About MGMany automobile brands started as the vision of one man, and most are named after that individual. But there aren't too many men that have two companies named after them. William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, started Morris Motor Company and later, the MG (Morris Garage) Car Company. The octagon logo was first used in 1924, when general manager Cecil Kimber designed modified versions of the Morris.MG would become an official company in 1928, with the debut of the MG Midget. In 1935 the company was sold to Morris Motor Company, forming the Nuffield Organization. A simultaneous announcement was made that MG would stop its successful racing campaigns. Shortly afterward, the MG T-series was introduced, which represented a dramatic redesign of the company's sports cars. The TA and TB suffered from engine problems, and the onset of World War II limited production. As car production resumed in 1945, many of the bugs were worked out, and the new TC saw almost 10,000 units built by 1949. And at that time, the Nuffield Organization saw a burgeoning American car... View more market--and MG set to work on a model suitable for North America. The result was the TD, and production was 30,000 total vehicles during the 1950-53 run. MG switched from the Nuffield Organization to British Motor Corporation in 1952, and then over to British Motor Holdings in 1966, then to British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. BL became the Rover Group in 1986, following privatization that then sold MG to British Aerospace in 1988. Then MG went to BMW in 1994, where it stayed until 2000, when it became a part of the MG Rover Group again. That company would go into receivership--a British form of bankruptcy protection--and sell off the MG brand to Nanjing Automobile Group in 2005. During the early years of the turnover, MG took a drastic turn in styling. The MGA arrived in 1955. Gone were any external relic of 1930s-era styling and in came sleek bodylines and better performance. Over 101,000 units were sold in the eight-year model run. Demand, though, would come for an updated, more comfortable sports car. The MGB would be the most popular and best selling MG ever made. A total of 526,000-plus vehicles, including variations, were made from 1962 to 1980. Sold in convertible or GT coupe form, it was MG's first monocoque design, reducing weight and cost--and adding structural strength. Rubber bumpers came in 1974, due to U.S. crash-test requirements. An increase in ride height accompanied the bumpers, causing oversteer and increased body roll. While the handling problems could be corrected with front stabilizers, damage to the reputation was permanent. Even today, the least desirable MGBs are the post-'73 rubber bumper models. After the MGB production ended in 1980, the marque would become badge-engineered variants of Rover, BMC, and Austin vehicles. The MGF, the first all-new car wearing the famed octagon, debuted in 1995 and would last as a production model until 2005. Nanjing's version would be called the MG TF. 2007 saw the restart of the vehicle--only to face supply and demand issues. It was cancelled permanently during March, 2011. The Chinese company is planning on a 2013 launch for a new MG-branded sports car. View less | |||
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