The Steering Column
From your Co-chairmen

Jim Evans'
Left Hand Drive

There’s a guy in my neighborhood who has what I believe is a “Dune Buggy”. You probably all remember these from the 60’s, especially from the teenage beach party type movies – made from a Volkswagen chassis and running gear with a roadster type, open cockpit kit body. I’m uncertain of its identity because they were never too popular here in the Midwest and also because I have never seen it parked in the neighborhood. I have never seen it at a local car show or cruise night. I have never seen it at parked at a local strip mall or municipal lot. I have never seen it at curbside or in an open garage. Actually, the only time I have ever seen it over many years is on the occasional summer evening when it cruises past my house at a sedate low speed. Put-put-put. The sound of the VW engine is unmistakable – I look out the window and see the usual: the owner in front, with a couple of kids (or perhaps an adult and a few kids) in the back. Put-put-put. He circles the area and is back in a few minutes. Put-put-put. I have never seen a wife next to him in the front seat, and it occurs to me that this person equates his hobby car with an amusement park ride. Put-put-put. Take the neighbor’s kids around the block and put it away for a few more weeks. Put-put-put.
I recently had the opportunity to take a close look at a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible that has apparently been in a time warp for 30 years as it only has 7,000 miles on the odometer. The owner had a ready supply of waxes, polishes, and rags at hand. He said bought the car to compete in shows. He kept wiping the car as I walked around it – I had the nagging thought that he was wiping the area where my shadow had touched his car. He doesn’t drive it much, to keep the odometer down. I wonder if he ever just takes it for a ride with the top down for fun. It occurs to me that this person equates his hobby car with an investment of some type, perhaps fine art.
I also had the chance recently to check out a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker. Straight 8, fluid drive, and suicide doors. Remember the rope across the back seat and the sunshade over the windshield? The owner recently invested enough in paint, interior and power train to buy a new Chrysler Sebring convertible. He told me that he really enjoyed driving this old car, and that it was like the cars that his parents and neighbors had as a kid, and that he really liked pulling in to the local Dairy Queen with it. I admired his motivation to preserve this delightful old car while numerous Honda Civics screamed past us on North Avenue. It occurs to me that he seems to enjoy driving this car as it was meant to be driven when produced, with no further expectations.
This club has been successful for many years because of a carefully measured recipe of technical, driving and social events that appeal to all types of member interests. A common comment in staff planning meetings is that the “rally crowd” is different from the “autocross crowd”, and likewise from the “tour” or “technical” or “social” crowds. Sometimes that seems to be the case, but I wonder if it needs to be that way. Do you regard you car as only fitting one of those areas? Have you tried competitive driving events? Tours? Rallys? Technical sessions? If you have restricted yourself to one category only you are missing a lot of MG fun. Check the upcoming calendar of events and consider trying a new type of event – after all, MG’s were designed to be versatile sports cars and you may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome of your experiment.
Safety Fast!   Jim Evans