MGA

          When it came time to blog about the MGs that were on display at the recent British Car Day show, I went back and searched through past entries, knowing that I had done a little. In fact, I'd written more than I realized on the Morris Garages badged cars.

         Here are a couple of the things I'd written about this line: http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/morris-garages.html and http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/from-dealer-to-manufacturer.html.

          So with the previous blog showcasing some of the many MGBs that showed up for this year's British Car Day, I thought, well, that great car, which was a featured model this year, had to come from somewhere. And it did. It was the replacement for the very successful MGA. Obviously there were a  lot more MGBs at this event but here are the MGAs that were at this year's event. Enjoy.

MGB

          This year's local British Car Day featured two iconic UK rides, the Triumph Spitfire (coming up) and the MGB. I did a blog on the MGB and its history a little earlier (http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/sometimes-b-is-better-than-a.html), not realizing that it would be part of this year's British Car Club event. Still, it's one of those venerable British automobiles that you really can't get too much of.

          Here are some of the nice MGBs that were braving the elements for this event, including one rather unique colored model. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

More From British Car Day

          I was kind of surprised by the turn out at the recent British Car Day show. Yes the weather, with the threat and actual pouring of rain, had a lot to do with it, I'm sure. And while the feature was the 50th anniversary of the MGB and the Triumph Spitfire, I was surprised at the few E Types and Auston Healey models on display. There were a fair number of Midgets and even a classic Saab on hand. But perhaps the most intriguing car I've included here was a 1976 Rolls Royce saloon in less than stellar shape that the owner claims is one of only two in the world. I wasn't able to track down the owner to talk about the car but I've included a couple of pictures. I'm hoping I can find out the story behind this car and pass it along.

British Car Day

          Recently, the annual British Car Day was held around here, sponsored by the local British Car Club. While the main feature was the 50th anniversary of the MGB and the Triumph Spitfire, there were plenty of other British beauties on display despite some questionable weather.

          On the way there we drove through a heavy rain storm and when we arrived, though it was sunny, we learned that the show had been dumped on as well. This kept the shear numbers down but still left plenty of cars to compete in the 34 different classes, not all limited to British cars. With a live band (which is odd because you wouldn't have a dead band playing unless it was fronted by the late Jerry Garcia) adding to the festive atmosphere with some great British Invasion songs, the day turned into a wonderful afternoon in the park.
          Over the next several blogs I'll take a look at some of the MGB and Spitfires that were on display as well as some very early MG cars, the MGA, a couple of great looking MG TD models, the Triumph TR 6 and some various other Triumph models, here are some of the cars that were on display, including a couple of very husky Sunbeams, a DeLorean, a Morgan, a Land Rover Defender, an MG Saloon car and even a chopped MG hot rod.

An Overblown Volkswagon?

            There had been a long standing agreement between Volkswagon and Porsche, and with good reason. The companies have been, in one way or another, linked since their inception.

            So by the time both cars were looking for a new model to release in the late 1960s, the decision was made to make two versions, essentially, of the same car. The cars were to be designed by Porsche and would be mostly identical except for the engine. The Volkswagon model, intended to replace the Karmann Ghia, was to be powered by a flat four cylinder engine while the Porsche, dubbed the 914, stepped up to a flat six.

            As the release of the cars grew closer, Porsche grew nervous about sharing the same body style with a Volkswagon, especially in North America. Ultimately they convinced VW to back off and sold both models, the four and the six, under their own badge.

            Designed as an entry level car and first release in 1969, the 914 was a mix of success and failure. The 914-6, featuring a 2.0 L 110 horse power flat six was pretty much a bust. North American buyers didn’t see the value in stepping into this power plant. They either moved up and paid the price for the more powerful and efficient 911 or, as was more likely the case, the backed off and bought the 914-4 model.

            As the lowest priced Porsche, the 914-4 was essentially a Porsche more in name than in function. The 86 horse power fuel injected 1.7 L flat four engine was, for all practical purposes, the same as a standard Volkswagon air cooled power plant. With a body that didn’t look at all like the iconic 911, the only thing that really identified it as a Porsche was the name plate.

            Slow sales, coupled with rising manufacturing costs, caused the 914-6 version to be curtailed in 1972 after only slightly more than 3300 cars rolled off the assembly line. Porsche purists thought of the 914 as an overpriced VW while the people buying the 914-4 version saw it as their way to get into a sports car brand they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

            Even though the car was the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1970 and with numerous special and limited editions through the first half of that decade, sagging sales and a growing disdain by Porsche purists saw the car replaced in 1976 by the 924 (for further lineage through the 944, check out this blog entry: http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/porsche-got-front-engine-right-944.html).

            While the 914 was essentially a VW and even with the Porsche mystique, didn’t drive much harder than a well-tuned Beetle. Yes, it was deemed not a success but it did open the door of the Porsche brand to a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford it and, in a way, this little roadster can be considered as an early ancestor to the now very popular Boxter.