Spook37211@aol.com wrote:
> On to the MG comment.......
> When Leonard Lord took over the holding company that had MG, MG had a
> replacement for the TD in the works. This was the proto MGA. Lord told them
> to forget it, but that they might have a little update on the TD style car.
> This was the TF, which didn't sell too well because most saw it for the
> warmed over design that it was at the time (interestingly enough, the TF is
> one of the best loved cars now!)
Time distorts so much.
Another example, when the Sprite moved from the Bugeye
to the modern Midget/Sprite design, sales took off. At the
time, it was a much better seller because it was modern
looking and had a few more creature comforts.
Looking back, Bugeye's are much more desirable than
any other model. By far.
Another effect of time distortion is how the cars
lose touch with their contemporaries.
The TR-3 has a lot of appeal today because it looks
so vintage. But at the time, who would buy an old
looking TR-3 when you could buy the modern looking MGA? Looking
at the two cars, it's hard to beleive they are from
the same era.
Although the same could be said for early
TR-3s and MG-TFs...
And finally, late model Bs and Midgets. They are
so appealing because they are like a trip in
the past. Except the trip seems to be back to
the sixties, because they were so out of date
in the 70s.
I dearly love my 75 Midget, but I really wonder
who would have bought it when it was new? Reading
the period reviews from the Brookland book seem
to back that up, they totally rip apart every BL
car of the era, insisting that to buy one would
be the worst decision of your life.
How much fun.
--
Trevor Boicey
Ottawa, Canada
tboicey@brit.ca
http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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