MG6 – the most important MG ever?

The most iportant MG of all time? How about:

The MGA, for being the single most significant step forward (from the the MG TF) in their history?

The MGB, for being the MG that every enthusiast and non “car person” would think of first when they hear the initials “MG”?

The MG Metro, for marking the happy return of MG by Austin Rover after the closure of Abingdon?

The MG Maestro EFi, for being the first MG in many years to be properly competitive in its own market sector (even if it was overlooked by the ignorant!)?

The MG RV8, just for being so nice?

The MGF/TF, for being the first new MG 2 seater sports car for decades, designed and built on a shoe string but, despite that, very popular and not that bad?

The most significant MG of all time would have to be one of the above; the MG6 is an irrelevant footnote.

for SAIC, yes, obviously. And for much of the rest of the world, they hope. For the UK, maybe not. If they’re knocking out MGs by the million at Longbridge in 20 years, like Nissan at Washington, then the answer with hindsight would have to be yes for the UK too.

And your next essay question is…?

@ jonathan carling – lol!

@ Ianto:

I think you are right in some of your comments – this is a very IMPORTANT car for the brand, even though I personally do not like it or wish to own one.

What both dyed-in-the-wool MG fantatics and also those who are less biaed have to remember is that MG’s creditability over the past four decades has been average at best. This is down to some of the products that the badge has had to adorn, the marketing strategies for some models, complacency against the competition and of course some of the negativity the brand endured when MG Rover Group collapsed. You can also add in some of the issues that directly relate to the two main MG Clubs and some of their members, who ultimately alienate potential new members to the MG ownership family. There are also some observers who, rightly or wrongly, won’t like the connotations of China influence in its assembly.

The brand is now free of some of the constraints and complacency it endured under British Leyland/Austin Rover Group and MG Rover Group, together with the owners of those companies. However, convincing people to buy the MG6 is going to be a very long drawn out order, not helped by the fact that the British buying public are very unsupportive of its own car industry and prefer engaging in blue chip badge snobbery instead.

The MG6 will show to its Chinese owners whether having a final assembly operation at Longbridge is viable in the long term and also whether the cultural divides between the home market and Western Europe can be blurred, or whether it is ultimately the demands of one continent that dictates the final product for all.

One final note: many comments about the MG6 are very much based on the perceptions of the UK market which may not be reflective of those of other market territories. After all, many people in the UK have ridiculed and berrated the Rover brand for years, which as a genuine Rover enthusiast I have found to be perplexing and hurtful. Yet in mainland Europe in countries such as Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, it was well regarded.