Friday, Nov 28, 2014 at 10:31
No, I believe that's being too harsh on Landrover. I believe GM invented and perfected leaky gaskets and seals long before LR did.
What LR and the British manufacturers did in general, was find the crappiest quality plastics they could possibly find in their search for trim and dash materials - tested them the British sun for a week - then decided they would be highly suitable for use in Australias harsh climate for 10 yrs.
They also found the cheapest method that anyone could possibly devise to fix that trim in place, so that it either buckled, or fell off, after 12 mths use.
That was if it didn't crack and split in the meantime.
Then the British car factories manage to employ people you wouldn't want assembling your kids toys.
These employees main aim in life is to "get back at the bosses", not to work.
We have seen their offspring arrive on our shores as rabid U.K. labour trade unionists, intent on petty demarcation disputes, constant strikes, the "us and them" attitude, and the "bugger you Jack, I'm right" attitude - as they slap your construction together with a "couldn't give a stuff" attitude.
These people do not understand the meaning of conscientiousness, care and attention to detail, and care in interpreting assembly instructions or plans.
Meantimes, on the other side of the world we have the Japanese. They build stuff with diligent attention to detail. They
check and recheck and have checks on the checkers.
They design items with great care and attention to the circumstances in which they will operate.
If there's a cable running into its outer casing, or wires in a harness going into a joint, it has a neat little rubber boot on it, to ensure that it's fully sealed against dust, water, salt, and aggressive chemicals in the soils.
The British however, will decide that saving 25p on eliminating each rubber boot in a vehicle is great idea to increase sagging profitability - and besides, the owners can replace the wiring and cables more often then, can't they? - thus improving the highly profitable parts end of the business.
Unfortunately, the British have constantly shot themselves in the foot with their attitude to work and manufacturing, and the lack of attention to the quality of the end product.
Britain used to have a motorbike industry of renown. Then the Japanese beat them there, too - with a vastly improved product with superior quality and finish at every level.
The British motorbike manufacturing industry collapsed within a few years and has never recovered.
Despite the Japanese buying into, and moving into, British factories and trying to educate the British workers on how to do things the Japanese way, they still have a constant struggle to get Japanese build quality from their British factories.
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