The 1920s were truly an era of roaring changes and certainly an era of roaring MG cars. But MG is not purely a ‘cool’ name for one of the greatest British sports cars of our time; it is actually an acronym short for the name of the original distributor, Morris Garages Ltd. In 1921, Cecil Kimber joined the production and design team as the manager of sales, and the production of famously customized automobiles. Kimber not only named the car company after his employer William Morris, but he created the first line of coach-built MGs, leaving an everlasting imprint on the company trademark and provided the groundwork for a booming business. These “special” custom cars were dubbed “Morris Garage Chummys.” Shortly after, he created the 14/28 Super Sports model which featured the first and only octagonal logo that is showcased on every MG car ever made.
Sadly, Kimber’s reign as general manager of Morris Garages Limited was short lived as he met an untimely death in the King’s Cross Railway accident on February 4, 1945. However, his efforts as general manager and pioneer of the MG logo and trademark will forever be remembered for making the MG name a sustainably affordable car.
Despite their overall lack of considerable success in this arena, MG has had the competitive racing bug in them since the early 1930s. During this time, MG was dedicated to a racing a series of MG cars such as the 1931 C-Type and the 1934 Q-Type cars, but did not see much success because after MG was merged with Morris Motors, the Competition Department shut down in 1935.
As the company flourished and changed, so did the ownership from 1935 until 2007. From 1935 to 1952, MG was owned by Morris Motors and the Nuffield Organization. Then the British Motor Company Limited had a hand in MG ownership from 1952 to 1968, as did British Leyland Motor Company from 1968 until 1986. The Rover Group had a strikingly short lived run with MG, lasting a mere two years, and leading into owners such as BAe and BMW through the late eighties until the year 2000. The MG Rover Group dabbled with MG ownership for five years and then handed over the company to the Nanjing Automobile Group of Chinawho created a new company, NAC MG UK Limited, and sustained ownership until the company was dissolved in 2010.
Morris Garages Limited holds the title of being a sort of ‘royal favorite.’ Among the long list of famous customers was HRH Prince Charles, who purchased a GT of his own in 1969, which he eventually passed down to Prince William. And the list of royalty dates back even further with the Duke of Edinburg purchasing an MG in August of 1947.
MG boasts a lengthy list of all different types of cars ranging from Sports cars (MG 14/28, MG Midget, MG N-type Magnette, MG F-type Magna and MGB GT V8 to name a few), to subcompact cars like the MG Metro, to Compact cars (small saloons), to Midsize cars (medium saloons), to Full size cars (large saloons), to Supercars, Racing cars, Concept cars and vans.
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