On 14/12/97 9:04 am mgs-owner@autox.team.net said
>The post-war T-series MGs were living antiques. Talk about living in the
>past? The TC was pure '20s, the TD and TF were '30s with '20s styling.
>About the most modern thing about them was the rack and pinion steering in
>the TD/TF.
Of course the post-war Ts were old-fashioned. They were the best the
company could come with after 6 years of war. Even so, the Americans
lapped them up and put MG back into profit.
> The MGA was more of the same mechanically in a newer and
>attractive body.
But it wasn't a retro-looking body, far from it. It must have been
stunningly modern in the 50s.
>The MGB had a very nice body which looked quite
>fashionable for the late '50s/early '60s when it would have been stylish.
>By 1969 it was stodgy and by 1980 it was laughable.
But it was modern when it came out, which is the important point. The
fact it dragged on for so long was a massive cock-up, but irrelevant to
this arguement.
>
>Mechanically no post-war MG ever rose above the kind of chassis/engine
>technology which was right at home in a late '30s Chevrolet, with the
>exception of the use of rack and pinion and disc brakes. The brakes which
>were standard equipment on just about every American car by 1970.
>
>Face it, the car was a fossil - which made it quite endearing to those of
>us who are old enough to remember buying them in the showrooms.
>
>When did the MG become a retro badge? When did it not? I won't mention
>the various ugly little badge-engineered things sold in Britain during the
>'80s. As for living in the past, what the hell do you think this list is
>all about? If I wanted technology I'd buy any new cheap sedan. My
>contention is that a good car must have exciting styling as well as
>microchip management.
Ummm, if MG had brought out a mechanically simple, retro-looking car it
would have been the laughing stock of the world.
>
>I suggest that choosing design elements from the past and combining them
>with modern features is exactly what Porsche, Mercedes and BMW have done -
>and they're going to make a pile of dough doing it. Check the Japanese
>market for the past few years. The hottest items are retro-styled cars and
>motorcycles. The egg is boring and lacks opportunity for stylish
>innovation. Other than fiddling with headlights, grilles and glass shape,
>what styling innovations have the last few years produced in mainstream
>motoring?
Yep, but retro will soon become retro itself. Cars such as the Z3 are
even now starting to look tired and dated. The MGF is as fresh as ever,
and will continue to look modern in years to come.
OK, it's not an immediately striking car, but the more time you spend
with an F, the more the subtle styling grows on you.
The MGF is selling VERY well and there is still a long waiting list for
them, so there's no problem about its dough-making capability.
Philip Raby
Editor, MG World
PO Box 163, Bicester OX6 3YS, UK
Tel: 01869 340061 Fax: 01869 340063 Mobile 0467 767361
www.chp.ltd.uk
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