As you may recall, back in January I mentioned that Deb got a new Cooper S at Christmas. I have a ball on the rare occasions that she lets me drive it. Would you believe that she even hid the extra key? The car goes like stick and corners like a go-kart. But even with the fabled BMW German engineering, it's still a British car. It broke down with less than a thousand miles on the clock. Blew the clutch and the flywheel. No, not from my power shifting, apparently it's not an uncommon problem with the S. Perhaps BMW had some old Triumph pieces left in the parts bin.

Which brings up the point that even the best maintained cars can break down. Our MGs are 25 to 50 years old. Sooner or later something is bound to happen. I've had to do emergency repairs on past road trips. At one of John Twist's summer parties we found out the hard way that a metal radiator will not stand up to a plastic fan spinning at high speed, and on a trip to Road America the steering on the Alpine got a little snakey when the front suspension failed after a bolt fell out. But with the help of fellow club members we were able to affect repairs and continue with the weekend's activities.

If you are apprehensive about taking your MG on one of our longer driving events, just remember that if something breaks, there will be people there to help you out. If you are going to have car problems, can you think of a better time than when you are with a group of fellow MGers. Plenty of help, free advice, both good and bad, and someone to cry in your beer with, as long as you're buying. But we will get you back home.