All this is closely related to the Iron Lady Thatcher. During Thatcher's administration, foreign car companies were opened to set up factories in Britain, which promoted the cooperation between British car companies and foreign car companies, and eventually led to the acquisition of all independent car brands in Britain by foreign car companies. The iron lady's wish is to transform the old automobile industry into industrial design. According to her, Britain can have no government, but it can't have no industrial design. Today, with the modularization and platformization of car companies, brand independence is weakening step by step. In case of economic crisis, will Iron Lady become the terminator of British automobile industry?
At least, British car brands did not "lay off employees" after the 2008 financial crisis. Looking at the existing British car brands, we will find that the awareness of each brand is very high, from MINI to Jaguar Land Rover, not to mention Bentley and Rolls-Royce. The MG we are talking about today is also distinctive in civilian models. Mg? B is the only sports car with a single model selling more than 500,000 cars. Mg also has a sports car club with a history of more than 70 years. Even from the beginning of the establishment of MG, it was permeated with rebellious genes.
Cecil, the founder of MG? Kimber (Cecil? Kimber) turned out to be Morris (Morris? Motor? Limited), 1922. At the age of 33, he became the general manager of Morris Motor Company. Morris cars are made by bicycle manufacturer William? Morris (William? Morris) was established in 19 12, and its initial business was automobile sales, maintenance and leasing. 19 14, Morris automobile began to purchase auto parts and assemble its own cars. Later, Morris Motor Company developed into a major automobile company in Britain. In the history of more than 70 years, Morris Automobile, like many British automobile brands, has experienced glory and decline. Leland? Motor? Company? Ltd) was eventually merged by the Austin brand. It is worth mentioning that the brand of Morris Automobile is currently included in SAIC together with MG. Perhaps one day, SAIC will revive this century-old brand.
Photo: Early Morris cars.
Cecil? Kimber is also an avid racing driver. Soon after he became the general manager, he saw an opportunity in the automobile market, that is, he could raise the price by 50% only if it was better than ordinary products 10%. So he set out to build a more sporty car brand, and his concept of "doing nothing" won the behind-the-scenes boss William? Morris was sure that the name MG was taken from Morris? The initials of the garage. MG claimed to release its brand at 1924, and the octagonal LOGO of MG appeared in newspapers in Oxford, England at 1923.
Figure: 1924, the first one based on Morris Oxford (Morris? 14/28 made in Oxford was born.
1924, the first MG- based on Morris Oxford (Morris? 14/28) made in Oxford was born. 14/28 is equipped with an engine with a displacement of 1548cc. The body of 14/28 was made by Cecil? Kimber design, round front is the most classic symbol of 14/28. The earliest 14/28 car still had Morris' LOGO on it, but it was replaced by MG and (Super? The word sports). By the time production stopped in 1927, 14/28 had produced 400 cars.
Photo: The earliest 14/28 car still bears Morris's LOGO, but it has more MG and (Super? The word sports).
1928, MG Company became independent from Morris Company and operated independently. The first MG- 18/80 completely separated from the chassis of Morris automobile was born, and the head of 18/80 was affixed with the octagonal badge of MG. 1929, the M-type that laid the sports pedigree of MG came out. The M-type is equipped with a carburetor four-cylinder engine with overhead camshaft and a three-speed gearbox, with a maximum horsepower of 20Ps at 4000 rpm. The M-shaped chassis was lower than most cars at that time, and the rear suspension was damped by spiral springs. 1930 The maximum horsepower of the modified M-type vehicle was increased to 27Ps, and the gear of the gearbox was upgraded to four-speed, adding a handbrake. 193 1 year, M-shaped doors are made of metal instead of wood. 1932 introduced the high-performance version with the top speed of130km/h. In today's words, the M-type is an out-and-out small steel gun, which was regarded as a magic car as soon as it came out. The price of M-type convertible is increased from 65,438+075 to 65,438+085, and the price of coupe version and high-performance version is divided into 245 and 250. M-type made its mark in many competitions, and also participated in Le Mans of 1930.
Figure: M-type which lays the foundation of MG sports pedigree.
