At 10:39 AM 7/12/06, David Breneman wrote:
>--- "Blake J. Discher" <bdischer@blakedischer.com> wrote:
> > Automobile Group of China on Wednesday announced that it is >
> planning to revive one of Great Britain's historic brands -- MG --
> and build cars at a plant in Oklahoma.
>
>Well, I suppose it's no worse than BMWs being built in the US or VWs
>in Mexico.
The difference here is that the bulk of the MG/Rover derivitave cars
will be built in China, not in England or in the US. If things go as
planned, the MGF/TF will be built at Longbridge as in the past, and
will likely not be available in the US for all the same reasons as in the past.
The possible better news is that the new rear drive TF Coupe which
was previously designed in England is slated to be built in the
US. This could be viewed as a British car built in the US (but under
Chinese management).
I will have to reserve judgement on how the Chinese built MG/Rover
cars may turn out. Those might be viewed as British cars built in
China for so long as they are built with the prior design.
I am trying to be optimistic about all this and view it as a
continuation of the long term history and heritage of MG. At least
give the Chinese credit for recognizing the merits of the MG brand
and intending to continue it. For now I'm happy that it is not just
forever dead.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.com
|