I'm afraid some of it is Rover related so you might as well go onto another thread right about now ...
It would have been rude and a missed opportunity for me not to have taken my 75 back to where it was made, Longbridge, Birmingham.
As you'll know the site is now owned by MG Motor UK who is owned by SAIC, largely a Chinese company. However, they do offer site tours every Thursday afternoon, so I and a few mates went along for this. While I do quite like the new MG6 and I would consider buying one if that is what I wanted as its not a Focus or an Ashtray, it was more the site I went to see.
Upon arrival I parked on the double yellow lines to have a picture of the site in the background. A security chappy runs out and I expect him to say I can't park there and could we move along, but no, he suggested for a better picture might I want to park the 75 on the plinth and asked if I had been into the visitors centre. So I did:
So, into the sales centre we go, obviously there is only one car I would and did take home here:
It was nice to still see a good selection of 75s inside the site, no doubt owned by staff who still have a passion for the place. There were also a few of the smaller Rovers running about as site cars and one 45 parked up which looked brand new and unregistered. Strange.
We started out by having a look at the 6's in the showroom and then into a conference seated area for a presentation about the site, its history and what MG is now, how its growing and so on. We then went on into the site and had a quick look about, into the old Rover buildings to see a small museum of cars built there. I was in my element to see a one off 75 built as the 5 millionth Rover to have been made, in unique colour and spec which was as new, having never been used. We then went into the technical centre which has a mock-up of the new MG5 and a mass of people all sat at desks, perhaps on facebook, im not sure! They carry out european styling exercises there, concept cars and have a full engine unit testing facility, as well as final production of the 3 & 6. We had a quick look inside the production building where they were on with checks of pre-production MG3s. Unfortunately the tour wasn't extensive and I could happily have wandered off for a full walk of the site. I love all of the history there but the site is a tiny percentage of what it used to be. They are still knocking it down, in fact.
As we were in the area we then headed for the Heritage Motor Museum for a quick look around. I've been many times but they keep it interesting by changing the exhibits.
My 75 did in excess of 450 miles that day and while it was nice to drive and certainly has a great engine after its remap, I was longing for the comforts of my Xantias. Since I now have the Polo as my commuting hack I don't need the 75 and to keep it as a longer distance car or cruiser doesn't make sense, when the Xantias do that so much better. I've enjoyed having both my 75s and they are still a car I will always like, but I've done them now, hopefully it can move on without me losing too many funds. I don't suppose they are the best selling cars in the world and there is certainly no shortage of them.
I couldn't resist a quick picture of the fleet before it goes.
So, hopefully that is my fleet sorted for the next year, which will see me through my final university year. That has been a long time coming, I can tell you! Having just got my timetable, I'm back 5 days a week and I'll be working at least 3 days a week. So that either means adding an extra day to my week, which would be handy, or more likely doing both on the same day, meaning in excess of 90 miles per day. Roll on May!
The trip to Birmingham has rather made up my mind for me, to get my car number back to a sensible three, the 75 will be the one to move out. And I need to be sensible as this next years is the one which counts.
So my car plan is:
Activa - my 'toy' to get out on nice days and enjoy driving it, probably on SORN for the winter to resist temptation
HDi Exclusive - long distance mile muncher kept in use through winter but used sparingly
Polo - daily hack taking up my many commuting miles with ease and I dont have to worry about it getting knocked in carparks, having the dog in the boot and worrying about the interior etc.
The Polo is a great old workhorse, all it needed was the timing belt doing and since I've not taken the courage to do that myself yet, I beached it into a local VW specialist. That now done its good to go, having had a service, recent MOT, brakes, tyres, etc before I bought it. As I said I've had two cars with this 1.4TDi engine before and it is simply a little cracker. Its a 3 pot with loads of character, a punchy turbo and a good sound ... for a diesel. Its a gusty performer and knocks spots off my C2 1.4HDi for performance and economy. I'm getting an average of 61/62mpg from the Polo, which is just perfect. An no, its not a bone shaking sledge or an unrefined box, its actually very pleasant. As ever is the way with me its getting more shiny and better by the day, with a machine polish under way, new metal number plates etc. It always takes me a while to trust a new to me car, but I've known this Polo for all of its life and so its like I've had it myself for years.
I had a test drive in an electric car this morning for a project I'm working on, not a Citroen but its the same as the C-Zero, or rather the Citroen is the off spring. It was a Mitsubishi I-MiEV, an interesting little thing which I found pretty good to drive. Its very odd not having the sound of an engine, any gears or gear changes and the thought in the back of your mind to always drive 'economically'. The regenerative braking of the motor was strange, you use the gearstick to select the amount of motor braking and with practice this can be used almost instead of the actual disc brakes. I would like more time with one but its a good concept for people who only stay locally. Technology has a long way to go before I consider one as a viable commuter.
In Citroen news ... not a lot really. I did take a trip to Edinburgh last Monday to take a look at a LHD hydraulic Traction which was leaning over to one side. The front torsion bars were not adjusted evenly. It was a good day, being taken out in Edinburgh in the back of a hydraulic Traction on the cobbled streets, quite something! We should really use ours more, its been out of its garage maybe a handful of times this year.
I had the Activa out at the weekend, I thought I best check it over and drive it before the CXM this coming weekend. All appears fine and I should be there with it this weekend, provided it doesn't get washed away with all of this expectant rain tomorrow. I hate driving the Activa in the rain, partly because I dont like getting it wet and full of muck and partly because in the wet you just can not make the most of its suspension as the grip obviously is reduced.
, as nice as the volcane is THIS ISN'T ONE 
. You must get it with your activa too .
