A Bright Road Ahead

It’s been my observation that ownership of classic British sports cars is not waning.  The shows I’ve attended have seen growing attendance and participation, articles I’ve read have increasingly been penned by younger writers, and the attention my cars have drawn is steadily skewing toward younger, technically adept and astute enthusiasts.  I’m not talking about the kids who give you a “thumbs up” at a traffic light.  I’m referring to the folks who will all but grill you on the technical aspects of your car, ask good questions, and clearly show something other than just a passing interest.  This has caused me to be increasingly optimistic about the state of British car enthusiasm and LBC ownership.

The only thing that ever worried me was that these cars cannot survive by nostalgia alone.  Nostalgia is the rear view mirror – it’s what’s ahead of the windscreen that interests me.

It’s been 33 years since the last new MG has been sold in the United States – 31 years since the last TR7.  That’s a generation and a half.   Half of the population of the United States has never seen a new MG.  There is little or no intrinsic memory of a time when one could get a Spitfire or Midget financed at the bank or through a finance company as one might do today with a Kia or a Dodge.  At 52 years of age, my generation is on the tail end of those who could have bought one new.

So lacking even the remnants of a marketing scheme, enthusiasm for LBCs among new enthusiasts is a remarkable testament to the very nature of these cars.   And I am very pleased by what this next group of LBC owners is starting to look like, and I’m excited by what they might be bringing to the table.

Let’s look at the motivation one might have had to have purchased one of these little gems back when they were still coming in off of the boat.  They’re not that different than the motivations one has to purchase any car today.

You can argue aesthetics, but one would be hard pressed to describe any of the classic British sports cars as homely.  They look good, and you look good being seen in one.  That’s a huge ego stroke for an owner – the sizzle rather than the steak.  Many lesser cars have been sold on little else.

The perceived level of performance is high.  Yeah, I know, 0-60 times of a Mitsubishi Galant will trounce a stock MGB, but which car feels quicker?  This is the visceral driving experience I’m alluding to.  Do you feel like you’re traveling faster in a TR3 with cut down doors at 60 mph than you do in a Chevy Aveo?  Of course you do.  So we’ll include the thrill factor as a “right brain” motivation.

While often originally sold as a “second car”, or during the oil embargo of the 1970’s as “fuel efficient economy cars”, MGBs, Midgets, Spits and TRs were built to be, above everything else, transportation.  Now there’s a novel idea – using a car for its primary purpose.  And one with the added advantage of decent fuel economy and ease of parking. That’s very satisfying to your “left brain”, and most British sports cars deliver this increasingly important aspect of frugality in equal quantities as their newer computerized brethren.

For some, the “Ikea Effect” comes into play.  I include myself in this category – I get a great deal of satisfaction out of building things, completing repairs and maintenance, and none of these cars are so technically advanced that a competent amateur mechanic can’t fix most problems with tools available at Sears.

So there are very solid practical and emotional reasons to own one.  Of course, one can’t rule out the nostalgia aspect, but I’m addressing the future, and only alluding to the past.

In the current splintered demographic patterns of automotive enthusiasts, I’m seeing a couple of groups in particular from which I’ve found kindred spirits, and are likely candidates for LBC ownership, if they aren’t already.  If the opportunity arises, I’ll always offer these folks the keys, just to see the smile on their faces while I sit in the passenger seat.

Group 1 – The Tuner crowd.  The “Tuners” are the direct descendants and practitioners of the aftermarket bolt-on approach to upping performance that was largely pioneered by Brit car owners in the 1950’s.  The analogies between what they are doing today and what many of us were doing 50 years ago is striking – improved suspension parts, supercharging kits, fender flaring, aftermarket lighting improvements, tuned exhaust systems.  British sports car owners charted those waters, but the new-age techie crowd has circumnavigated the planet with this approach.  And I’m thinking I kind of like the idea of a chipped ECU and electronic fuel injection on a TR6.  The rear view mirror may be saying “heresy”, but the windshield is telling me, “the tradition continues”.

Group 2 – The Rat Rod Crowd.  These folks are not afraid to get grease on their hands, tend to be wary of electro-wizardry, and have a profound appreciation for patina.  For a lot of Rat Rodders, a little rust and a bit of fade on the paint is badge of honor – a metaphorical automotive tattoo.  And let’s be honest, British sports cars are no stranger to this sort of self decorating tendency.  In a broad sense, those at this end of the automotive world are often equally in tune with Lucas driving lights as they are with DeSoto hubcaps.  My conversations with friends who identify themselves with this group often include details of historic authenticity, but will not let that stand in the way of enjoying their rides.  Good for them – you can’t move forward if you’re stuck in the garage waiting for a period-correct windshield wiper switch.

This is just two broad strokes of paint on an incomplete canvas.  I don’t know precisely who the “next generation” is, but I do know that they are arriving, many have already arrived, and that I’ve met members of the vanguard.  They’re here, they’re smart, they’re diverse, they’re interesting, and they are interested.  That description sounds like most of the British sports car owners I’ve met.

This is going to be a fun party.

By Chris Conrad

Chris Conrad will be speaking at the Cecil Kimber Festival in Bennington, Vermont, April 12-14, 2013.  His discussion is titled, “Speed on Salt: A Midget Among Giants On The Bonneville Salt Flats”. 

The Kimber Festival is presented by the New England MG T Register.  For information, go to:

 http://www.nemgtr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=267&Itemid=286

We’ll be celebrating Cecil Kimber’s 125^th birthday with cake at the Hemmings Motor Museum on Friday, and Chris has been assured that some “Old Speckled Hen” will be available at dinner on Saturday.