MG must be up there with Jaguar and Rolls Royce in the best-known list of British car manufacturers, and has a global following even today with classic and vintage car enthusiasts.

Before the war, Morris Garages produced a great variety of saloon and sporting cars, all of which are now eagerly sought-after by collectors of pre-war automobiles. Although MG did produce low numbers of closed coupes before WW2, they are perhaps best known for their very popular sportscars, many of which were modified for track use at the Brooklands motor racing circuit. Club racing was also popular, and the MG range of cars lent itself ideally to this popular pursuit.

After the war MG continued producing stylish sporting motorcars, eventually being absorbed into the BMC empire when their saloons became little more than re-worked and re-badged BMC saloons. Fortunately however their sportscars remained MGs through and through, only sharing some chassis and mechanical parts with stodgy Austin and Morris cars from the BMC stable.

The pre-war TC was developed after the war into the TD, and then the TF, by which time (the 1950s) they were getting very long in the tooth. The MGA that came along after the TF was light years away in terms of styling, and brought the sporting arm of MG Cars bang up to date.

Following the successful MGA came the MGB, which now is probably the most popular sporting car in preservation, certainly in the UK. The MGB came out in 1962 and soldiered on, with only minor updates, to the seventies, when, thanks to US safety legislation, the 'B' and Midget suffered the indignity of having the clumsy looking rubber bumpers nailed on fore & aft.

The rubber bumper Midget and MGB featured in BL's sales catalogue for a few more years, finally being pensioned off in the early 1980s by which time they were looking very outdated. The B was never directly replaced, BL concentrating its 'sports car' efforts on the Triumph TR7 instead. Throughout the 1980s the MG badge adorned the plastic grilles of several warmed-over Austin Rover rustbucket saloons and hatchbacks, and did little to honour the famous badge.

In the nineties Rover produced a limited run of MG RV8 roadsters, to remind people that MG was more than a badged-up Metro or Montego, prior to the launch of the 2 seater MGF range. The MGF brought MG back to people's attention, and in revised MGTF form is still in production today, featuring it's novel mid-engine layout and, in some examples, trick variable valve timing.

Throughout the highs and lows of contemporary MG production, classic and vintage examples of this famous British marque continued to be restored and coveted by enthusiasts across the world, leading to the creation of a large support industry that makes running an old MG a fairly painless experience, at least when it comes to finding parts .. paying for them is a different matter sometimes!!

Talking of parts for old MGs, you can advertise things for sale (and Wanted ads for bits you need) over at Classic Wheels, in the free ads section, to read existing ads or place you own just click this link to Classic Wheels. If you're particular interested in the MGB sportscar, this MGB / MGC site may be of interest.