Morris Garage: 1905 - 2005, RIP
Today an era has come to an end; MG has gone out of business. A once strong and vibrant auto manufacturer, they have finally succumbed to the legacy issues that had burdened them since the collapse of the British economy in the 70’s. High labor costs, outdated factories, massive debt and the socialist policies of the old labor party in the 60’s and 70’s are part of the blame. The rest you can lay at BMW’s door step for their “cherry picking” of MG a few years back. After all that they really didn’t stand much of a chance.
At least this MG stands a chance of being saved.
Now, with the fall of MG so to has fallen the last remnants of the British auto industry. England now joins countries like Mexico who assemble cars but don’t “produce” cars.
posted by Dublin Saab @ 7:13 PM
8 Comments:
In no particular order: 1)That sucks; 2) The writing has been on the wall since the collapse of BMC/Leyland in 1981; 3) This would have happened in 1950 if a lot of American GI's hadn't taken a liking to British convertibles during the war; 4) Luckily this has no effect whatsoever on all existing MG roadsters in the US, which have been relying on aftermarket parts suppliers like Victoria British for decades; 5) The company that Phoenix Venture Holdings inherited had been (as the article implied) thorougly bereft of all viable export products, and the need to come up with some quickly proved more than MG could handle; 6) Who owns Lotus?; 7) The MGF, the last serious roadster foray, had (I believe) lukewarm commercial reception, which makes sense as it was neither particularly good-looking nor impressive performance-wise; 8) At least we've still got the Mini; 9) I'm sure a lot of the British engineers that work for these companies get to keep their jobs with the new parents, so in a pathetic, consolatory sense, some British still make cars; 10) I would not rule out a pity acquisition of the factory and the naming rights at a future date, but neither would I see it as probable; 11) The British are, and have always been, great inventors and lousy entrepreneurs; 12) Triumph always smoked 'em in the F-class vintage races at Mid-Ohio anyway; 13) That sucks.
Rest in peace (and pieces), my friends. Most of us don't live to be 100.
FYI - the Mini is assembled in Mexico.
Claudia,
Are you maybe confusing the "new" VW Beetle with the "new" Mini? The Beetle is made in Mexico. The Mini is built at BMW Group Plant Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 6NL. That is the one and only Mini assembly plant.
Damn! I hate it when I'm wrong. I'm usually so good at trivia.
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Has the octagon been sold out to China? Regardless of that answer, the MG is the epitome of the British roadster. In my opinion it will always be one of the most stylish and influencial cars in automotive history. Performance was never a real strongsuit, but the image of the roadster was. The "b" will always have the world's largest sunroof and the sexiest body. Safety Fast!
Yes and no. Nanjing Automobile did purchase the name, logos and dies from the ceditors.
Nanjing Automobile then moved the stampings over to China so that the cars will now be made in China, by a Chinese company.
And they changed the name from Morris Garage to Modern Gentleman.
Seriously, Modern Gentleman.
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/news/mg-is-now-modern-gentleman/
So it's not "really" the MG we think of, is it?
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