AM factory tour
Discussion
Went to the factory on Wednesday- Very enjoyable.It was good to see where our cars were made and the detail and expertise that goes in to each car. They were making DBS/V12 Vantage black and gave you has much detail as requested. I must admit I was awestruck when i saw the 1-77"Wow" The perfect end to a great day and it gave you good feeling and sense of proud to be British in the fact that we still make such fantastic cars, even if we get a little help from the Middle-East:-)
First let me say I love Astons. I've had a couple - including one of the very first V8 Vantages a while back.
BUT, all I can say is things must have improved since my last visit a year or so back. I did the tour a few weeks after having been round the Porsche factory and to be brutally honest it was like comparing a Wallace & Grommet set (Aston) with say the McLaren set up. Additionally although the Aston guide was good the general attitude of the work force seemed very 'British' and downbeat whereas pride and enthusiasm positively radiated from everyone at the Porsche factory. Some of the work at Aston seemed careless too - couldn't believe the number of cars in the paint correction area at the end of the line - most being there because they'd been scratched or damaged along the line.
Don't get me wrong, Astons are great cars - my g/f has just replaced her V8 Roadster with a V12 (result!) but seeing them being put together did nothing for my confidence in the product whereas the Porsche tour left me deeply impressed.
As I say it sounds like things have improved? Which is great.
BUT, all I can say is things must have improved since my last visit a year or so back. I did the tour a few weeks after having been round the Porsche factory and to be brutally honest it was like comparing a Wallace & Grommet set (Aston) with say the McLaren set up. Additionally although the Aston guide was good the general attitude of the work force seemed very 'British' and downbeat whereas pride and enthusiasm positively radiated from everyone at the Porsche factory. Some of the work at Aston seemed careless too - couldn't believe the number of cars in the paint correction area at the end of the line - most being there because they'd been scratched or damaged along the line.
Don't get me wrong, Astons are great cars - my g/f has just replaced her V8 Roadster with a V12 (result!) but seeing them being put together did nothing for my confidence in the product whereas the Porsche tour left me deeply impressed.
As I say it sounds like things have improved? Which is great.
:J: said:
I went today, and I can assure you it was the total opposite of your experience (from what you say), I had a really good time, thanks Aston 
To clarify. I still had a great time - on a personal level, very well looked after and very knowledgeable guide. Just not impressed with the actual build process. But, again as stated, maybe things have improved over the last couple of years.XXXAngelXXX said:
sorry Pugs but did you see how sad / stressed the Porsche workers looked around at work - i felt almost sorry for them- i prefer the friendly faces in Gaydon
btw tomorrow 10am i will testdrive *zhe* new GT3 RS
Hi Matey. Strange isn't it - I found the opposite. BUT, as I said, my visits were nearly two years ago.btw tomorrow 10am i will testdrive *zhe* new GT3 RS
Edited by XXXAngelXXX on Thursday 1st April 11:44
Btw I'll be across to pick up Gen2 GT3 from factory in a few months.
Enjoy the RS - tested one last week. Very good. Faster more focused yet more 'comfortable' than Gen1 car. A clever trick! Amazing.
Pugsey said:
... the general attitude of the work force seemed very 'British' and downbeat whereas pride and enthusiasm positively radiated from everyone at the Porsche factory...
Please don't misunderstand me, I love the products of both factories, but though I enjoyed visits both to Aston Martin and to Porsche, my impression was the diametric opposite.I have to admit that I visited Aston at Newport Pagnell in 1972, and Porsche in 2001. Aston Martin was like a piece of Olde England. At Porsche I was impressed by both the focus on quality and the organisation. I got the impression that all the thinking was done at the design stage, which is logical, and thereafter assembly was carried out by robots or people behaving like robots. That I suppose is how you get consistency and quality. The people actually bolting the cars together however, to me, radiated little but boredom.
I would love to see round Gaydon, but feel it wouldn't be the right thing to do until I could, er, afford a car.
cardigankid said:
Pugsey said:
... the general attitude of the work force seemed very 'British' and downbeat whereas pride and enthusiasm positively radiated from everyone at the Porsche factory...
Please don't misunderstand me, I love the products of both factories, but though I enjoyed visits both to Aston Martin and to Porsche, my impression was the diametric opposite.I have to admit that I visited Aston at Newport Pagnell in 1972, and Porsche in 2001. Aston Martin was like a piece of Olde England. At Porsche I was impressed by both the focus on quality and the organisation. I got the impression that all the thinking was done at the design stage, which is logical, and thereafter assembly was carried out by robots or people behaving like robots. That I suppose is how you get consistency and quality. The people actually bolting the cars together however, to me, radiated little but boredom.
I would love to see round Gaydon, but feel it wouldn't be the right thing to do until I could, er, afford a car.
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