Cost-cutting is rife throughout the industry, but it seemed
to affect MG Rover more than any other marque in recent history.
Here's a brief run-down of what changes were made - and why they
happened. Hopefully, you'll also be able to ascertain from this list, which
is the best model for you...
PROJECT Drive was an initiative introduced shortly after the creation
of MG Rover in 2000. The idea was a simple one - to reduce production costs
by removing equipment from current models, and simplifying specification and
trim differentiation. Although you might think that this is a shocking practice,
the truth is that this process takes place with most volume manufacturers, and
was certainly evident in the changeover from the BAe/Honda years to BMW's ownership
in 1994.
To see for yourself, find an early R8 model, and line it up alongside
with one of the last of the line examples - two tone plastics have been deleted,
and the general quality of interior mouldings and electrical connections have
deteriorated significantly.
During the MG Rover era, this thinking was continued - and employees
were encouraged to suggest ways of saving money wherever possible. Bonuses were
offered for any suggestions implemented, and if that seems generous, remember
that a saving of 50p per unit will translate to an annual saving of £50,000
on a production run of 100,000 cars per annum.
The big question is - did MG Rover go too far during its existence?
Were the cars decontented to such a degree that they began to look unsaleable?
If you were involved in Project Drive by coming up with a suggestion, or implementing
it, please get in touch because we'd love to hear from you.
Also, for your delectation, is a downloadable list of the original
Project Drive bulletins - thank you to anon for sending them to AROnline.
Download the bulletins
Please note, all bulletins are in PDF format, and only go up
to 2003.
Project Drive Index
Project Drive Bulletin number 1
Project Drive Bulletin number 2
Project Drive Bulletin number 3
Project Drive Bulletin number 4
Project Drive Bulletin number 5
Project Drive Bulletin number 6
Project Drive Bulletin number 7
Project Drive Bulletin number 8
Project Drive Bulletin number 9
Project Drive Bulletin number 10
Project Drive Bulletin number 11
Project Drive Bulletin number 12
Project Drive Bulletin number 13
Project Drive Bulletin number 14
Project Drive Bulletin number 15
Rover 75/MG ZT Project Drive changes
An example of Project Drive in action - you can see that piece
by piece, the Rover 75 and MG ZT were decontented quite comprehensively during
the months and years. Although few changes were visible to the naked eye, the
opinion of those who have owned early and late models are that they made a significant
difference to the 'feel' of theu car.
See for yourself - would it have made a difference to you?
Finally, this list does not take into account the changes made
as the 75 and ZT moved into Mark 2 form, so we would be keen to see a list of
changes made to the facelifted cars...
15 Jan 2001
RJ 205081
LEATHER HANDBRAKE GRIP REPLACED BY
PLASTIC GRIP
29 Jan 2001
RJ 206392
BOTTOM COOLANT HOSE - HEAT SLEEVE DELETION ON
1.8 ONLY
01 Jan 2001
RJ 205371
CIGAR LIGHTER – CHANGE TO TYPE FITTED
08 Mar 2001
RJ 206814
VIN PLATE – CHANGE TO CONTENT
26 Mar 2001
RJ 208804
D POST BADGE – DELETION FROM D POST FINISHER
04 May 2001
RJ 218882
FRONT SEAT BELT LOWER ANCHORAGE BOLT HEAD CAPS
- DELETION
07 May 2001
RJ 215291
HIGH PRESSURE PAS SENSOR - DELETION ON KV6
14 May 2001
RJ 215035
LEATHER GEAR KNOB – CHANGE TO PLASTIC
TYPE - CLASSIC & CLUB MODELS
04 Jun 2001
RJ 218712
ROVER ‘VIKING’ BOOT BADGE - DELETION
11 Jun 2001
RJ 219627
CATALYST HEAT SHIELD – DELETION ON 1.8
& KV6
21 Jun 2001
RJ 218712
FRONT DOOR ENGINE DERIVATIVE BADGES - DELETION
01 Jul 2001
RJ 225237
SUN VISORS – CHANGE IN SPECIFICATION -
CLASSIC NOW PVC -
