Articles by Staff

This year’s Pride of Longbridge (POL) Rally in Cofton Park, Birminham on Saturday (April 12) was the best-attended in its nine year history after 2,800 people went along to the event. The annual event, which began after the collapse of MG Rover, saw hundreds of car enthusiasts from all over the country and even as far as Belgium and Holland bring a multitude of vehicles ‘back home’ to where they were built. Among the motors on show were everything from Minis, Metros and Allegros to Autin 7s, MGs and Rovers. Dave Coulson, who used to manufacture engines at the Longbridge plant, was there in his 1968 Austin Mini Cooper Mark II. The Mercia Minis club member told The Standard: “I was there for 21 years, so it’s like coming home.” John Collins and his aptly-named son Austin from Tamworth went to […]

According to the Internet news site Digital Trends, the once famous name of Jensen may be returning to the car market. Their article begins this way, “Britain has no shortage of iconic car marques. From Aston Martin to Jaguar, and Rolls-Royce to Land Rover, Britannia rules the roads like it once ruled the waves. “Yet one name in the pantheon of great British carmakers often goes unnoticed: Jensen. Its signature product was the Interceptor, an Italian-styled GT with Chrysler V8 power known for being one of the first road cars with four-wheel drive (in FF form), and for having the coolest name ever applied to a fender badge. “Sadly, a combination of poor build equality, a general downturn, and myriad other factors forced Jensen to close its doors in 1976. There have been a few attempts to revive the company, […]

The 2014 Great Scot! British Car Show, coinciding with the Greenville Scottish Games, will be held on the beautiful shaded mall of Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, May 24, 2014. This year’s show, the 6th annual, will honor the Sunbeam as this year’s featured marque. Hosted by the Southeastern British Motor Owners Club, the show will exhibit Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs, and other classic cars from the heyday of the British automotive industry. From the big, luxury vehicles of Rolls Royce, to the diminutive and sporty Austin Healey Sprite, there will be something of interest to everyone. All British cars and motorcycles are eligible. Winning classes are: First, Second, and Third place class awards (depending on number of entries) – Best of Show – Special awards to include President’s Award and a featured Marque award. Judging will be by the Participants, […]

Unfortunately we can’t get hold of one on this side of the pond, but elsewhere in the world the MG3 continues to rack up the good press. Let’s see – it is sporty, it is inexpensive, it has the MG bloodline, and it is hip. What more could you want? As this review from New Zealand states, “The chiseled wedge-profiled shape even has details along its rear panels that reflect the angles of the famous octagon badge, though the designers are to be congratulated for not slavishly putting that shape all over the car. “Sitting on standard 16 inch alloy rims, along with subtle dark grey sills, front splitter and vestigial hatch spoiler and covered in electric blue paint that seems wet it’s so glossy, the wee 3 looks a treat. “Up front its lazy-v shaped smile sucks on the […]

The 27th annual British Car Gathering, hosted by Blount British Cars, will be held May 9, 10, 11, 2014 in Townsend, Tennessee, on the grounds of the Talley Ho Inn. This year the club is partnering with the Knoxville English Auto Society and inviting their European neighbors to enjoy a spring day in the Smokies. Relax in the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and share your passions and experiences with other enthusiasts who are committed to the enjoyment and preservation of British & European cars and motorcycles. Festivities begin Friday night hospitality – a time to mix, mingle and cozy up to a warm fire and swap tall tales. Saturday will offer a field of British and European cars and motorcycles, participant voting, trophy presentation, a car drive, ‘For Sale’ corral and a casual, yet proper, afternoon tea for the ladies. […]

This will be the 31st Annual British Motorcar Day, this year on Sunday, May 4 in Roswell, Georgia. British Motorcar Day is an annual gathering of all of the British Car Clubs in the Atlanta, Georgia region. The event is now in its Thirtieth year from its beginnings with sixteen cars in Grant Park in 1983. The show is in a new location this year, just off Hill Street in downtown Roswell, just north of Atlanta. You can see the Hill Street location on Google Maps, or get full directions from the attached flyer. The event that started over thirty years ago with a handful of cars in Grant Park has moved back closer to where it began. The City of Roswell and the Historic Roswell Merchants Association are hosting the 31st BMCD in the parking lot behind City Hall off Hill […]

