Carry on Car Making: Life in China After Longbridge

Ian is married with three children and lives in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. This is his first attempt at writing a book. He is a Chartered Automotive Engineer who began his career in 1980 as a Graduate Trainee for Land Rover. He worked his way around the many plants which made up the Rover Group and latterly for Powertrain Limited, the engine and transmission arm of MG Rover. As part of the latter’s last-ditch attempt to court an international partner, Ian worked in Shanghai, PRC from the start of January 2005 to redundancy upon the collapse of MG Rover in April that year.He returned to work and lived there over a one year period from June 2005 to 2006 and this is his story. He wrote it as a daily diary of the ups and downs of being away from family and of the cultural clashes which occurred in trying to teach and guide his Chinese hosts, towards making a National car for China.It is an amusing Westerner’s view on Eastern society as it absorbs and assimilates Western values. Ian is indebted to his Chinese hosts and wishes them well with their venture, continuing as they do towards domination of world manufacturing.