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About Me
My work has appeared in a number of major publications either as writer, photographer, or source. I enjoy talking about all things automotive. Recent Posts
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CarSpace Hudson's BlogAll around the car world there are stories and these are just a few of them. A new blog is posted every Monday. Sometimes more often. Feb 1, 2008 - Me and My MGsOne of my first Matchbox models was an MG 1100. There was something about that little green four-door MG model that made a connection between me and MG. I bought my first MG over twenty years ago, and I still own it. MGs were never known for their reliability or value. But they have always supplied the image of driving fun. It's that image that keeps me going with my car since it has not been licensed in the past 17 years. But I keep the plan alive to get it back on the road "by next summer." When Rover revived the MG brand in the early 1990s, I was so excited. "Perhaps MG could return to the US," I thought. Maybe I could work for MG USA when the factory initiated an import office! My brand had returned from the grave! The MG RV8 was a (nicely) warmed-over MGB, which itself had been out of production for 12 years. The body panels for the MGB had returned to production for use in restoration projects so it was relatively easy for Rover to build a "new" MGB. Power came from the fuel-injected aluminum-block V8 engine borrowed from the Land Rover brand; the V8 had seen use in the MGB but only in the GT coupes and only in limited production in the early 1970s. And the interior was brought into the 20th century as well. The RV8 was a nice transition from the old MG to a new, reborn MG brand. Rover's new mechanicals provided the basis for the new roadster. Since all production Rover cars were front-wheel drive and traditional sports cars were rear-wheel drive, Rover placed the drivetrain from its little cars in the rear of the new MG's platform. A Honda transmission put the power of Rover's updated (with variable camshaft timing) K-Series four-cylinder engine to the road. And the styling remained tracable to the MGB/C and Midget...the last of the "true" MG models. BMW took over Rover in the early 1990s and gave the company the money to continue living. With an Anglophile (Bernd Pischetsrieder) at the head of BMW, British car brands seemed to be due for a resurrection. As the century drew to a close, BMW was growing weary of the boat anchor that was Rover, so it was sold. A group of Brits took over the company for $14 (10 pounds), which included a $1 billion interest-free loan from BMW. What didn't come with the company was ownership of the name Rover, mainly because Land Rover was sold off separately. The new company prepared for a time when the Rover name would be unusable (the new owners had free use as long as they didn't produce an SUV under that brand) and named the new company MG Rover. MG versions of the Rover products were introduced, nearly doubling the lineup. Once again, my heart soared! MG's coming back! Perhaps they need help marketing the MG TF (an updated version of the MGF introduced almost a decade earlier) in the US! But my enthusiasm was, again, short-lived. MG Rover closed up shop in 2005. Assets of the company were transferred to Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) and Nanjing in China. The two companies argued over which one owned which parts while they both prepared to launch versions of the Rover 75 sedan. BMW sold the Rover name to Ford, owner of Land Rover, and since BMW already owned most of the traditional Rover brand names (including Mini, Austin, Triumph, and others), MG Rover only had the MG name within its rights. Nanjing claimed ownership of "MG" and badged its sedan as the MG7. SAIC needed to launch its own brand for its 750e sedan and christened it "Roewe" (sounding quite a bit like "wrong way"). Nanjing announced to the world that they would bring the MG brand back to the automotive market. Grand plans were shown including reopening the Longbridge plant in England and opening a new plant in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Nobody outside of Nanjing believed these plans and, late last year, Nanjing was absorbed by the much larger SAIC. While the Longbridge plant is still part of the deal, the "to-be-established" US plant was off the table. Now with all of the legal scuffling cleaned up, SAIC can relaunch the MG brand. Am I waiting to work for MG now? No. Am I waiting to put my name on the list to get a new MG? Not yet. Do I hope MG is successful? Yes, I do. I would like to see a return of a British-built MG...and especially one that can be purchased in the US. But I'm not placing bets as to when (or if) this will occur. Unlike my nature, I'm ever optimistic that it will happen...sometime.
