The very last British auto company just folded - MG-Rover is gone and the Longbridge plant - the place where the original Minis were made - will close. Being a life long British car fan, this is very bad news. I feel horrible for the workers. Six thousand people will directly lose their jobs and several thousand more piggy-back companies and suppliers will be hurt. There was talk a few years ago of reintroducing the MG into the US market. What a shame.


http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...ra/P114533.asp

 

Sad


Nik

 

Well, perhaps not quite the very last British car company: there's Morgan!

Neil
05 MCS

 

This IS sad!!! Also British car fans here..had our variety of MG Midgets, MGB's and currently have a 58' MGA. We were hoping to get our hands on the MGF if it ever came to the US.....guess that's not going to happen...

We were lucky enough to see one and get a ride in one when we lived back in VA. An annual British Car show a few years back that we always entered in - The Hunt Country Classic in Middleburg, VA was hosted by the owners of this GORGEOUS property and the British Ambassador was invited year after year. He was able to ship his MGF to the states for the time he was Ambassador and brought it to the show...Mike left drewl everywhere...

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"

 

That's looking on the bright side! And is Noble a car company?

There is still the F1 industry. As well as Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Lotus, MINI (was it ever a car company of its own?), Rolls Royce, and a host of other badges (Daimler is occasionally revived and I thought someone was going to resurrect Bristol, Marcos and Riley). Even if that Chinese company did not buy MG (not even Honda was able to save Rover) someone is probably negotiating for the brand. The MG brand is worth too much to let go although I would hate to see it on clothing (but that's my bias).

What's left in the USA or elsewhere? Ford and GM in the USA (Chrysler is still around as a different sort of entity, but no more Packard or Nash). Fiat in Italy (that embraces Alfa, Ferrari, Lancia and Maserati while De Tomaso and Lamborghini have been changed; but even Fiat itself has been dilluted and great names like Stanguellini--just to pronounce it used to give me goosebumps--are gone). Even in Japan only Toyota and Honda remain "independent" while the rest are under the influence of Ford, GM and Renault. I regret that in France the Facel Vega brand is gone, but anyone who has driven one would not (and what about Talbot and the way cool Talbot Lago cars?). That reminds me to lament the fabulous Pegaso that still exists only as a truck company in Spain, but I believe it too is controlled by another (ENASA or Iveco).

Sorry to get off topic like that, but the name MG evokes such memories--although, for me, not quite going back to the Morris Garage. I recall when BMW was on the brink in the early 1960s. The 500 series cars were too expensive and parts were hard to get. On the other end the Isettas were not suited to the emerging upper middle class. The USA importer-distributor then was Max Hofmann and that too was a problem (he certainly did nothing for Lancia). BMW had not been known for engineering innovation, although the pre-WW2 300 series cars were good enough to be competitive post-WW2. But the mid-60s BMW coupes (with styling based on the original Corvair) were just right for their time (a miracle similar to the contemporary Mustang and dissimilar from the Renault Dauphine) and saved the company.

The MGF wasn't able to pull it off. I was really encouraged upon its introduction because MG took the difficult route of creating a totally contemporary car instead of a retro (which must have been ruinously expensive, but the noble thing to do). As a 2 seater convertible its main target market should have been the USA. I kept waiting for that version to come out. After awhile the MGF just seemed to fade away--even in the UK. UK publications stopped featuring it in articles and comparison tests even though MG kept running full page adverts. It was a very sad run. Meanwhile I hope the MG Rover staff will be hired by MINI.

I bet the MG will return. MINI did.