.  My chauffeur to Aston, Kevin (and now an AM employee) calls it “Ian’s roundabout”, after he volunteered to ride my bike home, as I was going to be unable to do so with my arm in a sling!  Kevin had worked with me on the Chinese MGTF resurrection project and is a cracking Body Engineer.  He turned into a knowledgeable guide for the Aston Gaydon Factory Tour.

What a treat  – to be allowed into the VIP colour and trim selection rooms, the canteen, the edge of the Studio, the factory itself!  We were joined on the day by another ex-Rover/SAIC employee, so Alan and I were really keen to see the factory with Kevin as our guide.  The overall impression is that there are so very many people in this world who can afford anything from £180k for the “cheapest” DB12 Aston to a two-seat Valkyrie at £3.2m!  Then there are people who do not even have access to clean water.  What a strange world.  The Socialist in me had trouble with that comparison.

Anyway, back to being treated.  Outside one could sit in various of their products, including the 4×4 DBX at a shade under £200k, made in St. Athan, near Barry in South Wales.  Aston employees were on hand to rev the nuts off various V12 engines and some of the Merc V8’s.  Lovely noises.

We could touch a real F1 car, a Valkyrie, several DBS models and gaze longingly at the AM motorcycle.  We could visit the CMM (Co-ordinate Measuring Machines) checking parts, the PBS (Painted Body Store), Sports Car Build, the Powertrain build area, Rolling Roads, the Customer Acceptance line and Pilot Build. We were allowed into the Trim, Body and Chassis shops.  We could even see the £500k passenger “tubs” for the Valkyrie being mated to their power trains.  It was a full view of almost the whole build process.  As ex-Longbridge guys, we were really interested in the quality station and how they managed incomplete builds, which is a real issue for any low-volume producer.  Kevin used to work for Maclaren and he said that in his time, Maclaren didn’t complete one car on time first time.  AM seems the same.  We had been used to MG Rover producing one car a minute, but the ”Takt time” at Gaydon was 22 minutes.  Each car was supposed to be completed in station within this time, but we weren’t able to check.

The overall impression was of a thoroughly modern plant – as expected – and a staggering attention to detail, as demanded by customers paying so much for their wheels.  It was great to see much of the stitching of leather seats and trim coverings done by hand in house; the Trim area was on the main shop floor with the build line close by.  What did amuse us was the flimsy and even brittle nature of some of the base plastic trim panels, but when covered with foam and leather, a certain rigidity (and surprising weight increase) resulted.  Of course the leather covering was to each customer’s tastes, so quite unique.

Being slightly mischievous types, we were amused to see there was still a recognition that one of the rarest Aston Martins was remembered on line; the 2011 Cygnet.  This was a logical, but amusing attempt by Aston to reduce and improve its C.A.F.E (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) rating.  By building and selling large, heavy, big-engined cars, A-M’s CAFÉ rating was poor, so they sold a re-badged and heavily re-fettled, but frugal Toyota iQ.  Sales of 4,000 a year were never realised, so it was quietly dropped after two years of life.  The official A-M web-site lists it as a “past model”.

So, many thanks to Kevin for his time and knowledge.  Having retired from work and factory life, it really is the people that you miss.  So many talented, reliable folk.  You know who you are.