Cars - MG

	Cars - MG

MG is a British marque that has produced sports cars since 1924, although none have been made since MG Rover went bankrupt in the spring of 2005. MG cars are expected to resume production in January 2007 under new owners Nanjing Automobile Group.

MG originally stood for "Morris Garages", a dealer of Morris cars in Oxford which began producing its own customized versions to the designs of its Sales Manager Cecil Kimber. Mr. Kimber himself maintained in later years, probably jokingly, that MG didn't stand for anything in particular.

MG is best known for two-seat open sports cars, but MG also produced saloons and coupes. More recently, the brand has also been used to designate sportier versions of other models belonging to the parent company.

History

There is some debate over when MG started. The company itself believes it is 1924, although the first cars bore both Morris and MG badges and a reference to MG with the octagon badge appears in an Oxford newspaper from November 1923. Some dispute this and believe that MG began trading in 1925.

The first cars which were rebodied Morris models using coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford but demand soon caused a move to larger premises in Bainton Road in September 1925 sharing space with the Morris radiator works. Continuing expansion meant another move in 1927 to a separate factory in Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford, near the main Morris factory and for the first time it was possible to include a production line. In 1928 the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages and the M.G. Car Company Limited was established in March of that year and in October for the first time a stand was taken at the London Motor Show. Space again soon ran out and a search for a permanent home led to the lease of part an old leather factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1929 where production would remain until 1980 . Originally owned personally by William Morris, the company was sold to Morris Motors (itself part of the Nuffield Organisation) in 1935; a change that was to have serious consequences for the company, particularly it's motor-sport activities. MG was effectively absorbed into the British Motor Corporation in 1952, and latterly British Leyland in 1968. The factory was shut down as part of the ruthless programme of cutbacks necessary to turn BL around after the turbulent times of the 1970s and since then MGs have been made at the Longbridge plant.

MG became part of the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. This Group went into receivership in 2005; the future for English production — if not the brand — remains uncertain.

The earliest model, the 1924 14/28 consisted of a new sporting body on a Morris Oxford chassis. This production continued through the next models following the updates to the Morris. The first car which can be described as a new MG, rather than a modified Morris was the 18/80 of 1928 which had a purpose designed chassis and the first appearance of the traditional vertical MG grille. A smaller car was launched in 1929 with the first of a long line of Midgets starting with the M-Type based on a Morris Minor chassis. MG established a name for itself in the early days of the sport of international automobile racing. Beginning before and continuing after World War II, MG produced a line of cars known as the T-Series Midgets which, post-war, were exported worldwide, achieving better-than-expected success. These included the MG TC, MG TD, and MG TF, all of which were based on the pre-war MG TB, with various degrees of updating. MG departed from its earlier line of Y-Type saloons and pre-war designs and released the MGA in 1955. The MGB was released in 1962 to satisfy demand for a more modern and comfortable sports car. In 1965 the fixed head coupé (FHC) followed: the MGB GT. With continual updates, mostly to comply with increasingly stringent American emissions and safety standards, the MGB was produced until 1980. Between 1967 and 1969 a short-lived model called the MGC was released. The MGC was based on the MGB body, but with a larger (and, unfortunately, heavier) six-cylinder engine, and somewhat worse handling. MG also began producing the MG Midget in 1961. The Midget was a re-badged and slightly restyled second-generation Austin-Healey Sprite. As with the MGB, the Midget design was frequently modified until the Abingdon factory closed in 1980 and the last of the range was made.

The marque lived on after 1980 as British Leyland (later Austin Rover Group), the then-owner, placed the MG badge on a number of Austin saloons. In New Zealand, the MG badge even appeared on the late 1980s’ Austin Montego estate, called the MG 2.0 Si Wagon. There was a brief competitive history with a mid-engined, six-cylinder version of the Metro.

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Cars - MG

History

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