I don't think so. American mechanics may fade away but old cars will live
forever. I've been living in remote areas too long although I now live in
the large metropolis of Billings, Montana, which still suffers a British
car shortage. But each place I've lived in always had at least a few
general shop with mechanics that knew general automotive techniques and
were not afraid to try something different and do it right. Over the years,
I did on two occassions have shops work (transmission rebuilds) on my car
but I provided my Haynes manual and pictures so they knew what to do.
I figure when I get old and maybe retire, maybe I'll just work on Mgs to
get me by through geezerhood. And I'm teaching my relatively energetic 16
year old son now about the art of MG ownership. Kids at his school think my
BGTs are pretty cool cars. So I think a resurgence may be seen in the
future. These cars are inexpensive to own and work on - truly a bargain
even today.
Some places just set a bad example. These oil changing places employ
minimum wage kids to perform simple tasks. Remember the old Fram
commercials where they showed a monkey changing the oil? Some things never
change.
David
67 BGT
71 BGT
At 05:20 PM 7/4/00 +0000, Mike Barron wrote:
>I am sure that many of us on the list know exactly how you feel. When I
>was growing up, there was a gas station on every corner, usually with a
>repair bay or two where budding mechanics learned how to work on the cars of
>the day. If you had serious problems, there was always the dealer or the
>bigger shops, but for the everyday stuff, this was great.
>
>I am afraid that twenty or so years will see the reduction of classics and
>antiques to the point that only the wealthy will be able to own them, I know
>my girls and their husbands/boyfriends have no interest in owning one,
>although they think the cars are pretty neat. There was always a sense of
>great power in being able to get a car fixed back then, now it's more like
>going to the Drs. office, including the bill when it's all through.
>
>They don't realize it, but they are going to miss the joy of driving one.
>Maybe in twenty years, someone will have put the experience into a virtual
>computer program, including getting caught in the rain, experiencing
>ignition failure, and fixing a flat.......
>
>Mike Barron
>60 TR3
>73 TR6
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