Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
MG (car)
MG is a British marque that traditionally has produced sports cars from 1924 to 2005.
MG originally stood for "Morris Garages", a dealer of Morris cars which began producing its own customised versions. Almost all "pure" MG's are two-seat open sports cars, but the brand has also been used to designate sportier versions of other models belonging to the same parent company.
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History
There is some debate over when MG started. The company itself believes it is 1924, although the first cars bore both Morris and MG badges. Some disputing this believe that MG began in 1925.
From 1929 until 1980 the MG factory was in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. As part of Morris, (itself part of the Nuffield Organisation), MG was effectively absorbed into the British Motor Corporation in 1952, and latterly British Leyland in 1968. The factory was closed as part of the ruthless programme of cutbacks necessary to turn BL around after the turbulent times of the 1970s.
MG is now part of the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. This Group went into receivership in 2005; the future for English production- if not the brand- remains uncertain.
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There were various pre-war models built, not all of them sports cars. MG built a name for itself in the early days of the sport of international automobile racing. After World War II, MG produced a line of cars known as the T-Series which were exported worldwide achieving better-than-expected success. MG departed from its earlier line of Y Type saloons and pre-war designs and released the MGA in 1955. The MGB was released in 1962 to satisfy demand for a more modern and comfortable sports car. In 1965 the fixed head coupé (FHC) followed: the MGB GT. With continuous updates, the MGB was produced until 1980. Between 1967 and 1969 a short-lived model called the MGC was released. MG also began producing the MG Midget in 1961. The Midget was a re-badged and redesigned Austin-Healey Sprite. As with MGB's, the Midget design was frequently modified until it was finally dropped in 1979.
The marque lived on after 1980 as British Leyland (later Austin Rover Group), the then-owner, placed the MG badge on a number of Austin saloons. In New Zealand, the MG badge even appeared on the late 1980s’ Austin Montego estate, called the MG 2.0 Si Wagon. There was a brief competitive history with a mid-engined, six-cylinder version of the Metro.
In the late ’80s, ARG was renamed as the Rover Group and revived the two-seater with the MG RV8, then in 1995 introduced the all new MGF (redesigned and relaunched as the TF, reviving an old MG name).
With the demerger of Rover from BMW in 1999, the MG name appeared on sportier versions of the current Rover saloons and the Rover 75 estate.
The MG Rover Group purchased Qvale , which had developed a new De Tomaso Mangusta. This car, already approved for sale in the United States, formed the basis of the MG XPower SV, an "extreme" V8-engined sports car. It was revealed in 2002 and went on sale in 2004.
As of 2003, the site of the former Abingdon factory was host to McDonalds and the Thames Valley Police.
The collapse of the MG Rover Group in 2005 has led to the current suspension of further MG car production. However many hope that given the stronger value of the brand name, a buyer may be found for MG and that the brand will continue to produce a small quantity of sports cars per year.
Models
Previous
- 1928-1933 MG 18/80
- 1929-1932 M-Type Midget
- 1932-1934 J1/J2/J3/J4/Midget
- 1932-1934 K1/K2/K3/KN Magnette
- 1933-1934 L Magna
- 1934-1936 N Magnette
- 1934-1936 PA/PB
- 1936-1939 SA
- 1936-1939 MG TA
- 1937-1939 VA
- 1938-1939 WA
- 1939-1940 MG TB
- 1945-1950 MG TC
- 1947-1951 YA
- 1950-1953 MG TD
- 1951-1953 YB
- 1953-1955 MG TF
- 1953-1956 Magnette ZA
- 1956-1962 MGA
- 1956-1958 Magnette ZB
- 1959-1961 Magnette Mk. III
- 1961-1968 Magnette Mk. IV
- 1961-1979 Midget
- 1962-1968 1100
- 1962-1980 MGB
- 1967-1973 1300
- 1968-1970 MGC
- 1973-1976 MGB GT V8
- 1982-1990 Metro
- 1983-1991 Maestro
- 1985-1991 Montego
- 1992-1995 MG RV8
- 1995 MG F
Current
- MG TF
- MG XPower SV
- MG ZR
- MG ZS
- MG ZT
- MG ZT-T
External links
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