MG might live on; let it die already

There are reports that MG might be bought by Chapman Automotive Limited who would ditch the mostly Honda-derived sedans, hatches and wagons but continue with the TF roadster.

Over at Autoblog, one commenter said:

a Retro Model would be a nice addition.
Thats where MG left off here in the US.
If MG could pull a design off thats similar to the MGB and still maintain a modern look and feel all at the same time, (as Ford has so successfully done with the Mustang), it would be a hit here in the US.

to which another replied:

They make that car. It's called a Mazda Miata, and it has been on sale here since 1990. Only it is much more reliable than any British Leyland car was(my dad had a Triumph TR6). :p

Actually, they made that car in the mid 90s. It was called the RV8 and on the whole it was a rather pointless exercise. Only 2000 were made and only in right-hand drive for the UK market. Most ended up in Japan where the fashion for extreme retro was in full swing. Due to the Japanese tax and rego system, many are available now in Australia. It was a rCynical Marketing Exercise because they were priced above what was affordable and they a determinedly retro car for determinedly retro buyers.

If Chapman Automotive buy the tooling for the TF and continue building it, it will go the way of the MGB - it will become an anacronism, a car that wasn't really at the forefront of anything when it was new and a car that was made for too long after it's use-by date. A car for those amongst us who are nostalgic for a time when MGs were honest little sporty cars that were basically a big mecano set with bodgy electrics.

Sad, really. Someone needs to write a book: MG: How to bank on the goodwill of 50 years and run a company in to the ground through mismanagement. And how to do it twice.

And, really, if you want an MG, just get a B and be done with it. Or, get an MX-5 and live in the smug knowledge that it's a 200% better car, if only 50% an MG.

Lest I be accused of being an MG-hater, I had one; I loved it. At the moment though, I'm thinking Triumph Stag. 4 seats, V8 and deeply, deeply flawed. What more could you ask for?