New car sales in Britain rallied in March to the highest total for a decade, industry data showed on Friday. Sales jumped 17.7 percent last month to 464,824 vehicles compared with data for March 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in a statement. That was the highest monthly figure since March 2004. “New car registrations surged 17.7 percent in March … a surprisingly strong level of growth and a reflection of intensifying consumer confidence and the availability of great new products,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “Given the past six years of subdued economic performance across the UK, there is still a substantial margin of pent-up demand that is contributing to a strong new and used car market. There has never been a better time to buy a new car thanks to attractive finance deals […]

A milestone in the UK’s illustrious sports car history is being sold by a Sussex classic cars specialist. The fully restored Triumph Spitfire was the first to come off the production line at its factory in Coventry. Lewes-based Sussex Sports Cars is marketing it online on behalf of its owner, a Swiss financial consultant. The firm’s Gerry Wadman said the owner, who restored the vehicle using Triumph parts, is asking £45,000 for the hand-built two-seater. The car was assembled at the Standard-Triumph Canley plant in Coventry in 1962 – the very first in a marque that was to help transform the ailing firm’s fortunes. Boasting chassis number FC1, it generated interest at that year’s Motor Show in Earls Court, as a rival to the Austin Healy Sprite and MG Midget. Its original retail price of £641 meant that unusually, it was a quality […]

They don’t sell any MG in America, but some companies like to take their cars to Colorado anyway, to ensure they can handle high altitude conditions. Roman Mica from TFL Car is off doing what he calls “prototype fishing” again. This time, his catch and release program resulted in two MG5 hatchbacks spotted in Colorado. The MG5 Hatchback sounds like a nice British car, but it’s actually a Chinese car. It arrived in concept form in early 2011 and already has a mild facelift. We believe this particular prototype uses a turbo 1.5-liter engine rated at around 130 hp and 200 Nm of torque. The MG3 supermini and larger MG6 are sold in Europe, being assembled in Britain by very few employees, from complete kits made in China. What’s really funny about the video is that a single well spoken […]

The British Car Club of Charleston invites you to join in the festivities of our 29th Annual British Car Day at Memorial Waterfront Park, Mt. Pleasant, SC. As we have for the past several years, this year’s show will benefit the Garrett Academy’s Auto Collision Body Shop. Benefits from the food tent and silent auction tent will help Mike Branch and the students with much needed supplies and tools for the class. In addition to the British car show itself, of course there is the beauty of the water front park to enjoy. FRIDAY – October 25th Welcome Reception – Harbor Breeze Restaurant 176 Patriots Point, Mt. Pleasant 6- 9pm. Those who have pre-registered for the British car show are welcome to pick up their packets, or you may register at this time. SATURDAY – October 26th British Car Show – […]

British sports car maker Caterham is driving ahead with ambitious plans to conquer Asian markets, according to chief executive Tony Fernandes, who is also chairman of QPR. “We may be a small voice now, but we’re on our way to engineering a decent set of lungs,” he said at the Singapore Grand Prix, where the firm launched its first new ultra-performance model, the AeroSeven Concept. Caterham was bought two years ago by Mr Fernandes with business partner Kamarudin Meranun. They also founded the Tune Group, which opened its first hotel in Edinburgh this year. The pair founded budget airline AirAsia 12 years ago and said the experience would help the motor manufacturer gain a stronghold in the region. “We were told our plans for AirAsia could not work,” said Mr Fernandes. “Today, AirAsia has a growing fleet of more than […]

After a 25-year absence, one of the great names from British sports car manufacturing will return. Lister has announced its comeback to the British car industry after a 25-year absence, with immediate plans to re-introduced the famous Lister Cars is aLister ‘Knobbly’ Jaguar, raced by the likes of Sir Stirling Moss. British sports car manufacturer founded by George Lister in 1954 in Cambridge, England, which became known for its involvement in motorsport. Sold in 1986, Laurence Pearce produced variants of the Jaguar XJS before producing a bespoke sports car, the Lister Storm. Since May 2013 Lister Cars has been purchased by Warranty Wise Insurance Services T/A Warrantywise. Returning to its Cambridge roots, Lister plans to build a 21st century version identical to that of the 1958 race car. The original drawings and manufacturing jigs created by Brian Lister have all been re-commissioned and race proven Jaguar D-Type-specification engines […]

