news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8291612....m
Looks like the half-hearted attempt at reviving MG with a design going back over 15 years has come to a resounding (and unsurprising) halt.
It seems the naysayers were right. How many new MG TFs has anyone actually seen?
Edited by rtj70 on 06/10/2009 at 17:06
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I'm not surprised. I saw one at a classic car meeting this summer, the build quality looked pretty poor. I can't imagine why anyone would choose one over an MX5.
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398 of the 500 "limited" edition registered to date - deduct test cars, demos, etc., I'm not surprised they're not seen on the road.
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"I saw one at a classic car meeting this summer, the build quality looked pretty poor"
Would have to agree. I casually looked at three (good on paper) F/TFs recently when considering a summer soft-top and they don't seem to age well at all. That, coupled with the legendary K series HGF, killed that idea for me.
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where would you go to buy one even if I wanted one?
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You can go to the company website and search on post code:
www.mgmotor.co.uk/
A lot of the dealers seem to be former MG Rover dealers that are still limping along as independents.
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One of the road tests I read praised its driving characteristics even after all these years, but was shocked at the atrocious standard of build on its test car. Bits of trim were literally falling off the thing even with just a couple of thousand miles on the clock. There hardly seems to have been much marketing and promotion of the model either. I would have thought such an iconic brand in its home market would have warranted a major national TV advertising campaign at the very least. I don't think I saw a single ad for the car anywhere, or if I did, it was completely forgettable.
The combination of poor build, the potentially troublesome K-series engine, and the question marks over the future of UK production / support would have made this a purchase for the very brave only. Especially when you could have an MX-5 for the same money, which is unlikely to go wrong in the first place, and if it does, you have an established, committed dealer base to look after you.
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The Skoda dealer in Worcestershire sold them as well as some other make I can't remember - that was the only new one I've seen.
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ISTR that, as a limited edition, it was only available in one nasty yellow/orangey colour too, which can't have helped sales much
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Sadly, i don't think that this was ever going to be a successful venture.
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Friend bought a new MX5 last month - given the design values and superb build quality of the MX5, short of a Z4 what else would you buy ?
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...and what do you do with the ones left over from the limited edition...apparently bling them up and sell them as a "MG TF 85th Anniversary 50-limited edition"
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Did MG's current owners actually want UK production to succeed - or might there be a hidden agenda that we are (by definition) unaware of?
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Well if they did want it to succeed, it can be argued that they didn't try very hard.
However, if they just wanted to sell the land for development, then they could have done so in the first instance. That's what they've done with 90% of the site anyway.
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My memory is hazy on this but did they not give some sort of UK production undertaking as part of their negotiations to buy the company?
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''It is thought production work will not restart until next March, BBC Midlands Today Transport Correspondent, Peter Plisner, said.''
Didn't the company say from the start that production for 2009 was limited in number
and that once done they would stop until March/April 2010?
Not another BBC non-story is it?
Edited by R40 on 22/10/2009 at 19:09
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Perhaps the stories that Pinewood film studios are interested in the site are true. Their ambitious plans to expand the original studio in Buckinghamshire (Project Pinewood) have been turned down by the local planners. Could the current owners of Longbridge be in 'secret' negotiations to offload?
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hi i have driven and had toyota mr2s a mazda mx5 and a test drive in a 2005 demo mg tf and i found the mg a fantastic car its not super fast but it was well built with the new rear glass screen and i found the looks a lot better than an mx5. I know there have been reliability problems in past mgfs but i really think that before mg demised and with bmws help that the tf was a better car.as to the new nanjing mgtf which online road test of the new mg gave it a very good report and with the new n series engine they have sorted the old head gasket problems,the thing is i would buy an mg anytime over a nissen micra a shame i think that mg bought that orange colour out i think it was a big mistake but in blue or the other colours its a good looking car.
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