Whenever I go to an MG show, I am struck by two apparently contradictory things. On the one hand you see any number of people who might otherwise never meet socially, but who have been brought together by a common interest in the marque – sometimes of just a single model. On the other hand, closer inspection of those cars show just how different and individual the owners can be.

By and large, everyone gets along amicably – the concours contestant and the tinkerer, the racer and the weekend polisher all respecting each other's viewpoint. It is a similar situation with MG Enthusiast readers, each of whom will find that some features dovetail with their preferences more than others, but most of whom also enjoy reading about MGs from outside their comfort zone.

I feel that this is as it should be, but every now and again I get a letter that really makes me scratch my head. I got one recently from a reader in Australia with reference to a couple of customised cars that we had featured in a sister title to MGE, upbraiding me for including what he termed hot rods and threatening to stop buying the magazine if I featured such cars again.

I've had similar comments in the past regarding MGs, though thankfully only very rarely, (most memorably when we dared to feature the Spridgets that were rebodied by Innocenti in Italy). Now, the reader in question is perfectly entitled not to like hot rods, but what really knocked me back was when I explained to him how we try and embrace all sectors of the movement, only to receive the following reply: ‘As president of an historic car club and an historic truck and tractor club, I can assure you that neither of those vehicles would be accepted. While I understand your commercial decision to have these types of vehicles in your magazine, I cannot agree that they belong there.  As a result I will be cancelling my order tomorrow. I wish you success for the future.’

My problem with this reply is that including such cars is not about commercial decisions, in fact far from it. Instead it is about celebrating the rich tapestry that makes up our movement. Clubs in the UK found out the hard way many years ago that the movement benefited from welcoming anybody with an interest in (and enthusiasm for) our cars. Frankly, I’m amazed there are still people who want to ostracise this or that sector rather than embrace the variety. 

Simon Goldsworthy
Editor

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