Those Who Forget History, Pt. 2

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11 Comments on “Those Who Forget History, Pt. 2...”

• 	sitting@home January 22nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
  I wonder how different history may have been if BMW hadn’t blocked the sale of the MG-F in the US market for fear that it would wipe out sales of the Z3.
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• 	Lokki January 22nd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
  Oh…. My mistake Sitting@home – I thought the lesson of that photo was: that “If there’s somebody dumb enough to buy MG, there’s GOT to be somebody dumb enough to buy SAAB“
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• 	NickR January 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
  Does anyone have first hand experience with these? Were they any good?
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• 	no_slushbox January 22nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
  You can bailout and nationalize your automakers for more than 30 years, but in the end they’ll end up being owned by the Chinese. Just like MG, a former part of British Leyland. sitting@home: I hadn’t heard that one. MG never even bothered to make a left hand drive version for continental Europe. Who would have sold them, Land Rover dealers?
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• 	detlef January 22nd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
  They’d do better to bring back the RV8 with AJ-V8 engines built under license from Tata. I think the F/TF is something most dyed-in-the-wool MG enthusiasts would rather forget. Then again, they’re all probably driving Miatas these days, anyway.
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• 	sitting@home January 22nd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
  no_slushbox From http://aronline.co.uk/ “Unfortunately, plans for exporting it to the USA were put on ice by BMW, who felt that it would threaten their own newly launched Z3 model. The company cited homologation costs as a reason, but engineering the MGF to be as user-friendly as it was points to a development programme aimed squarely at the US market – and BMW did not want their British division to spoil the party.” They could have been sold as BMW offshoot dealers in a similar manner that MINI was set up.
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• 	Kurt. January 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 am
  @no_slushbox I see left hand drive versions all over Europe. I alsmost bought one for the wife.
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• 	Nicodemus January 23rd, 2009 at 7:14 am
  Wrong car to make the point with. MGF/TF was very successful in the markets in which it was sold. In the UK they outsold the Miata (MX5) by a huge quantity in every one of the 10 years they were sold together. They were in fact sold in north america, just not USA. They were (and still are) an absolute hoot to drive, lovely handling, nice engine and gearbox etc. The engine was facinating in that it employed a system that gave it infinately variable valve timing and duration by means of an elaborate and ingenious inlet arangement that consisted of no less than four concentric camshafts – worked pretty well too. Big problem with the engines were head gaskets which was unrelated to the valvetrain I might add! They were also one of the first with an electric power steering system. They were also very safe too, being four star NCAP rated, with a particularly impressive frontal offset score. Given the success of the MINI, I’m pretty sure with hindsight BMW would have kept the brand for themselves. But then they still have Triumph!
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• 	sutski January 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
  Whoooa steady there chaps! Nick R: yes I had a 2005 TF160 for 3 years. Great little car. Quickest 0-60 in its class (2 full seconds quicker than the miata) and the best safety rating too. Mid engine, rear wheel drive and full leather spec. I loved it. Slushbox: I live in Switzerland and I can assure you it was a left hand drive. and yes here it was mostly sold through Land Rover dealers, although I got mine direct from an importer and saved about $3000. Detlef: No I don’t want to forget my MG days, They have one of the most supported owners clubs in the world. And no, I don’t drive a Miata now, I have Nissan 350Z roadster and a Fisker Karma on order. Now if we are talking about this rip off Chinese version….I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole, if only nbecfause of the way they raped the Longbridge plant in Birmingham and took all the machining back to China (seriously)
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• 	no_slushbox January 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
  I remember a test of an MG F in some continental European magazine and I remember them complaining about how there wasn’t a LHD version. If someone has a link to an LHD version I would love to see it.
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• 	james2550 January 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
  The MG-F and later MG-TF were great cars in their day. They looked sporty (if a touch cutesy) and the mid-engined layout gave poised handling. The weak head gasket was an issue across all of Rover’s K-series engines (used in several models), but it was a powerful unit. However, for NAC MG to relaunch these now makes little sense. While it still looks pretty good, compared with the latest sports cars this MG is comprehensively outdated.
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