I bought my first MGB in college not because of a local following or for
friendship but because I thought it was a a pretty neat and unique car.
Granted, I was introduced to the world of LBCs by a friend and after a
while, all my friends seemed to have either a MG or a Triumph.
My son has developed an interest too and has a 65 MGB which stands out at
school and is well received. But there is a general decline in the car
hobby to be sure - it is a rare sight to see any car at his school that has
chrome on it (95% of the kids drive these new plastic cars that all look
alike). During my day, kids drove old cars as a rule and made them stand out.
His school does have an automotive section which is quite popular. Much to
my surprise, his one class is going to concentrate on manual transmissions
rather than automatics first.
I see the interest is there and could easily one day explode should the
right fad come along, much like the British fads of the 60s (like the
British car invasion, the British blues invasion, etc). Had the Austin
Powers movies series been done right, the British car fad might have
started all over again.
I was on my British kick just a few weeks ago when we had the first of an
annual blues festival in town, this one headlined by John Mayall and the
Bluesbreakers, an unknown in these parts but a giant from the 60s British
music scene. I just think it could all easily happen again some day.
David Councill
67 BGT
72 B
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