193 1 year, model c developed by mg for sports events came out, 847? The maximum power of cc engine at 6400 rpm can reach 44Ps, and that of model C of 1932 can reach 52Ps. The C-type chassis is specially developed for sports events. There is no door, and the rear of the car is flat. The exhaust pipe extends from one side of the car body to the rear of the car. C-type water tank can only absorb enough air when driving at high speed, and driving at low speed will lead to excessive water temperature. At the same time as Type C, Type D and Type F are low-power versions and six-cylinder versions of Type C.. The D-type adopts the advanced technology of C-type chassis, walking and braking, but it uses the M-type engine, which is more practical than the flat-tailed C-type. But now the original appearance of D-type is rare, and many D-type car owners choose to change their appearance to C-type. Is the behavior of British car fans nearly a hundred years ago very kind today?
Figure: 193 1 year MG? Model C.
Figure: 193 1 year MG? Model C.
Figure: 1932 MG? Type D.
Figure: MG with six-cylinder engine? Type F.
1932 MG born? Type j replaces type c and type d. Type J is divided into three versions: J 1, J2 and JBOY3. J 1 is a four-seater car with the same engine as C. The best-selling J2 is the two-seat version. At that time, the J2, which sold for 199, had a top speed of 132km/h, and was not awarded a mg until 1950s. TF, but J2 has two serious defects, one is that the bearing crankshaft often breaks after long-term use, and the other is that J2 is not equipped with hydraulic brake, resulting in a large brake pedal force. JBOY3 is the racing version of J-type. In order to participate in the 750cc race, the engine displacement was reduced to 746cc and the brake system was upgraded. The six-cylinder version of J-type at the same time is L-type.
Figure: J poster.
The 1930s was the golden age of MG development. According to the speed of changing MG every two years in the 1930s, the 1934 P model was born. There are also six-cylinder versions of N-type, P-type and N-type, which are all larger than the previous J-type and L-type.
Figure: n-type coupe type.
Figure: P-type Coupe model.
1936, MG launched the T-series model. T-series has not substantially changed the previous N-type and P-type, but it was not replaced until 1955 due to the influence of World War II. During the war, MG Company also invested in the production of military products, and the production of civilian vehicles entered a state of suspension. Although after the war broke out, MG's factory quickly turned into wartime production, but because of the brand founder Cecil of MG? Kimber failed to adapt to the company's wartime model and was fired. 1945, Jin Bo died tragically in a railway accident and lost his founder, MG, and his development began to face directional choices.
Figure: 1937? Annual MG-TA.
Photo: MG, the first model MG after World War II? TC .
After World War II, MG resumed the production and manufacture of civil cars. TC is the first model after the war, and it is also the first model sold in large quantities in the United States. 1952, MG was merged into British Automobile Company (BMC), with the new general manager John? Under the leadership of thornley, MG entered the most glorious era. 1955 Frankfurt motor show, MG with MG? Replace the old T-series sports car. Mg? The prototype of A is 195 1 designer George? Philip (George? Philips) TD racing car specially designed for Le Mans, because it uses the chassis of the racing car, MG? A driver's sitting posture will be significantly higher than the hood, resulting in the hardtop roof being much higher than the front of the car. Mg? A early carrying 1489? CC engine, later there is an engine with a compression ratio of 9.9: 1, and the maximum horsepower is as high as 108Ps. However, this engine keeps breaking down and the cylinder often explodes. Later, MG had to reduce the engine power. 1962 when production stopped, MG? A*** sold 10 108 1 vehicle, of which only 5,869 vehicles were sold in Britain, which was the highest proportion of British automobile exports at that time.
Figure: MG? Model a.
Photo: Because of the chassis of the racing car, MG? A the driver's sitting posture will be significantly higher than the front of the car.
Figure: MG? Model a.
1962 MG？ B sports car can be called the peak of MG's 100-year history. With the unique positioning of civilian sports cars, from 1962 to 1980, MG? B has sold more than 500,000 vehicles, which is the only sports car with a single model selling more than 500,000 vehicles so far. Mg? The B body is boldly made of lightweight materials, which can run out of the 0- 1 1s acceleration of 100km/h when the engine has no advantage (except the V8 B series engine equipped with BMC), and the four-seat design brings sufficient interior space, which is particularly popular in North America. Mg? B at that time, the advertisement was: this is a car that your mother doesn't like! Enough to watch MG under British humor? How avant-garde he is. The late MGB? GT？ The V8 is also equipped with Buick's V8 engine.
