I would like to start a bit of a discussion on what exactly is a British car. Or maybe, what isn't? Everyone would agree that an MG or Triumph or Jaguar designed, built, and sold in England during the 40s or 50s is a British car, but what about one of the Rolls-Royce cars built in the US at Springfield during the late 1920s? What about the current modern MINI Cooper that was designed in England and mostly built there, but under the auspices of the German BMW? And then there are the Jaguars and Land Rover that aren't built on British soil.
I know my view, for the most part, but what is yours? What does or doesn't constitute a British car? And how much does it matter to you at a show, in our news coverage, or on a t-shirt?!
Good morning from Sydney,
It's a question that comes regularly at our annual All British display days - 1500 to 2000 cars usually. CKD assembled cars here & NZ? Sure. Citroens assembled in Slough? Nope. Or Volvo P1800s assembled by Jensen in West Bromich? And what about Lotus Sevens assembled in NZ, not by Lotus, but under licence? Is that a proper Lotus?
@max-pegler Exactly! I have seen the P1800s at shows like the Stowe British Invasion and then others questioning them being there. I always believe in erring on the side of inclusion, but what when we write here, which ones do we really want to concentrate on?
There are many classic British cars here in central Florida. I recall when I was being transferred here in 1988 from the Washington DC area and owning a 1974 TR6, I had to sell the TR6 because I thought (for reasons really unknown) Florida was not a place to have a British car. Constant heat and rain, ya know! Well was I wrong. Should have kept the TR6 cause it was my favorite color of pimento with chestnut interior and only had 48k miles on it. I sure was wrong about Florida. There were Brit cars languishing in garages every where and where brought out for any excuse to go for a top down ride. Even if it was 95 degrees and 100% humidity. So now here I am 5 Brit cars later and loving my current ride, a 1973 Stag.
@1973stag Gotta admit that is kinds funny - Florida is perfect for British sports cars. Or British cars of any type! Well, you might want a/c if you have a totally enclosed car with no air-flow inside. What part of Florida are you in? I would definitely consider a Triumph Stag British 😉 Classically British at that.
I currently have three British cars, two made while Jaguar was under the ownership of Ford. An '89 XJS and an'97 XJ6L. My third Jag is a '51 Mark VII, which is a long term project. I don't consider the newer cars to be Forduars or any other derogatory names.
@rivguy Here, here! Terms like "Forduars" are useless and only serve to hurt the hobby and market as a whole. There isn't a marque out there that hasn't been bought by or merged or absorbed by other companies. That doesn't make the cars they produce any less worthy. It often, in fact, keeps the company from disappearing and makes the brand stronger. There are cars produced after such ownership changes that are classics in their own right and sometimes overshadow the cars produced in the earlier years.
I hope I wasn't misunderstood. I never use terms like that. That's a term that I've heard on other forums. No need for negativity within our own ranks. I hope that this forum will be popular and grow. Best of wishes!
@rivguy No no!! Wasn't accusing you. I have heard terms like that, resentment between old and new Minis, unkind words for the abbreviation of MG, and other such things. Even the Triumph vs MG thing can go too far. Wasn't saying you did it, but that we all gotta stick together!
And thanks for contributing to the forums, I hope they take off and prove useful as well.
Thanks for the input,
Michael
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