Saturday, March 31

Of Knickers and Modern Gentlemen




Once upon a time - well in the 60s and 70's - one could still roll up in classic MG and hear knicker elastic twang from a distance of over 100 yards. A politically incorrect comment indeed but one that the modern gentleman (all be it secretly) still considers when drooling over the image of the latest edition of a very classic motor.
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Well supported by music from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and against a video wall showing shots of Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace, Nanjing Auto in China this week launched the ''modern gentleman''; the re-launched branding name given to the British Motoring Icon, the MG.
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The two new vehicles are the MG7 saloon and the MG-TF sports car which, General Manager Zhang Xin of Nanjing Auto told Reuters news agency, would be priced at between 180,000 and 400,000 yuan ($23,300 - $51,700; £11,800 - £26,300).
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The state-owned Chinese Nanjing Automobile company bought the assets of collapsed UK firm MG Rover in 2005 following a series of botched recovery attempts in Britain.
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The Chinese plan to produce 200,000 new cars every year and hopes to sell the vehicles around the world and will shortly to open a manufacturing plant in the USA.
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In only six short months the Chinese have built a massive new factory and installed the robots and assembly lines they bought from the collapsed British company. The cars have apparently not changed much, right down to the Union flag, which is still displayed proudly on their bodywork.
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So there we have it, the classic very British MG brand lives on, all be it in the form of the '' Modern Gentleman'' thanks to modern communist Chinese's entreprunarial skills.
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The tragedy is that modern Britain, with all its politically correct thinking, was incapable of achieving what modern China with all its continuing abuse of human rights has demonstrated it can do with ease. One must, begrudgingly, be grateful that knickers elastic will continue to twang around the world at the sight of the traditional
Modern Gentleman; all be it Chinese style.
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Left, flashback to the '70s. Right - Sophie -a Rover 75 in 2005.

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