(G) Ever wondered....

.....where your car came from?

I drove to Stoke today and spent all day in a big meeting at a Hotel. There was no real reason for me to be there but my boss said we had to show a face for "political" reasons so there was no point arguing. After an hour of irrelevant waffle I was dying of boredom so I booted up the inspiron with the intention of doing something more important while looking interested at what was going on and found to my delight I could get wi-fi net access....woohooo. So after checking out all my fave sites and out of sheer boredom and too much daydreaming I spent about 30 mins trying to track down the address of the factory where my GP was built and then finding it on Google-earth...I pulled it off and and here is the outcome....http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl...TF8&mrt=kmlkmz The test track is clearly visable and so is what appears to be brand new cars on a storage lot also the railhead where new cars must be shipped out from note also the rails lead directly into the factory for parts delivery. The main plant is surrounded by the satellite factories that make various components. Not many cars on the employees carpark though.....maybe the pic was taken when they were on strike!

i wouldnt go by google earth or the maps there about 3-4 of years out of date.

'tis cool

might be a stupid question but where is it and what factory?

The factory is where GPs are manufactured. It is in southern Italy, just outside a town called Melfi in the Basilicata region.

http://www.aptbasilicata.it/Foto-Aer...db609ab.0.html

some other pics I found.

great find sledge

google earth maps are about 3 or 4 years old

the new selby bypass isnt on there (2 or 3 years old).
and there isnt the new flood wall at work on there

Its a huge huge factory, the frontage is well over 1km long and it generates its own electricity, pic 32 appears to be a twin gas-turbine power-station with the substation next door to the right, and it looks like it has its own water treatment plant......nearest we have now is GMs Ellsemere-port Astra plant but its nowhere near as big as that. They must be rattling out at least 1000 GPs per 24hr.

the landrover/jaguar plant and halewood is impressive too, shame only 70% is being used.

Interesting find sledge,

out of interest, where in stoke were you?

I was at a Holiday-inn just off jct15. More Newcastle under Lyme than Stoke really. I think the area was called Clayton. I go to the Perkins engine plant in Stafford as well every so often........guess I was on your manor?

Very, very interesting indeed.....thanks.
Yeah, Melfi is an old, highly agricultural area with very high unemployment.
The location of the factory is some kind of partnership between Fiat and the Italian government...supposed to be one of the most modern plants in Europe with very strict discipline and disciplinary procedures towards workers who don't 'perform'......hence the strike!
Only G. Punto's are made there - They're making 5,000 G. Punto's a week at the moment....they're hoping to increase it upto, like the old shape Punto, 10,000 per week.
Gonna be difficult though because the G. Punto is obviously much more sophisticated.

Good find Sledge, I swear I saw the hut where the guy turns out the plastic Glovebox handles too near the water treatment tanks lol!

Yes I know where you have been, I'd say I'm about halfway between stafford and Stoke, it's fortunate you didn't have to visit around stoke itself, i'm glad I live rural.