Lawrie,
I take your point, but overall, I don't think your argument has much
to do with auto racing at the highest levels with the exception of
Ferrari and Porsche, and even then, mainly in the past. I don't
really care if other people mistakenly buy a car thinking that what
they saw racing on Sunday is what they bought on Monday. That's their
problem. ;) I don't think the trickle-down theory of racing
engineering converting to assembly line engineering has held water
for decades. Top level motorsport is a marketing exercise. Even for
World Rally, those cars are nothing like what you can buy in the
showrooms. Heck, they have completely different drivetrains,
suspensions, and computers.
OTOH, I thoroughly enjoy the goofiness that goes on with fans and on
the track. It's sport - it's fun - it's irrational! If MG wants to
badge a Lola, let 'em. If this causes a resurgence of interest in the
marque - hooray! It sure didn't hurt Ford when they bought the Lola
design that turned into the GT40. Was it a Ford? Nope, it just had a
Ford engine and Ford dollars behind it. Those dollars went to Lola.
Sort of like MG this June. Of course, Ford could _afford_ to spend
those dollars...
BTW, does anyone know where the name "Lola" came from?
Jeff
Lawrie wrote:
>James,
>
>I fully agree that the racing of MGFs and the rally cars are worthwhile
>endeavors, as the cars at least bear some resemblance to what the dealer is
>selling. My gripe was that the Le Mans car was not an MG just because it had
>an engine based on the one used in the MGF.
>
>At least the Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, et al, cars raced at Le Mans are built
>by the companies whose name they bear, and incorporate the engineering and
>design ideas of those companies. The "MG" was mostly Lola, as I understand
>it.
>
>Still, I guess I'm in the minority here, as NASCAR is incredibly popular and
>people seem to believe that the cars they see racing really are Chevrolets,
>Pontiacs and Fords..................!
>
>Lawrie
_____________________________________________________________
Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
Assistant Professor, Emory Eye Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
Senior Editor, Molecular Vision, http://www.molvis.org/molvis
mailto:jboatri@emory.edu
///
/// mgs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// (If they are dupes, this trailer may also catch them.)
|