On 1/12/97 11:12 am David Knowles said
>The Triumph TR7 was one of the key factors in the death of Abingdon and
>the last of the Abingdon built MG sports cars. That alone qualifies the
>poor thing for vilification in the eyes of many of us. But beyond that,
>it was - at first - absolutely crap.
Key words - 'At first'
>
>This is not just something I have picked up by association or through MG
>bias; I have dug deep into the history of the car during the course of
>my research.
>
>My cousin bought an early four speed and it was an absolute dog; a white
>car which even had underseal spotted all over the boot (trunk) lid,
>various smears of glue everywhere, numerous mechanical faults (we pored
>over the car when it was brand new and listed fifty faults). He did not
>keep it long.
this was all down to build quality. The basic design was sound. The later
cars were far better. They boasted the excellent Rover SD1 5-speed box,
decent build quality, nicer wheels and a better interior.
>
>Then you have to realise that the early cars were built at Speke - a
>brand new car being built in a newly refitted factory miles away from
>Triumph's HQ at Coventry by a workforce which was 90% nincompoops. Even
>the Triumph engineering people didn't like it (the styling, for a start,
>had been imposed upon them!), and as for the people who had to handle it
>at BL's Leonia NJ offices in the US - well you should hear first hand
>(as I have) what they thought of it.
So you don't like Scousers then David??
>
>The MGB continued to outsell the TR7, and indeed the people at Leonia
>told BL back here in the UK to give them a new MG. But BL didn't listen
>("we know best") - a common fault of the British management, which
>occasionally asked opinions (when it was too late) but rarely acted upon
>what they were told.
>
>Time has certainly mellowed the TR7 - the later cars, and the
>convertibles in particular are quite good cars - but please don't let us
>pretend that it was a GOOD car that has been sadly maligned. With the
>possible exception of the TR8, the TR7 was a classic example of so much
>that was bad about the UK car industry in the 1970's.
I dunno, I reckon the later cars were actually rather good, if you look
at them in the context of other cars of the late 1970s. I think because
the TR7 convertible still looks modern, people forget it is 20 years old.
Now, I wonder what this thread would have been like if BL had gone ahead
and built an MG-badged TR7. I bet you wouldn't all be slagging it off
then would ya? :-)
(Ohh, nice bit of controversy for a Monday morning :-) )
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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