On Mon, 1 Dec 1997 17:47:45 -0500 (EST) MGMagnette@aol.com writes:
>Someone said:
>
>If you have to ask this question then you are on the wrong list.
>Safety Fast,
> (proud that the only cars I have for daily use are MGBs)
>
>Such a flippant remarks are usually best left ignored, but the writer
>decided
>not to read the letter I had written and just give a knee jerk
>reaction.
>
> After having only an MGB-GT as a daily driver, an MGB for all the
>days it
>wasn't running, and an MG Magnette for every other moment, I can
>honestly say
>that driving an MG daily is a foolish thing to do. (Particularly here
>in not
>so sunny New Hampshire with the god awful winters we have.)
> First of all, you need more than one. Note that my critic said he
>is proud
>that his only daily driver CARS (plural) are MGBs. Even when
>maintained to
>the hilt as my cars are, a 25 year old car is inherently less reliable
>than a
>new one.
> Second, for all people say about blasting through the snow at Monte
>Carlo,
>the MGB is skiddish and handles like shit in the snow, even with the
>best
>tires.
> Third, the heater is feeble even with a new core and a new valve.
>
> Fourth, the seals only block out 90% of the wind. That 10% is
>what
>freezes your ass off.
> Fifth, MGBs are extremely noisy and the MGB-GTs in particular can
>cause
>hearing loss. If you don't believe me, ask your doctor is prolonged
>expose
>to loud noises will cause hearing loss and see what he says.
> I could go on and on, and if asked, I will.
> What the hell, I'm gonna go on without being asked. I got alot more
>critiques about MGs and MGBs in particular. MGBs are damn slow cars.
>The
>Magnette is even slower. They might have been faster than thier BMC
>brethren, but you are gonna live in the slow lane if you do any
>highway
>travel in your MG. Not being able to accelerate when needed is not
>safe.
> MGs are very very small. In accidents, that is not good. The only
>time
>the MGBs size has been helpful to me was at a gas station once. The
>gas
>tanker made a very wide turn and the middle of the tanker was over the
>hood
>(yes, hood, not bonnet. This is America.) of the MGB. The MGB was so
>low
>that tanker could partially cross over it without touching it. Had I
>been
>in a larger car, the car would have touched the under side of the
>tanker,
>suffered severe damage, and possibley have caused the gas tanker to
>blow up.
> Ofcourse if it were a larger car the driver of the gas tanker might
>have
>noticed it and the whole incident may never have occurred. So I guess
>that's
>a wash.
> MGBs uses expensive grade gas, and alot of it considering the
>performance. They pollute excessively. Fully re-built and excellent
>running
>MGB engines are designed to consume an amount of oil that was normal
>years
>ago, but would make the average person wince.
> I'll stop going on a get to my point. I own an MGB, and MGB-GT,
>and a MG
>Magnette. I love them dearly. Having used them as my regular normal
>car, I
>have found that they can not be used like regular normal cars. I find
>it to
>be very distasteful, when those who have been brainwashed into
>thinking an
>MGB can be driven like any other car, insult those who save their MGBs
>for
>more leisurely driving than going down Rt 101 in New Hampshire in a
>February
>ice storm.
> Again, I will pose the question I asked in my first letter. Why
>are MGs
>getting so damn expensive? And if you can't question your own car,
>and are
>totally blind to other cars, I don't want your answer.
> Not particularly safe, or fast,
> John
John,
If you'lll stop to think about it, $6000 for a top quality MGB is NOT
expensive, espcecially when compared to a new one.
HUH??
The reason is, that's $6000 of today's money versus about $3000 of 30
year old money.
That $3000 in 1967 represented about 1/2 the average annual income of
the typcial buyer. Today the $6000 is about `1/3 to 1/4 of the average
annual income of the buyer. So, actually, the car fell in value by 33-50
percent.
Comparing dollars today with dollars some years ago is comparing apples
and oranges.
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
|