MG ENTHUSIASTS AND CLUBS

It is doubtful that any other brand in the world has such a committed and large group of supporters, in part due to the fact that the MG brand was actually started by enthusiasts who wanted the cars to deliver all the elements so important to driving enthusiast.

With this enthusiast background, the very active MG club activities are no surprise, and indeed it is the largest following for a single brand in the world. Currently it is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 active MG enthusiasts worldwide, located mainly in the regions where MG cars were sold, and served by a variety of MG clubs ranging from very small local groups to large international organisations.

There are two main MG clubs who provide membership benefits on an international scale. The oldest is the MG Car Club that was formed in 1930 with the active support of the MG Car Company. This company support continued until the 1960s when the club became independent. Today, it has its headquarters located in Abingdon, England, very close to the only remaining part of what used to be the MG factory.

The younger of the main MG clubs is the MG Owners’ Club which was formed in 1973 as an independently run organisation and operates from its purpose built headquarters near to Cambridge, England.

The two clubs are fundamentally different in their structures and have their focus in slightly different areas of MG activities. This has enabled both clubs to prosper and grow over the years to a point where many MG enthusiasts find benefit in being members of both organisations. MG events have long been a major part of what the clubs organise for their members. The MG Car Club’s annual Silverstone event is the largest and longest running event.

MG ownership can be an enormous pleasure and the vast array of additional benefits that the clubs offer enables the MG owner to become a member of a very large friendly and helpful family.

For more information on the MG Car Club, visit http://www.mgcc.co.uk/
For more information on the MG Owners’ Club, visit http://www.mgownersclub.co.uk/
For more information on MG Products, visit www.staddons.co.uk

MG – A BRIEF HISTORY

MG has its origins in the early 1920’s when Morris Garages was formed as an offshoot of the much larger Morris Motors. It was run by Cecil Kimber who was to become the founder of the MG Car Company. Initially, Morris Garages were simply selling standard Morris cars, but demand from customers for cars to feature individual changes, many to give them a more sporting character, was strong. This led to the development of more individual cars, moving them further away from the original Morris cars although still using their main mechanical components.

By 1925, there was a strong demand for these ‘specials,’ and the car now universally known as ‘Old Number One’ - the first true MG - was created. Very soon, the ‘MG’ letters were proudly being displayed within the distinctive octagon, a logo that is still an integral part of the MG brand that we recognise today.

One major factor in the evolution of MG was to have a strong connection between its products and motor sport. Motor sport activity was vital to the MG Car Company as it helped to link the brand to success, and re-enforce its performance credentials. This sporting success also led to the creation of the famous MG motto ‘SAFETY FAST’ valid then and valid today.

By 1952, the huge Nuffield Organisation which owned MG merged with its similarly sized rival, the Austin Motor Company, to form the even bigger British Motor Corporation usually referred to as BMC. By this time, MG had a worldwide reputation for sportscar manufacturing and had been producing the famous ‘T’ Series cars. BMC provided the funding to develop the first ‘TF’, a modified MG TD, but it was the arrival of the iconic MGA in 1955 that really took the company into the modern era of sports car manufacturing.
Today, MGAs are sought after classics and highly prized by enthusiasts. Produced at a similar time to the MGA was the MG Z series; the first MG saloon made since the formation of BMC.

1961 saw the introduction of the MG Midget, which used for the first time, the advanced monocoque method of body construction for MG sports cars. The Midget bought a new a new degree of affordability to buyers keen to enjoy the MG experience.

The following year saw the introduction of the iconic MGB to replace the MGA. Up to this point, the MGA had been the most successful MG ever with a production run well in excess of 100,000 units with many of those cars exported to the American market.

The MGB was an all new style two seat open top sports car and encapsulating a very modern design for the period, which even today stands the test of time. It was bigger and more powerful using a new version of the BMC B series engine at 1800cc, and the performance for the day was very competitive. Like its smaller sibling, the MGB was to be a huge sales success thanks to its combination of performance, handling, comfort, braking and affordability – the core characteristics that have always been fundamental to the success of the brand.

By the onset of the 1970’s, BMC had merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation and ultimately became British Leyland. Since the war, various MG badged cars had been produced, but it was the MGA, B and Midget that had been the mainstay of the MG brand. In 1979, the Midget was discontinued and the following year saw the end of MGB production. This marked one of the most significant events in MG history as the demise of the MGB also saw the closure of the MG factory at Abingdon on Thames and the MG marque vanished from the new car market.

Despite this, the MG brand remained extremely strong and a massive support industry grew around MG products in the form of specialist suppliers, tuners, restorers and clubs.

British Leyland may have stopped all MG production and closed the MG factory but they certainly did recognise the enormous value of the MG brand. In 1982, they reintroduced it on the new Metro range and called it the MG Metro 1300. A few months later, they followed this with the high performance version, the MG Metro Turbo. In sales terms, the MG Metro was a success and 30% of all Metro sales turned out to be MG derivatives.

The success of the MG Metro models accelerated the introduction of the next new MG, the MG Maestro. The MG Maestro introduced some quite advanced features such as electronic engine management, digital instrumentation, a trip computer and synthesised voice warnings. The ultimate version was the limited edition Turbo model which became the fastest ever production MG with a top speed of 128mph.

1985 saw the introduction of the MG Montego Turbo, which with a top speed of 126mph provide outstanding performance for a family saloon at that time. This very high performance car was able to carry five adults and their luggage faster than many then current sports and performance cars.

When MG Rover introduced the two-seat MGF in 1995, it was greeted with universal praise. It offered modern attributes, visual references to MGs of the past, yet also captured all of the MG attributes that had been core to all previous MG sports cars. This mix of positive features quickly saw the MGF become the UK’s top selling sports car, a position it retained throughout the whole of its production life.

The MG TF of 2002 was a heavily revised MGF and used a name that harked back to the T series Midgets of 1953 and 1954. The changes thoroughly enhanced the original MGF, and this was reflected in the continuing high sales that allowed it retain the position as the UK’s top selling sports car until the models’ production was suspended with the collapse of MG Rover.

Introduced in 2001 and available alongside the MGF and then MG TF, were three MG saloon models, the MG ZR, the MG ZS and the MG ZT. These MGs were developed from the existing Rover saloons, and benefited from considerable tuning to enable them to justify the MG branding. When driven, these cars displayed a true MG character and as such received wide praise and proved to be immensely popular with consumers.

After a short production gap of three years, NAC MG’s stewardship of the iconic brand begins in earnest in 2008 with the start of MG TF production in China and the reintroduction of MG assembly at Longbridge, UK. NAC has already demonstrated its commitment both to maintaining the overall brand characteristics of MG and its unique British identity and both of these will be strengthened and augmented in the years to come with an exciting new model programme and plans for international market development.