Monday, April 30, 2012

An MGB owner's view of the new MG Icon

THIS unusual offering is being hyped as the hottest new automotive offering at this week's Beijing Motorshow - but in terms of style it's straight from the Sixties.

The MG Icon might look like a sporty, small off-roader in the vein of say, Nissan's Juke but the concept car's British designer reckons it pays tribute to MG's sports cars of the Fifties and Sixties, particularly the MGB GT coupe which would have been a familiar sight on Britain's roads after its introduction in 1966.

Anthony Williams-Kenny, MG's chief designer, said: "The MG brand has a unique set of values and heritage and allows us to offer individual design values to our products. The MG Icon represents our vision of a modern MG and we feel that the small SUV canvas demonstrates MG’s capacity for progressive design with respect for its long heritage. "We have balanced familiar brand cues, such as the wide and powerful front end graphic interpretation and, as one would expect, with a strong focus on the unique MG octagon.

The MG Icon clearly demonstrates a progressive and soulful British spirit and has a lithe and powerful stance – its proportion harmonised by feature lines interpreted from MG’s iconic greats."


The car has already won an award for Best Concept from the Beijing show's organisers but as an owner of one of the original MG BGTs from the early Seventies I'm not so sure; details like the way the lights sit on top of the rear wings worked well on the crisp coupe, but on the Icon they look a little bloated and out of place, while the rest of the car seems dominated by the enormous rear wheelarches.

It's certainly challenging but it does at least doff its cap to the company's heritage, and is more obviously a descendant of MGs of old than the MG6 and the soon-to-arrive MG5 are.

Share your motoring stories with David Simister by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Miner Threat A/FX 426 wedge






A hood scoop on top of a hood scoop, remind anyone of the Jeff Foxworthy redneck joke about tv sets?


 whatever the Ford equivalent of the Mercury Comet Cylcone was, this is it. Fairlane I suppose



Super Gas 440 Barracuda, with a wicked little monster hidden in the grill airbrushing






For every object, there is a collector... this guy is hooked on vintage street lights

found on http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/vintage-streetlight-collection.html via http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com

Joe Maurath's collection focuses on streetlights and insulators, but he's also got high voltage signs, switches, and police call boxes. Movie companies rent them from time to time to use in period films. http://www.vintagestreetlights.com/  and click on My Collection (5th link on the left down) but the photos are small and about useless to see the collection. A few photos of sinle lights are allright. 

Ho-Tyes from San Gabriel Valley (SGV) gasser was at the Mopars at the Strip 2012 event, great paint work on the side panels




 I love the con rods used as fuel tank brackets. That is bitchin


 late 1960's early 1970's paintwork I think, awesome style and paint fades. Makes me miss the 1970's!
 the outlined panel pinstriping, wasn't that a cool touch!?!

http://ho-tyes.com/index.html for the website of this car club
If anyone knows what the hell Ho-tyes means, I'd like to know

Monowheel circa 1952, photos by Dean Loomis. WW2 was just over, and anything was possible










These were all photographed for Life magazine, as this was being prepped to get to a motorshow in 1952. Sleuths who try to figure out where, would need to look for a Bob's Speedo Service and a Hancock gas station in 1952.

Found on http://interweb3000.blogspot.com/2012/02/vintage-monowheel.html
via http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com

The monowheels in Men In Black 3 look a lot like this one http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/03/men-in-black-3-mib3-is-going-to-be.html

Pouncing Poncho, A/FX drag racer was at the Mopars at the Strip 2012 event


 love the mooneyes decals

New Cafe Racer Society blogspot always has cool stuff, here's just a sample of recent posts

 this guy above should be given a medal for being an inspiration to make the thing you want when no one sells one. Take a Vespa, use it to power a watercraft. Brilliant, and fuel efficient I bet. When you get to the otherside of the water, dismount the scooter and use it to get around, then return to find no one has stolen your watercraft cause no one can figure out how!
 how to make an innertube tire, and why

 Above: in the words of Jack Benny "Now that's just silly"

 Awesome useful art


"damn" and "it". My hat is off to it's creative maker!





For a lot more cool motorcycle related stuff: http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com