Firstly, pardon my empty post!!! :)
> publication, but I'm asking our friends abroad, how is the MGF received?
Is
> it looked upon as fondly as a B, Midget, MGA? Granted, in my opinion no
car
> can match the older MG's in terms of charm and character, but taking that
as
> a given, how does the MGF hold up?
Frankly the MGF down here is looked on by older MG enthusiasts as not the
real thing, poor cousin etc and yes, the F doesn't have the character of the
previous cars - BUT - when the MGA was released, the purists bagged it for
not having the charm of the previous T series, so I don't think this is a
valid point. The F from what I know is made by a small group of
_enthusiasts in the UK, don't forget that, no way is the F a high volume
production sportscar. The people who put these together genuinely care about
MG and it's future, even if it's owners BMW can't grasp this, or are only
interested in the bottom line period.
Down here in Australia, and from my point of view, whats really exciting
about the new MGF isn't the car itself (there _are better sportscars), but
simply the fact that it _is being bought, and by the bucketload by _new MG
enthusiasts! This is the point. There are lots of people out there buying
the cars who would have gone out and bought a Miata if the MG hadn't been
available. OK so you say MG is not the same old MG we know, and yes, to a
certain extent the new MG is trading on a name, ie we don't have the same
people working on the cars and in the same location. But to me, the
character is still there, and IMO the world is all the better for having
_any MG rolling down the streets rather than just another econobox clone. So
I say support what there is now, and maybe MG can build an even better
future. I think the F is just the start, so long as BMW can decide what to
do with MG. It would be tragic to stop the revival at this point. To those
who are only interested in the History and not the future thats fine too,
but remember the people that ran MG in the 60's,70's & early Eighties would
probably no longer be at MG today - but perhaps some of their kids would be,
and I hear there are plenty of those on the F production line.
BTW, are y'all aware a new Magnette has been released in the UK? Based on
the Rover 75, it's a hopped up performance version. Sounds great too -
article in MG World. Don't bag that either! People who know the history know
the ZA & ZB Magnettes started out life as another marque (what wolseley?)
and now people regard them as one of the clan.
I wish groups like this mailing list, the BBS and all the clubs around the
world could co-ordinate some large fund raising effort in conjunction with a
car manufacturer, to buy out the MG name, give it it's own factory and go
from there. Shut up!!! I'm allowed to dream aren't I?? :))
Cheers,
Neil.
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