That's good.Chinese scooter perchers can aspire to the day when they migrate to Great Wall utes and MG chop suey boxes.
lovemore_mbigi,
Apr 18, 6:02am
You so right!The only way this rebirthed MG had a show of selling is on price.But it looks like that point of difference is off the board.
trogedon,
Apr 18, 1:30pm
Get out there and lick them.
socram,
Apr 18, 4:12pm
Unfortunately, just sticking a badge on a car does not make it something it isn't. It has no real styling cues to earlier MGs and by that I don't mean a retro VW/Fiat 500/Mini.
If it was designed and manufactured in China, it is Chinese.Cars assembled in NZ such as Rootes Group, BMC and even Mazda, Honda and Toyota, were never seen as NZ cars, so this MG is no different.It is not a Brit car and will in no way appeal to traditional MG buyers.
I have now made up my mind without seeing it or trying it!
trogedon,
Apr 18, 6:07pm
You have made the right choice, and that is the important thing. MG the brand should be left to die or make cars which embody what the traditional MGs stood for ??
mugenb20b,
Apr 18, 6:23pm
1. Yes, it does 2. Yes, they all were 3. Oh yes they have!
franc123,
Apr 18, 6:25pm
LOL, +1!
irenew,
Apr 18, 7:55pm
NO IT DOESN'T. Cecil Kimber who started MG (Old No 2 was a converted Morris) was asked in the 1930s what MG stood for. He said it stands for itself (ie NOT Morris garages).
The difference there is socram that none of those cars had the engineering and design work done in NZ, whereas design and engineering, as well as assembly for European markets, is done in the UK.
vtecintegra,
Apr 18, 9:10pm
I don't think that performance qualifies it as a hot hatch in this day and age given that something like a decent spec non-GTI Golf (which is extremely fuel efficient) or a base Civic (which has no turbo) will give comparable performance.
julian.walls,
Apr 18, 11:19pm
According to Chinese MG now stands for Most Honourable Gentleman
But then again a reasonable good Chinese Resturant in Wellington 10 years ago in Wellington was called Volvo:)
mgmad,
Apr 19, 5:40am
I agree, it isn't intended as a range topper anyway, as above other engine variants will come. By all accounts the car is dynamically very good, just in need of more power.
lovemore_mbigi,
Apr 19, 5:54am
Traditional MG buyers - those old chaps in multicoloured cheesecutter caps and puff jackets covered in corporate logos!
The best tribute to the MG came from a US motoring correspondent who once described their anemic performance in these terms: "dragged off at the lights by an average bread van".
richardmayes,
Apr 19, 11:53am
Because dragging people off at the lights is where it's at, right!
They're not cars for boofheads or people with "at-least-I've-got-a-- big-ENGINE" syndrome.
pdc1,
Apr 19, 3:23pm
Brings back memories of my MGB. I used to call it my camper van racer. God thinking about performance of some eg the TC and TD. I think MG lost the plot during the 2nd World war with performance.
Also it wasn't that long ago that the English were lining up to buy their flash Ford Lazer so they didn't have to own a real Japanese car!
socram,
Nov 19, 3:50am
Strangely enough, I have never considered myself a devout MG fanatic at all. However, I do have a soft spot for the BC group as was based entirely on their attitude when as a 14 year old, I wrote to all the Brit car companies for catalogues.BMC without a doubt made a great effort than almost any other company.Even Aston Martin, Daimler and Jaguar send a pile of stuff, but neither Ford nor Vauxhall could be bothered.I never forgot that.
MG were in that mix with the Midget and later, MGB, bur I preferred Austin Healeys! Since coming to NZ however, I seem to have owned more MGs than any other marque! True MG is either a cheap and cheerful, unsophisticated sports car, economical to run, and with just enough performance and noise to make it fun, or a warmed over saloon with some sporting pretensions but easy to live with and generally a reasonable daily driver tha handles better than most of the opposition.
They have never been outstanding performers and never claimed to be top of the pile in any area at all, but every one I have owned had a degree of character that I have not found in the run of the mill Japanese offerings, saloons or sports cars, though I haven't yet the MX5.
No, I do not wear tweeds and a cheese cutter cap and nor do the regular racers!What I do know is that the MGCC caters for all owners very well and quite frankly, I couldn't care a stuff whether others take the Mickey or try to rubbish them.Each to his own. Just wish I could hurry up and get the project finished.
By the way, the Brits have no idea what a Ford Lazer is - and nor do I!
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