To gush enthusiasm and express affection for MGBs, which held the record as the world’s top-selling sports car for decades, we should really go back to the original model that debuted to the public in 1963. That’s when car enthusiasts first fell in love with them. MG designers Syd Enever and Don Hayter must have…
I was devastated to learn of the closing of the Abingdon factory. The date was October 22, 1980, which, just my luck, happened to be my birthday. My friend Peter Franklin who was Public Relations Manager at the time, called to tell me the news. Management closed the doors two days early to avoid any…
I’ve thought a lot about this—anguished over it really. It is so hard for me to separate MGB from MG. The MGB has been the driving force of my business. We all enjoy the T-Series; love the curves of the MGAs; find the sedans from Ys to 1300s fascinating; wonder how the MGC was panned…
For all of us MG owners that have a multitude of MGs, I have a true story that justifies the jumble. Many years ago I had taken a liking to MGs; they were the right size for a one-person show. My love of these great little cars kept expanding when I would discover the advantages…
Some folks call what we do—working on, owning and driving British sports cars—a hobby. It’s even been legally codified, at least in Wisconsin, to the point that you can be officially recognized by the DMV as a “Hobbyist.” I worked in a hobby shop in my teens. The attention to detail our customers brought to…
This story begins with my wife’s recovery from what we though to be a life-threatening illness. To celebrate her first day out of bed, I suggested an afternoon outing in nearby Huntsville, Alabama. She could shop at her pace while I amused myself at Barnes & Noble bookstore until she returned. Once at B&N, I…
In August 1972 I was six when Bridget rolled out of Abingdon. A graceful steed in a stable of runners destined for America to buttress the noble name of Morris Garage in the psyche of Anglophile automotive enthusiasts. In 2005, kismet brought us together: a missed turn by my daughter, an admonishing and then love…
I always knew where Mulholland Drive was though I didn’t find out just who Mulholland was for many years. I was raised near this epic road carved in the mountain, and when I got my first car I headed straight there. I believe the day Mulholland Drive was created—sometime around 1924—someone drove it fast. Famous…
“What the heck is that?” a pedestrian on the corner yelled out. I grinned and introduced my ’63 MGB, a car that’s twice my age. British cars were never completely foreign to me. My dad had a really awesome E-Type. He was a huge British car nut ever since he bought a 1965 Spitfire at…
I tend to be more into history than nostalgia, but the long nights have been a good time for reflection. When I first started dating my wife in 1987, I picked her up in my first MGB. And it wasn’t even a particularly good example of one, either. Rather tatty, actually—a calico combination of orange…
