In <199609171928.PAA04815@cadetmail.uscga.edu>, Brust wrote:
>MG stands for Morris Garages, originally as I understand it a company that
>built and repaired tractors.
>
Well, sort of. But mostly not.
The history of the marque is very well laid out in the book "MG" by
McComb. As a correction, Morris Garages was a branch of Morris Motors
(which was started by William Morris, later Lord Nuffield). The
original purpose of the Garages was service of Morris and other fine
motors. Cecil Kimber went to work for them in the early 20's and
began building "specials" by mounting light bodywork on Morris chassis
(plural). The date of inception of the first real MG is still
debated, but the trademark appears in ads from about 1925. Tractors
were only a small part of the business. If you want to talk tractors,
talk Aston Martin. David Brown first made his fortune building
tractors before buying into that company in 1950.
I cannot recommend "MG" and "Maintaining the Breed" (Thornley) highly
enough. Fascinating reading, very well-written. I'll try to do a
brief review of these when I have some time....
A. B. Bonds
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