[TR] MG vs. Triumph

[John A. Wise]

I have owned a 60 TR3A (65-67), a 58 MGA (69-82), 79 MG Midget (86-94), 80 MGB
(94-99),and my current 60 TR3A (04-present)!   In between, I have owned a
240Z, a Porsche 924, and my current 911.  I have completely enjoyed the MGs,
TRs, and others.  All have their charms and are infinitely better than
American iron.

Because of this craziness (it might be genetic) my son owns an 80 MGB & my
daughter is currently looking for an MGB.  :-)

John

John A. Wise
Glendale, AZ

1960 Triumph TR3A
Commission No: TS80422L
http://members.cox.net/60tr3a/
http://www.triumphowners.com/876

1977 Porsche 911S
http://members.cox.net/porsche911s/



On  23 Jan, 2010, at 6:54 PM, Joe Curry wrote:

> I saw this in Sept 09 Automobiles Magazine and thought I'd share:
>
> "You can be forgiven if the names don't mean anything to you.  One is a
pair
> of initials currently being slapped on Chinese-built Rover sedans; the
other
> is a word usually used to reference old, oil-leaking motorcycles.  Neither
> has appeared on a new car in this country in more than twenty-five years,
> but once, both were household names.
>
> In the decades following WWII, British Marques MG and Triumph essentially
> created the stateside market for the low-cost, high-fun roadster.  By
> packaging pedestrian sedan components into rakish, droptop bodies, they
> introduced thousands of people to the joys of cornering and all but
invented
> the wind-in-hair grin.  And while the two companies battled each other in
> grand style at places like LeMans and the N|rburgring, the real contest
took
> place in showrooms.
>
> It came down to a difference in personality: Triumph were raucous, snarly
> little things, all torque and attitude, while MGs were more refined, often
> slower, but usually better built.  The dichotomy regularly carried over
into
> ownership: According to lore, MG people wore string-back driving gloves and
> saw Triumph jocks as hairy-eared brutes; Triumph people ate raw meat and
> thought driving gloves were for dandy fops who drank light beer through a
> straw.  Charmingly, each side was to be secretly in love with each other.
>
> MG and Triumph faded out of the U.S. market in the early 80's, victims of
> corporate avarice and terminal mismanagement.  Triumph later went belly-up;
> MG, although still technically alive, has spent the past two decades on
> badge-engineered life support.  All told, it was an ignominious end to one
> of the automotive industries more likable duels."
>
> Sam Smith
>
> Cheers,
> Joe Curry
>
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