As a bit of "negative" confirmation, my oldest son while attending the
University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, attended a talk given to
business students by the head of the BMW plant here (Spartanburg, SC).
During the question/answer portion, John (#1son), being a bit of a MG nut
and the owner of a 73 Midget, asked directly if there were any plans to
re-import the MG to the US/North American market. Apparently, the exec.
was somewhat taken aback, but he recovered smoothly and in a 5 minute
disertation (according to John), listed the why's and wherefore's of
selling the MG here. In short the prime reason was they were quite sure
the MG would cut into the sales of the Z3.
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
On Mon, 03 Nov 1997 07:24:38 -0800 Rick Brown <mgrick@ptd.net> writes:
>Mike Hartley wrote:
>>
>> I don't know if this idea has been entertained on the list or not.
>My
>> memory is going as I get older, which worries me since I am only 23.
>> Here is my theory.
>>
>> The MGF is not for sale in the US for one main reason, the BMW Z-3.
>BMW
>> is trying to make a big spash with the Z-3 "roadster". Since BMW
>owns
>> the Rover group, i.e. MG, the MGF would be a direct competitor with
>the
>> BMW. BMW wants to show Porsche and Benz that they can compete in
>the
>> sports car market and they do not need the MGF taking away from
>possible
>> Z-3 sales. For this reason, BMW has chosen to keep the MGF off of
>the
>> US market. But I could be wrong, though it does not happen very
>often
>> (note the hint of sarcasm :)
>>
>> Just my $0.00002 worth.
>>
>> Mike
>Welcome to the list Scott!
>
>I have to agree with Mike - the most plausible reason for the MGF not
>coming to the states is the Z3.
>
>Rick
><http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/9945>
>
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