MG is performing well in China but it is missing an SUV, Roewe added an old Ssangyong based vehicle to its line up but the car failed to live up to expectations, the new MG SUV is expected to hit the market by the years end. MG revealed the MG CS concept at the Shanghai Auto Show this year where it was revealed the new car would have a 2.0T powerplant and a slightly redesigned face which is mostly inline with the current MG5. The new SUV will launch in late 2014, a little late to the party considering that international and domestic rivals have already launched SUV offerings. In addition to the new SUV, MG are also planning to give their other product offerings a major overhaul of the MG-Roewe line up. Later this year the MG5 1.5T will […]

The Reliant Robin has been named the worst British car of all time, according to a new survey. The three-wheeled car, which has only remained in the public consciousness thanks to Only Fools and Horses, has topped the poll for its lack of motoring prowess. The Austin Maestro and Austin Metro came a close second and third respectively as the worst British cars of all time. Around 2,000 British drivers were quizzed about their motoring preferences ahead of the start of Wheeler Dealers on the Discovery Channel. Along with the worst cars in British motoring, people were asked about their favourite drives. The Mini was named greatest British car, with 19 per cent of people voting for it. The Aston Martin DB7 came close second, with 18 per cent of people naming it the greatest British car of all time. […]

Britain is accelerating away from its European competitors in the car-making sector with investment flowing into the factories of Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover as Chinese and American demand drives sales. Jaguar Land Rover said on Tuesday it was pumping £1.5 billion (1.8 billion euros, $2.4 billion) into its plant in Solihull near Birmingham, creating 1,700 jobs and giving a welcome fillip to industrial central England. The Solihull plant will make new lightweight Jaguar and Land Rover models made of aluminium. In northeast England, Nissan has been granted permission to extend its already vast plant in Sunderland, securing jobs in an area where major employers are in short supply. The investment decision was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show by JLR chief executive Ralf Speth, who said it was “further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the UK […]

Accountants Deloitte were today punished with a record £14 million fine for failing to manage conflicts of interest over their advice to collapsed car maker MG Rover. The Financial Reporting Council also severely reprimanded the firm for its conduct over MG Rover, which crashed into administration in 2005 with debts of £1.4 billion and 6,000 job losses. Its damning report said: “These are all very serious matters. The public must be protected from misconduct of this nature.” Four MG Rover directors — the “Phoenix Four” — set up the Phoenix company to buy the loss-making British carmaker for a token £10 five years earlier. But Deloitte and its partner and corporate finance expert Maghsoud Einollahi — personally fined £250,000 and banned from the profession for three years — both failed to properly manage conflicts of interest, the FRC said. Einollahi […]

According to The Telegraph, Jaguar Land Rover is to create another 1,700 jobs at its Solihull factory in Birmingham to support a new range of sports and cross-over cars featuring the latest in lightweight aluminium technology. The UK-based car maker, owned by India’s Tata conglomerate, said it would invest £1.5bn to introduce new one-piece “aluminium vehicle architecture” into its range. Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the move as “fantastic news for Solihull and a huge vote of confidence in the UK. This investment will also deliver another 24,000 jobs in the supply chain – on top of the 1.3m the private sector has already created since 2010.” A Jaguar sports sedan, launched in 2015, will be the first to feature the new technology, as well as the first to use engines from the company’s new £500m engine plant in Wolverhampton. […]

MG Enthusiast, September 2013 Features in this Issue Barmy to Barcelona – Four mates, two MGFs and a fetish for 1970s Martini Racing – did the reality live up to the dream? MGB Trip Preparation – Iain Ayre suggests a sensible plan of action to prepare your classic MG for an extended mountain tour Brian Moylan Interview – Brian recalls his days working at Abingdon, from the Service Department to Competitions Modified RV8 – One owner who felt that he could – and should – get more from his RV8. Quite a lot more, in fact! PA to the Lebanon in 1966 – Last month MGE introduced a nicely patinated PA; this month they go back to the 1960s and explain how some of that patina came about KV6 Transplants – Making the cars MG-Rover didn’t: a ZR and an MGF with KV6 power MG Enthusiast […]