Regarding the new adverts for MG that are appearing on telly and on their web site, they have made a big deal about trying to get to people who fell in love with the brand many many years ago through the likes of MGA's and B's and even before that, but not a lot has been mentioned about cars built since then, and the Zeds appear to have been removed from the history completely.

Talking to my dealer yesterday, we were in agreement that this is the wrong direction to take. Apparently they have had a few veteran MG owners come to their showroom, but they aren't impressed with the new models, in much the same way as they weren't impressed with the Zeds. For MG to start selling cars in greater numbers, its the Zed owners in particular who need to be catered for because they'll have the money in their pockets to buy new motors, as well as the need to. The veterans are, by and large, probably retired people who are very happy with their ancient MGB GT's and Midgets and the like, and only use them for days out.

Are you sure that the adverts aren't aimed at Zed owners who have grown up a bit? Just because they don't feature a Zed doesn't mean their owners aren't the target...

"veteran MG owners come to their showroom" - At least the adverts are bringing people in, even if they are not all the right ones.

The adverts seem to have run for longer than I remember any MG-Rover era adverts running?

I agree that there's more adverts than when MG-Rover were in charge. The thing is this, talking to my dearler on saturday, he said that they have brought veteran MG owners in and they all have a great day and they drink the garages tea and eat their biscuits and then say that the new MG isn't as good as their Midget/MGA/MGB-GT etc, so they leave the showroom having had no intention of buying the said car anyway.

At the same time, I detect a bit of resentment from some Zed owners because they feel like they have been whitewashed out of MG's history. These are the people who will buy the new MG's, me included, so alienating those people is hardly a good strategy. I'm not saying that it should all be about the Zeds, just that they should at least be shown to have had a presence.

Was watching ITV4 tonight, hoping to see an MG advert featuring a ZED...

Saw this advert, OK it's not a ZED, or even an MG, but it's closer than an MGB



Can't believe those "zero emmission" Isle of Man TT bikes were passing the speed trap at 140mph!

Dynamo wrote:I agree that there's more adverts than when MG-Rover were in charge. The thing is this, talking to my dearler on saturday, he said that they have brought veteran MG owners in and they all have a great day and they drink the garages tea and eat their biscuits and then say that the new MG isn't as good as their Midget/MGA/MGB-GT etc, so they leave the showroom having had no intention of buying the said car anyway.

For the MG6 I was a passenger in for a test drive, sitting next to me was an older gent, and the prospect was his dad - who has one of the new TFs but is looking for something more practical.

It's funny though, speaking personally, I am unusual (dear diary!) in not seeing the MGB as an archetypal MG...

patpending wrote:For the MG6 I was a passenger in for a test drive, sitting next to me was an older gent, and the prospect was his dad - who has one of the new TFs but is looking for something more practical.

So this guy has a pretty modern MG compared to the MGA/MGB-GT etc owners? I'd put this guy in the same bracket as the Zed owners who are being written out of the history at the moment. There's no TF's in the adverts, though there is an F.

Dynamo wrote:

patpending wrote:For the MG6 I was a passenger in for a test drive, sitting next to me was an older gent, and the prospect was his dad - who has one of the new TFs but is looking for something more practical.

So this guy has a pretty modern MG compared to the MGA/MGB-GT etc owners? I'd put this guy in the same bracket as the Zed owners who are being written out of the history at the moment. There's no TF's in the adverts, though there is an F.

I can only assume that all cars from the MG Rover days are being overlooked due to being perceived as a failure.

Roverman wrote:

I can only assume that all cars from the MG Rover days are being overlooked due to being perceived as a failure.

I have two friends, both women, who have bought ZR's in the past couple of weeks. Neither knew that I owned one and they both think the cars are gorgeous. Its a shame that MG seem to think that these cars are failures, if indeed they do, because a heck of a lot of people love them, including people who have ownded them for a lot of years as well as people who they are new to.

patpending wrote: It's funny though, speaking personally, I am unusual (dear diary!) in not seeing the MGB as an archetypal MG...

No, nothing wrong with that. I own a 1966 MGB GT, but to be honest given the choice between that or a decent ZA/ZB or 1300 from the same era, I know which I would rather have. To me, the MG has never been about two-seater soft-top sportscars, rather it's been about affordable performance without the image that the Ford or Vauxhall products always had. Whether it's a saloon, hatch, tourer, or sports car, MG build cars that handle; Safety Fast.

I am bit perturbed by the reactions, particularly on forums like the MGF register and MGOC where it seems there is a complete hatred of the new 6. Unless it's a two-seater no one seems interested. People just don't seem to get that MG is trying to rebuild itself in the UK and the relaunched TF was a dismal sales failure, so why should SAIC even bother with a UK sales operation. They need volume sellers and the pace will pick up with the new 3 next year, and then maybe, we'll see a new two-seater, especially when they open up in the heritage territories like Australia and South Africa and there is demand and justification for a new sports car. But until then, perhaps these people slamming the 6 should remember that it will be those buying the new 6 that will ensure a possible future sports car for them to buy, so it might behove them to be a little less negative about it.

But as per others here, I am also a little miffed at how they seem to have consigned the recent history to the rubbish bin. They've cut out Xpart, there's no continuity. The first new MG in 16 years? When I pushed on Facebook for answer saying that the MG6 is not all new, it's based on the Roewe 550, and had they forgotten the SV, the response I got was that the 550 hasn't been sold in the UK so therefore the 6 is all new? I guess by harking back to the F they are attempting to hark back to the BMW era rather than the Phoenix4 period. I don't think it will do them any favours as this is the target audience that needs to buying into the new 6.

MartinZT wrote:When I pushed on Facebook for answer saying that the MG6 is not all new, it's based on the Roewe 550, and had they forgotten the SV, the response I got was that the 550 hasn't been sold in the UK so therefore the 6 is all new?

I don't see the MG6 as being based on the 550, they are just different versions of the same car. The 550 was put on sale first but I'm not sure which was the first design - the MG6 looks a bit more like the W2 concept car than the 550 does. I think the 550 only arrived first because with the 750 not selling in high numbers, Roewe needed a second model.


W2 Concept Car

MartinZT wrote:They've cut out Xpart, there's no continuity.

As I understand it the P4/5 sold the rights to the parts to xpart to raise emergency cash and the deal is costly. Presumably there is more money in it for MG with Multipart. If I stop hitting my head against the wall, that's a lack of continuity too, but not a bad one...

I keep forgetting the SV and I don't see the 550 as mainly an MG, even if it has been available as such for around a year... (this is a matter of labelling as 550 and MG6 appear to be essentially the same car)