Posted on 07/12/2006 5:51:45 AM PDT by aculeus
DETROIT, July 11 — Can the mystique of a British sports car be recreated by a Chinese company in America’s heartland?
That’s the bet by Nanjing Automobile Group, which plans to resurrect the fabled MG marque in a tricontinental demonstration of how truly global the automotive industry has become.
Nanjing, which purchased the assets of the bankrupt MG Rover Group last year, aims to be the first Chinese carmaker to open a factory in the United States. The company has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday in Oklahoma to announce plans to build a newly designed MG TF Coupe there, starting in 2008. It said the coupe would compete with cars like the Mazda Miata, which sells for $20,000 to $25,000.
It also will assemble a convertible TF Roadster version at MG’s now-shuttered factory in Longbridge, England, and three sedan models in China. American and European operations for MG Motors will be based in Oklahoma City, 90 miles north of the new factory in Ardmore, Okla.
MG’s rebirth under Nanjing, which said it had $2 billion in financing for the endeavor, comes as several Chinese companies are setting their sights on the United States, the world’s largest car market.
Several Chinese carmakers have said they are two to three years away from exporting vehicles to the United States. One, Geely Automobile, displayed a $10,000 sedan at this year’s Detroit auto show, although the car fell short of American safety and emissions standards.
Geely and Chery Automobile, a state-owned company that has sparred with General Motors over the similarity of its name to the Chevy nickname for the Chevrolet brand, plan to sell cars in the United States in 2008. Nanjing, said it intends to build vehicles outside China, where it will face higher labor costs than in its home country.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
On the other hand, when I was 19 or 20, I discovered there were infinite pleasures possible inside a Austin Healy Sprite (with the top up).
"As long as they don't have any Lucas electrics ....."
Lucas electrics were better than anything Delco Remy ever made.
I restore and sell them for a living, their unreliabilty was heavily exagerated, I seldom come across a piece of Lucas equipment that is utterly knackered.
How hard would it have been to put modern mechanicals into the old MG packaging? That would have been a beautiful car, and they would have sold about a Billion of them. Instead they produce this same-as-the-other-guy dreck.
Frankly, they should have created a new badge for this thing. It will just offend the people who like the MG name, and those who don't care, won't remember what MG was all about.
Gentlemen don't drive after dark -- Lucas Electric, where a short circuit is better than no circuit at all.
But, then again, you seldom come across a piece of Lucas equipment that works flawlessly, either. To my mind it was the almost-but-not-quite-reliable nature of Lucas, Prince of Darkness, that made them such an adventure.
Looks much better in the flesh...or in a proper photo (beats me why they did a rendering when the MGF/TF has been on the market in most of the world for 10 years).
Go to the MGF/TF section on the left of this website for an in depth overview..
http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/
They could do some work to come up with more appealing names. Geely sounds like something only a geek would drive. Chery is a misspelled cherry. A "Cherry" car with cherries as its logo would probably be appealing.
The Chinese are smart to do their first entry to the US auto market as a plant in the USA. Made in China cars would go over about as well as a lead balloon.
The original TF was not a good car in it's day. It was at best a stop-gap model waiting for the MGA. That said I like the one in your picture - very nice job.
Okay, but my convertible Mustang GT has about the same performance for 1/4 the money. Plus it looks just as good.
They are MGs. The ones in the pictures have been in production for 10 years or so. They were designed and built by the MG Rover group in England therefore making them MGs.
I'm going to second your comment on Lucas. I have been working in a shop that restores British cars for 25 years. Most of the time the first guy to whip out a lucas joke knows the least about cars and couldn't change a fuse. The biggest problem with the electronics on British sports cars is the shade-tree guys the hacked up the car, the corner gas station that didn't want to take it in or the last three teenagers that rigged the radio in it.
Well not quite true but I know what you mean, things like wipers, regulators and horns very seldom if ever give trouble. Starters, generators etc do require maintanence from time to time but are very easy to rebuild.
However let me save face on behalf of Lucas with this, the 'Prince of Darkness' is unfair since one thing that Lucas did exceed all others in was vehicle lighting. Lucas lights were simply second to none. As well as looking great things like the SLR700 and SFT576 fog lamps performed astonishingly. Remember also that the majority of vehicles on US roads had abysmal 6volt electrical systems with feeble candle lights that passed for illumination.
Imagine the impact the 12v British cars had on this scene after the war!
Interesting concept but (like Korean cars) nothing I ever anticipate purchasing.
almost 70 posts and no WalMart bashing?
Shouldn't this be called the "MSG"?
Morgan made a very similar car
Who knew the Chinese would be allowed to import slave labor to Oklahoma!
How's that!
People think China will pressure North Korea to be peaceful. On the contrary, China has everything to gain by North Korea being a problem, since it throws a curve ball at Japan and the U.S.. China is not our friend, but an enemy.
Kim Jong Il would probably self-destruct without China's economic support.
North Korea may even create enough of a distraction so that China can invade Taiwan while we sit and watch. Americans should stop buying Chinese junk, and American companies should forget about doing business in China.
Thanks! Cheers!
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