AMGBA Editor and New

Last Production MGB Makes Return to Town of Its Birth
by Gerald Ferreira of 3D Car Shows

The very last MGB Roadster made, which rolled off the MG Car Company’s Abingdon production line on October 23, 1980, made a dramatic return to its home town today on December 1, 2011.

The property of the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, it has been placed on indefinite loan to the 17th Century Abingdon County Hall Museum. And, due to the practical limitations imposed by the picturesque Grade One listed building, the car had to be ‘posted’ on its side through the arched windows of the first floor, with just inches to spare.

The task of first stripping the MG to its bare shell, fitting that to a specially designed cradle, masterminding the pair’s delivery into the building via a gigantic 30 ton scissor lift, and finally rebuilding the car for public display, fell to Witney-based British Motor Heritage (BMH), which also sponsored the ambitious project from start to finish.

Said BMH’s Managing Director John Yea: "As the only manufacturer of original-quality replacement panels and complete bodyshells for the ubiquitous MGB, we felt we were the appropriate company to help bring this challenging task to fruition for all concerned. 2012 is the 50th anniversary of this perennially popular sports car, and it is very fitting that a representative example will be proudly displayed in the town where over 500,000 were built; a high percentage of which were exported to America."

"Earning the American Dream" by Gordon Whitby

Book - Earning the American Dream A new interesting book "Earning the American Dream," is about the introduction of foreign made automobiles into North America, back in the 1940's and 1950's, and the great success' foreign cars enjoy to this day. During that same period, the U.S. totally dominated the world's production of cars / trucks, tires, steel, locomotives, and aircraft. Unfortunately that domination is no longer the case.

Whitby's unique experiences and well documented book reflects the rise of Britain's and Europe's largest automobile company, when Austin Motor took over the Nuffield auto group in 1952, forming British Motor Corporation (BMC) making it the fourth largest auto company in the world. Whitby goes into great detail on how BMC sports cars; the Austin Healey and MG, were so successful in America through the 1960's yet BMC, old design, poor quality control sedans, failed miserably.

Whitby was invited to join BMC record attempts on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1956, 1957, and 1959, during which he became a good friend of Syd Enever, Chief Engineer and designer for the MG Car Co. Ltd. His direct communications with Enever, helped to improve the quality of the MG and Austin Healey cars. Many interesting copies of their correspondence spanning ten years are reproduced.

Car lovers will enjoy the great road racing photos, many in color especially those covering BMC Bonneville Salt Flats of 1956, 1957, and 1959 and will be amazed at the very successful endurance and speed records established by Syd Enever's outstanding MG and Austin Healey sports car designed streamliners, all of which are well documented.

The book should also appeal to those that are interested in economics, especially as it relates to trade, manufacturing, and transportation, and in the demise, of so many British and American auto companies, over the years. Throughout the 338 page book, Whitby and BMC American dealers' recommendation to have new modern designed sedans, quality control, more powerful overhead camshaft engines, and full synchomesh transmission, were totally ignored by BMC top management. This allowed progressive Japanese companies like Nissan and Toyota and later Korean companies to take over from the pioneering British with better designed and higher quality cars.

Whitby devoted 16 years with the British Motor Corporation in the US, 17 years as a sales executive of Nissan Motor Corporation in USA. and he finally completed his successful career as Vice President of Business and Finance for years where he guided a debt ridden and badly managed private university in Southern California to one of fiscal responsibility and success. There is a wealth of knowledge in this remarkable book that would be very difficult to find elsewhere. In addition it is a book well worth owning as an profits will be donated to cancer research.

Author: Gordon Whitby
Retail: $50.00
8.25" x 10.75", 340 pages
Phone: 626-688-3554
Email: gordonwhitby@yahoo.com

MG Cars Roll Off Longbridge Production Line
from BBC News

MG6 The MG6 has been designed in Britain. The first new MG for 16 years will roll off the production line in Longbridge later.

The MG6 is the first large scale production at the Birmingham plant since the demise of Rover in 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

A five-seater model will be available to buy from May and is expected to sell for between £15,495 and £18,995.

MG is owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which is the largest car maker in China.

The MG6 has been designed in the UK but the parts are made in China ready for assembly in Longbridge.

'Dark days'

Local MP Richard Burden said: "Today is a real milestone for Longbridge and for the automotive industry in the West Midlands.

"Longbridge has been through dark days. Nothing will bring back the days when thousands were employed on Longbridge production lines.

"But the greatest tribute we can pay to the heritage that made the name Longbridge synonymous with motor manufacturing throughout the 20th century is to build a future in the 21st century.

"Today is about that future. Longbridge is a huge site and we need to make sure that the redevelopment which is taking place beyond the MG factory itself adds real value to the potential which this area has."

MG Rover went into administration in April 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

Three months later the company's assets, including the equipment at the Longbridge factory, were sold to Chinese car maker Nanjing.

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