M G - Classic British Sports Car #1

William Morris , later Lord Nuffield, and founder of Morris Garage (MG) had the wisdom and insight to make Cecil Kimber managing director of the MG... more

by Jack Zulli

Title

M G - Classic British Sports Car #1

Artist

Jack Zulli

Medium

Painting - Photography, Painting

Description

William Morris , later Lord Nuffield, and founder of Morris Garage (MG) had the wisdom and insight to make Cecil Kimber managing director of the MG Car Company. The MG logo first appeared in the year 1924 inside the famous octagon shape. The first cars that could be attributed to Cecil Kimber and Morris Garage were built in 1922. The development of the MG Marque is one of the sucess storys in automotive history. MG became the everyday man's sports car. Affordable and fun. Even to this day the MG sports cars have a mystic all to themselves and those of us who love our cars have a responsibility to see that younger car lovers are introduced to the enjoyment and pleasure of ownership of MG cars that we currently have

Formed in 1928 the MG Car Company made it's premier showing of two new MG Midgets in the year 1928 at the London Motor Show. Following that appearance the production of MGs tripled with the MG M type Midget accounting for more than 50% of the company's production. In 1930 the company relocated to its factory and works in Abingdon. And it was during this time the the MG slogan "Safety Fast" was born.

During World War II production of MG's ceased as the MG Car Company was put into service for the war effort making tanks and airplane parts, and other military items. When the war ended the the MG Car Company was anxious to get back to making sports cars. They revisited the MGTB and made a few subtle changes. These were in the form of a wider body and shackles replacing sliding trunnions for the spring mounts. The Nuffield Organization also made another drastic change. They started taking an active interest in selling their sports cars in North America. It appears that during the War a number of American GI's had an opportunity to experience the T-Series MG's. When the War ended a number of these cars were imported and then formally sold into North America, especially the United States. The MGTC was produced from 1945 to 1949 with a total production of about 10,000 cars.

Due to the fact that the United States had much more cash available to spend on entertainment and sports than did war torn Britain, the Nuffield Organization made a drastic change in their marketing, focusing on North America. In 1949 the MGTC was fitted with many elements to make it more North American such as front and rear bumpers, twin horns, and dual tail lamps. Even by making these changes only a fraction of the MGTC's were imported into North America. There were still too many issues with a car of this type for different North America conditions. Amongst those were driving on the right hand side of the road rather than the left, more high speed maneuvers such as freeways, a softer ride, and some additional creature comforts. What was needed was a total redesign of the MGTC if the MG Car Company was to capture a significant portion of the North American market. What was missing was a total commitment from the Nuffield Organization to do so.

Uploaded

June 26th, 2016