Dec 31, 2007 - New Year's ResolutionsEach New Year's Day, we resolve to change things in the coming 12 months. With an additional day in the coming year, I'm breaking with tradition and sharing some of my automotive-related resolutions for 2008. I resolve to: Attend more car shows. In 2007, too many other things came up and prevented me from attending the car shows that I had planned to see. In addition to my usual rounds, I hope to find a new car show or cruise night here and there. If anyone has any good ones in Southeastern Pennsylvania (let's say from Chambersburg to the Poconos), drop me a line. Compete in more autocrosses. After I get the struts changed on the Suzuki, I hope to best last year's count of ONE autocross. And, with a better suspension, I hope to best my initial outing by beating more than one other driver (I finished 8th out of 10, but one did not complete a single lap). Work on my vehicles. With the fleet now numbering THREE vehicles not on the road (four if you count the Suzuki awaiting strut replacement surgery), I hope to get one of them running this year. The MG sits there pining to take to the open road. The Moto Guzzi moped sits in the corner like a neglected toy. And the newest edition, the Ford Ranger, is ready for the modifications I plan to give it. Lots of work and only 366 days to do it. Write more. I have one article due to my publisher in February but I want to finish two or three more by the time next New Year's Eve approaches. I hope to have a regular non-automotive writing gig this year as well. And I would love to get started on any of the longer-form writing projects (a couple of books, a few screenplays, etc) I've discussed over the years...perhaps this will be the year for it! Volunteer at the local car musuem. I've talked about it for years. But I need to just open up time in my schedule and accomplish this task. They need the assistance and I'd like to offer my time, but there never seems to be enough time in the day...week....month. Start and finish my documentary. Another one of those projects that has been on the back-burner for far too long. Sources for projects like this are not getting any younger. And neither am I. If you've got resolutions like this, let me know. Please let me know that I'm not alone in this sort of procrastination. We'll work on it together and encourage each other to get each task behind us...so we can find new tasks for 2009 and beyond! Happy New Year to all!
Aug 6, 2007 - Should They Stay or Should They Go?On one automotive forum that I frequent, there is a discussion of which car brands should be the next to leave the US market. Poster after poster lists their choices and the reasons why they believe each should no longer sell their wares in the US. Most of the opinions are based on biases formed from personal experiences with these brands…some of which are quite out-dated. But it’s an interesting discussion. My opinion, as a car fanatic, is that more is better than less. I’m an American and proud of it. I wish American manufacturers were not losing market share to the imports, but it’s not, in my opinion, completely undeserved. But I would not want any brands to go away to simply save a domestic brand name (domestic jobs, however, are another topic for another time). With the Chinese brands knocking at the door, this discussion takes on added fervor. Many of the people involved in this discussion believe that the Chinese are the next wave of automotive competition to beat up the American companies, and I have to agree. Where the Japanese were laughed at just 40 years ago, today they’re among the most admired automotive manufacturers in the world. The Korean brands were in the same boat just 25 years ago and today Hyundai and Kia are respectable names in many parts of the world. Along with a few Indian companies, Chinese companies are looking to the US for market expansion. Many people have heard of Chery since they have been in the news for the past few years while they prepare to enter the US market. Today, Chrysler is working with Chery to produce an entry-level Dodge product for the US market. And Chery will take what they learn from Chrysler to become a global brand on their own. There’s also Nanjing and Shanghai and Great Wall and Geely and a dozen others that are looking across the Pacific. Nanjing owns the MG brand and will, most likely, use that name in its global expansion. Shanghai has been working with Volkswagen and General Motors for a number of years to increase their hold on the Chinese market, but exports aren’t too far away especially since they bought out the Rover side of the former MG Rover company, but need to establish their own brand name (they’re currently using Roewe, almost pronounced “wrong way”) since the Rover name did not come with the package. Great Wall has light trucks and Geely has economy cars and both have eyes on the US market. Brilliance and Wuling and Landwind could be in the next wave as well. But, from what I’ve seen, none of these companies are ready for the US market quite yet. The Japanese entered the US market with cars too small for American tastes but quickly tailored their products with US buyers in mind…and raised their quality to class-leading levels. The Koreans learned from the mistakes made by the Japanese and brought true entry-level product to the US. Although they made their own mistakes along the way, they were competitive players in just over 25 years from producing their first car (the Japanese took about 40 years. The Chinese seem like they’re on the 20 year plan, which would bring them to a competitive nature in just a few more years. Once in a while, one of my cars impresses someone. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s a nice feeling that someone likes your choice of car. The only person who really matters about my choice of car is me. And that’s how it should be with everyone’s choice. The fact that I don’t care for a single guy buying a Ford SuperDuty just to commute to his office doesn’t matter as long as the owner of that big pickup likes his choice. This laissez faire attitude should extend to brand names as well. If Isuzu finds enough buyers for their products, more power to them…it’s a capitalist marketplace. Not too many would be sad to see Isuzu (or Mitsubishi or Suzuki or Buick or Mercury or…) go, but the reduction in choice would be a sad thing. So here’s hoping that we see a return of Alfa Romeo (discussed for a year or two from now), Citroen and Peugeot (oft-rumored), Fiat, and MG. Perhaps then the Americans can bring back Duesenberg and Packard and Stutz and AMC and Edsel and… Okay, maybe I've gone a bit too far.
