UK’s motor vanity fair (24) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

Although I dedicated another episode to this legendary British car, I feel that there’s a little more to say before exhausting (or maybe not?!) the topic.

In tune with the season, these images (taken by my reader C.L.) are meant to illustrate the good news of 2011 for England’s motor industry.

The Chinese owners of MG have kept their word, and seem more determined to succeed than the previous German owners (BMW).

Not only that they reopened a former MG plant in Birmingham, yet the result of their work could be seen on British roads as of April 2011.

The (re-named) ‘Modern Gentleman’ is back. A new model (MG6 1.8T Fastback) was launched in spring, for a starting price of £ 15,495.

Obviously, many could argue that this ‘renaissance’ of the motor industry in Britain is rather symbolic, having a negligeable impact (what’s more fragile than ‘air bridges’? :-) on the whole of UK’s economy.

Over 75% of the ‘new MG’ is build in Shanghai, shipped to Britain, and finished by less than 100 skilled British specialists.

Anyway, irrespective of the adverse global economic climate, why wouldn’t we hail any little success, in this world so flooded with bad news about the automotive industry?

It took 16 years for the brand’s fans (some of their car clubs: here, here and here) to see a new MG and their patience was rewarded.

There are less than 10 years since no new ARO left the assembly plant in the Romanian municipality of Câmpulung-Muscel, Argeş county (AG).

MG has always been an elitistic brand, such as it’s birthplace (Oxford) is. Still, we are witnessing its resurrection.

Would it be so exaggerate to dream that ARO – a ‘SUV for the masses’, exported to over 110 countries – could be reborn thanks to its current British owner of Romanian descent?

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

UK’s motor vanity fair (17) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

Any two-seat car is more of an instrument of having fun than a proper means of transport, and there’s no doubt that these MG cars make no exception.

Since 1924, the Brits could buy these automobiles for showing-off, and driving them would have probably meant “I may not be rich, but I can certainly afford it, I’ve got no worries, I am free, I’m Brit, so get out of my way!” :-)

I don’t know of any such ‘official motto’; I just imagined it, seeing how these cars appeared to be screaming “look at me”, especially while I was walking on the streets of Edinburgh.

Obviously, I did look at them, but didn’t find them neither useful (bigger that a Smart car or even a VW Beetle, therefore not saving too much parking space), nor particulary beautiful (feel free to disagree!), as I think Minis are (see here & here).

They didn’t seem as ugly as the creations of Saab Automobile, yet the later models surely lack personality compared to the ones from the 1920s to the early 1950s.

The good news from the company was that, after leaving BMW’s portofolio, it was brought back to life by a Chinese firm. In China, the old name (MG = Morris Garages) wouldn’t have meant anything, so they turned it into MG = Modern Gentlemen.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]