Figure: MG? B early models.
Figure: MG? Type B.
Photo: Equipped with a Buick 3.5L? V8 engine MGB? GT？ V8 engine.
Figure: MG? B racing car.
But by the mid-1970s, MG, like the whole British automobile industry, had fallen into a trough. In the middle and late 1960s, under the impetus of the government, the British automobile industry underwent the largest reorganization in history. British automobile companies owned by MG, Jaguar and Leland * * established British Leland Company (BL), realizing the unification of national automobile industry except Rolls-Royce. It seems that the future is full of hope, but from that year on, the British automobile industry began to decline. By the end of 1980s, Leland Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the government.
Photo: OEM from Austin? The baron of Montego? Montego.
Figure: used to be MG? Austin sold by Metro brand? Subway.
In the 1980s, the MG brand basically disappeared, except for a few small cars that were modified by other models, and the MG brand was replaced. 1986, British Leland Company sold MG to British Airways and merged with Rover to form Rover Group. 1988, British Airways sold Rover Group to BMW Group after struggling. During the period of belonging to BMW, with the support of BMW technology, MG can pursue the sports genes in its bones more extreme. 1995 Geneva motor show unveiled a mid-mounted rear-drive sports car MG? F is known as one of the best mass-produced sports cars in Britain.
Photo: 1995 middle and rear-drive sports car MG unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show? f .
Photo: MG version of the six generations Civic MG? ZS .
Figure: Five-door version of MG? ZR, that is, domestic MG? 3。
In 2000, BMW sold the Rover Group back to the British Phoenix Consortium. After the Phoenix Consortium took over, it did not let MG and Rover die. During this period, MG's new cars were all renamed products of Rover. Mg? ZR, that is, domestic MG? 3 renamed from Rover 25, MG? ZS is Rover 45, and Rover 45 is Honda's sixth generation Civic. Mg? ZT is the prototype of Rover 75, domestic MG7 and Roewe 750. Starting from 200 1, MG began to return to the track, MG-Lola? EX257 participated in 200 1 24 hours in Le Mans in 2003, MG? ZS is used by manufacturers' teams and private teams to participate in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). In 2004, MG prepared to participate in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM), but only because MG went bankrupt.
Photo: MG Who participated in BTCC? ZS .
Everyone must know the story behind it. Rover Group, which struggled for five years, declared bankruptcy in April 2005, and China Nanqi (Nanjing? Cars? Yes? China) and SAIC participated in the bidding, and finally Nanqi bought the MG? Entity production factory, and promised to invest in the British factory to resume production, to solve the employment problem of 6000 British MG car factory staff. SAIC bought rover? Technical data and production rights of 75 models. However, the trademark of Rover was tightly grasped by BMW, so SAIC had to change the name of Rover 75 to Roewe, while Nanqi gave the MG a Chinese name-MG. At first, the days after SAIC and Nanqi completed the acquisition were not easy. At that time, the models were still using the technology in the early 1990 s, and there were MG? 7 had an argument with Roewe 750 over an intellectual property dispute.
Photo: rover 75, MG? ZT, mg? 7? Roewe 750.
Everyone knows the latter better. When we meet and laugh, we can forget the hatred. In 2007, SAIC merged with Nanqi, completing the largest merger case in China automobile industry. The merged MG seems to really understand the spirit of Thatcher's instructions on industrial design and launch MG? 6、MG？ A variety of avant-garde cars, such as 3, make the MG brand image look brand-new. SAIC doesn't seem to like China's time-honored MG, and only uses two fashionable English letters-MG in the logo of the new car.
Figure: MG? Three models.
Figure: MG? Six models.
At this point, the Rover Group, which was separated from the British Leyland Company, was controlled by two automobile companies in developing countries, namely Tata and SAIC in China. India's Tata mainly produces low-end models in the passenger car field, but holds two high-end brands, Land Rover and Jaguar. SAIC's brands, such as Baojun, Wuling, Roewe and even the upcoming SAIC brand, are positioned higher than Tata, but control the mid-range brand MG. This distribution seems reasonable. The only drawback is that Tata has the trademark of Rover now. If one day Tata revives the Rover brand, I really hope to see SAIC take it easy.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.