Jul 30, 2007 - Me, My Father, and My MGOne late December afternoon, my friend and I were driving around rural Bedford County Pennsylvania. It was winter break from college and we were exploring. We were driving on roads I was vaguely familiar with since my summer job working with PennDOT. And this was a particularly out-of-the-way region of the county. We passed under an old brick railroad overpass and emerged to find a nice little house situated there. Aside from it being an older home with a little porch out front and a garage out back, I don’t recall too many details about it. I do, however, remember the little car parked in the yard right next to the road. Snow covered the faded orange MG Midget. The body had some rust, but was in good condition. The roof had a hole about 18 inches across where snow could cover the vinyl seats. The inspection sticker expired a year earlier and the useless rear window sported a University of Miami sticker. It was love at first sight. “It needs me,” was my first thought. But I was just a poor college student. A few months later, school was over for the year and I was working in a local quarry. My bank account sported a positive balance in the triple digits. And my mind returned to that house next to the railroad tracks in Everett. I had to find it. I retraced my steps and found the MG just as before, but this time without the snow. The home owner told me the whole story of the car. Mr Ritchey’s daughter had purchased this car and used it for a few years. She parked it in the yard and there it sat for years. A gentleman purchased the car for $400 but could not drive it away. Another failed attempt to take it left the car as an oversized lawn ornament in Mr Ritchey’s property. Until I arrived. I was given the name and address of the car’s owner and I promptly contacted him. My letter, in my best legal-ese, stated the current state of affairs. This poor car had been left at Mr Ritchey’s house and was the responsibility of the new owner. Mr Ritchey, as I so eloquently wrote, could have the car removed at the new owner’s expense. And I felt that it was in his best interest to sell it to me for $250; a $150 loss to him. My letter was mailed on Monday. On Friday of that week, the owner of the car called me. He had moved away from the address I was given and the US Postal Service had taken all of three days to find him. He accepted my offer with no conditions. We planned to meet the very next day. All of this planning had been made without the knowledge of my parents. I was old enough to buy a car, but I didn’t think my parents would appreciate this project car darkening their doorstep. Just as I was planning to make the roadtrip out to buy the car, I told my mother. Since I didn’t have a checking account, she took my $250 and wrote a check for the same amount. And, against her better judgement, she sent me on my way. The following Tuesday, I had planned on having the car delivered to my friend’s house where I would work on it. That afternoon, my mother called me at work to request that I tell my father about the car. Let me back up a step or two. My father was a powerful man. He stood only about 5’10 but his rounded chest hid his 220-pound heft. He experienced many ups and downs to that point from plucking chickens for a living to his position as Captain of the State Police. I learned much from his past experiences and I tried to show my maturity by demonstrating that I’ve listened to (and heard) all of his stories and warnings. But my father was not a car person and only tolerated my love of all things automotive. I called Dad. I explained that I had purchased a car and that I wanted to have it brought home. He immediately went into defensive position. What did I pay for it? How could he complain about a $250 car that I had an MG expert look at? Did I have a notary sign the proper documents? Yes…the seller and I found a notary and that’s where the money changed hands. How was I getting the car moved there and how much did I pay for it? I hired a rollback truck to haul the car about 10 miles for $10 (this still astounds even me). He had no more questions. He said, “bring it home.” And so I did. I arrived just seconds before the car. My father walked out of the house with his stern look of disapproval. I had nothing but a shi---, er, crap-eating smile on my face. The poor little car was off-loaded and parked in front of the house. And then my father took charge. He moved the car to the backyard. We immediately put it up on cinderblocks and took off the tires. We surveyed the car to find out what our next steps should be. We removed a wasp’s nest. We removed the old carpeting and seats. Replaced the battery and transmission. Replace a burned valve. Replaced the carpeting and various other old pieces. We eventually got it running. Those moments working on or driving that car with my father will always stay with me. My father passed away a number of years ago but I still have that car. The car still talks to me just like it did when I first saw it that December afternoon. It yells from its shed (which itself cost a few times more than all of the money I’ve put into the car) to take it out and drive it around. It’s currently on its third “restoration” since I’ve owned it. And I plan to drive it around in memory of my father. While it was my first car, it was his last. If you see a faded orange MG puttering around with its driver smiling ear-to-ear, give me a thumb’s up!
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