MG 6 reviewed by Autocar: Drives better than a Focus

[Raza]

This car feels dirty.

And yet,

makes me a little.

It's always sad to see a fall from grace. 

[2o6]

MG was gone before the Chinese got them. They failed to stay competitive.

[Morris Minor]

Yup, MG died about 45 years ago during the British Leyland era. The only worthwhile thing to come out of that was the lesson that governments are incapable of engaging in for-profit enterprises such as automobile manufacturing.

[Raza]

MG was gone before the Chinese got them. They failed to stay competitive.

Indeed.  Watching a loved one die the first time is hard enough.  Then when they come back as zombies, you generally hesitate to pump them full of buckshot, until you realize they really are dead; the soul is gone, and it only just looks like them.  That's when you pull the trigger. 

Now honestly, I wasn't the biggest fan of MG, but I understand the feeling.

[2o6]

I think the demise of BL was more tragic than the downfall of Detroit.

[Submariner]

Yup, MG died about 45 years ago during the British Leyland era. The only worthwhile thing to come out of that was the lesson that governments are incapable of engaging in for-profit enterprises such as automobile manufacturing.

What about the Austin Princess?



What about the Rover SD1?



WHAT ABOUT THE MORRIS MARINA? 







And yes, my knowledge of those cars is entirely from that Top Gear episode. 

[Madman]

Yup, MG died about 45 years ago during the British Leyland era.

45 years?  I think your 1965 date for the demise of MG is a bit too early, especially since British Leyland didn't even come into existence until 1968.  MG fared much better than most of the other marques under the BL umbrella.  Consider the MGC, MGB GT V8 and the MG 1300 (ADO16) were all launched under BL's stewardship.  Okay, things got a bit ropey by the mid-70s.  Then again, things got a bit ropey for everyone else, too.  The MG saloons disappeared and the MGB and Midget were saddled with enormous rubber tree trunks for bumpers and jacked-up off-road-spec suspensions so as to meet American crash test standards and headlamp height requirements.  Yes, the low point came when Abingdon was shuttered in 1980 but at least the MG spirit lived on in the M-cars.  Call me crazy but, as a teenager in the 1980s, I found the MG Maestro strangely alluring.  (Try not to laugh!)

On a trip to the UK in 2004, I made a point to visit an MG Rover showroom.  Sure, the MG TF, ZR, ZS and ZT may not have been the most refined cars in the world, but they offered old-school thrills of the sort which no modern car can hope to match.  It never ceased to amaze me how MG Rover's engineers were able to do so much with so little!  The last MGs may not have been perfect but they did have a certain appeal.

As for this new car calling itself an MG, I see nothing on it which proclaims it's "MG-ness."  It looks more like the last Nissan Primera than anything else.  They somehow got the old Rover K-series engine to meet Euro-5 emissions, hopefully without blowing it's head gaskets this time around!  Otherwise, I see no connection to the MGs of the past.  This could be almost anything from the Asia-bland school of design.  Call it whatever you like, just please don't call it an MG.


Madman of the People

[Rupert]

It's always sad to see a fall from grace. 

Yeah, but they got the logo right.

[Rupert]

Yup, MG died about 45 years ago during the British Leyland era. The only worthwhile thing to come out of that was the lesson that governments are incapable of engaging in for-profit enterprises such as automobile manufacturing.

I buy 35 years ago, but certainly not 45.

[Laconian]

Yeah, but they got the logo right.

Modern Gentleman!

[omicron]

BL was a riot. Every single car of theirs must have been built on Friday. There were moments of brilliance, but one suspects they were more by chance and luck than anything else.

[the Teuton]

BL was a riot. Every single car of theirs must have been built on Friday. There were moments of brilliance, but one suspects they were more by chance and luck than anything else.

At least we know if they're going for the history and heritage approach, it won't be hard for them to keep their unrivaled quality standards for the MG brand.

[Submariner]

Considering the British designed it, your bias is showing.

Just because the British designed it doesn't automatically mean it can't look Chinese.

I think it looks pretty good, but Wimm's opinion isn't "biased" in any way. 

[Cookie Monster]

I think the car looks good. You guys are just terribly biased.

[93JC]

Zombie thread has been raised from the dead...

[2o6]

Zombie thread has been raised from the dead...

+1

[NomisR]

Zombie thread has been raised from the dead...

Zombie thread about a zombie car..

[nickdrinkwater]

Seems to be a mixed bag ? design is pretty decent and so is the drive according to most reviews.  However, it?s a funny size between the smaller (Focus, Golf) and larger (Mondeo, Passat) sized cars, the engines don?t seem particularly special, there?s no diesel and it?s saloon-only.

[mzziaz]

Is it on sale yet?

[93JC]

Zombie thread about a zombie car..

Touch

[Onslaught]

Considering the British designed it, your bias is showing.

That almost never turns out well. So either way this car is fucked.