CLUB NOW NON ILLUMINATED
13 Jul 2001
RJ 223061
TYRE SIZE CHANGE FROM 205/65 R15 TO 195/65 R15
06 Aug 2001
RJ 223061
LOAD SPACE STOWAGE LID - DELETED ON 75 TOURER
17 Sep 2001
N/A
JACK HANDLE - GRIP DELETION
21 Oct 2001
RJ 233774
BONNET LOCKING PLATFORM WARNING LABELS –
COMBINE 3 INTO 1
05 Nov 2001
RJ 234500
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER – CHANGE
TO FLUID TYPE FITTED
- ROVER 75 CDT AUTOMATIC
FUEL BURNING HEATER - DELETION ON ALL DIESEL
MODELS
02 Sep 2002
RJ 266128
BODY COLOUR SIDE FINISHER - DELETION ON ZT
& ZT-T MODELS
(REINSTATED QUICKLY)
23 Sep 2002
RJ 269854
ENGINE COMPARTMENT UNDERTRAY – DELETION
(K1.8)
07 Oct 2002
N/A
INSTANT TYRE REPAIR (ITR) - INTRODUCTION
07 Oct 2002
RJ 270482
AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL (ATC)
– CHANGE TO MODEL APPLICABILITY (CLUB MODELS)
30 Oct 2002
RJ 274483
PLUG CAP COIL INTRODUCTION ON KV6
02 Sep 2002
RJ 268228
TWIN HORN REPLACED WITH SINGLE HORN
06 Nov 2002
RJ 274575
ALLOY WHEEL CENTRES – MATERIAL CHANGE
11 Nov 2002
RJ 275024
DRIVERS SIDE PLENUM DRAIN TUBE - DELETION
14 Nov 2002
RJ 271850
TAILGATE RELEASE SWITCH - DELETION ON TOURER
& ZT-T
25 Nov 2002
RJ 276797
SIDE DOOR REFLECTORS – MATERIAL CHANGE
04 Dec 2002
RJ 277641
TOOLKIT STOWAGE – COMMON ACROSS RANGE
13 Jan 2003
RJ 279607
BODY COLOUR DOOR MIRROR CAPS - DELETION ON 75
CLASSIC & ZT 120
Thanks to Ian Robertson for tabulating the
above data
Feedback:
This seems to confirm a lot
of what my design tutors were saying about what they were having to do in their
department. The redesign of the bumpers was a bid to facelift all of the models
to give them more of an up to date look.
The only problem was that they were costed down on the materials
they were allowed to use. That's part of the resean why you seem to have a one-piece
grille/bumper on the MGs and a minimalist chrome grille on the Rovers. Even
so, they couldn't get the tolerances in the design they way they wanted because
of limited time and limited funds available to them. As a result, you see the
massive panel gap between the top of the grille and the bumper on the 75/ZT
models.
They didn't have so much of a problem with the 45/ZS, and they
said that these cars weren't too badly affected by project drive so much - hence
the reason why they said the MGZS V6 saloon is the one to get as a good second-hand
bargain.
ROSS ARMSTRONG
As a general observation on
Project Drive, I think you have to remember just how desperate the MGR situation
was from the very outset. They had the much-vaunted 'loan' from BMW, which everyone
seems to think was vast, at £500m, but to put it in perspective, that
was a mere three months' turnover! As the company stood, as BMW left it, it
was loss-making, with absolutely nothing in prospect to change that quickly.
A tremendous amount of work had already been done during the last year of BMW
ownership to cost-down all aspects of the operation, so there were no 'easy'
savings anywhere. So the pressure to cut costs by more painful means was far
greater than with a 'normal' company. The biggest single factor in the loss-making
status was the abject failure to replace Metro, and the associated BMW dithering
over MINI, which punched such a big hole in Rover Group/dealer volume and business.
Regarding the employee suggestion scheme, that was simply a continuation
of something that had been running for decades. The Suggestion Scheme wasn't
traditionally just about cost-saving, though ideas that saved money were much
more likely to to be adopted than, say, ways of spending more money! It always
made sense to tap into the detailed knowledge of people actually doing the job.
Project Drive Index
This seems to confirm a lot
of what my design tutors were saying about what they were having to do in their
department. The redesign of the bumpers was a bid to facelift all of the models
to give them more of an up to date look.