PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed until 1st April 2010 - and don't feed it after midday!
SAIC MOTOR LAUNCH NEW MODEL - THE MG2½
In the wake of exciting new developments from SAIC Motor, MGUK.org can reveal exclusively that this 2½-box model will be launched at the Beijing Motor Show.
The work from the earlier MG Wasp prototype has been carried forward to this car, but the name has been changed from a yellow-and-black
stripy one in order not to clash with the Year of the Tiger.
As the new model counts as a 2½-box car due to the integral shredded wheat on the roof (see below) it had been planned to name it MG 2.5 PI (Pukou Innovation) but Triumph brand owner BMW felt its straps were pinged and vetoed the idea.
So here is the MG2½. Shown at the ironing board stage again.
The MG2½ features a blacksmith whacking a shredded wheat (no disrespect intended to Chinese calligraphers, I am not good at Chinese and it's the only way I can remember it) in homage to the Chinese 厢 in this phrase about the 3-box Roewe 350 model - 三厢等多种车型 - and when adding up the boxes, if you remember the shredded wheat on the top, you soon realise it is a 2½-box design.
Design innovations carried over from the MG Wasp include the lack of heavy windows in the interest of improving fuel consumption. Anyway, the MG2½ comes with GPS (Chinese: "GPS") as standard so the driver won't need to see out and, in any case, the driver will be too busy on Twitter commenting on the YouTube video he is watching.
Like the MG6, there is a fuel filler cap on the right, and like the Roewe 350, there is a fuel filler cap on the left. The one on the right is for recyclable aluminium tins and glassware, while the one on the left is for kitchen waste.
Fears that careless owners might refuel the MG2½ with week-old sprouts, thus making it a high-emission vehicle, are allayed by the fact that this car has no engine, making it a true zero-emission vehicle. Not that anyone has yet designed an engine that runs on old cans and bottles, and kitchen scraps. In any case, it has no doors, so as to ensure no driver is distracted by the electronic features.
Recent controversy about MG model numbers has meant that the exact model number of future models is important. It has been claimed because the number 4 is "unlucky", the MG2½'s big brother two-and-a-lot-box saloon model will be called the "MG3-and-a-bit, in-fact-a-very-big-bit".
Summary: MG2½, zero emission, zero fuel consumption, zero to zero in a week (no engine), shredded wheat on roof as standard. Launch: Beijing Motor Show. Price: only around 60,000 yuan. Rating: not recommended for blacksmiths who get annoyed at shredded wheat.
Embargoed until 1st April 2010 - and don't feed it after midday!
SAIC MOTOR LAUNCH NEW MODEL - THE MG2½
In the wake of exciting new developments from SAIC Motor, MGUK.org can reveal exclusively that this 2½-box model will be launched at the Beijing Motor Show.
The work from the earlier MG Wasp prototype has been carried forward to this car, but the name has been changed from a yellow-and-black
stripy one in order not to clash with the Year of the Tiger.
As the new model counts as a 2½-box car due to the integral shredded wheat on the roof (see below) it had been planned to name it MG 2.5 PI (Pukou Innovation) but Triumph brand owner BMW felt its straps were pinged and vetoed the idea.
So here is the MG2½. Shown at the ironing board stage again.
The MG2½ features a blacksmith whacking a shredded wheat (no disrespect intended to Chinese calligraphers, I am not good at Chinese and it's the only way I can remember it) in homage to the Chinese 厢 in this phrase about the 3-box Roewe 350 model - 三厢等多种车型 - and when adding up the boxes, if you remember the shredded wheat on the top, you soon realise it is a 2½-box design.
Design innovations carried over from the MG Wasp include the lack of heavy windows in the interest of improving fuel consumption. Anyway, the MG2½ comes with GPS (Chinese: "GPS") as standard so the driver won't need to see out and, in any case, the driver will be too busy on Twitter commenting on the YouTube video he is watching.
Like the MG6, there is a fuel filler cap on the right, and like the Roewe 350, there is a fuel filler cap on the left. The one on the right is for recyclable aluminium tins and glassware, while the one on the left is for kitchen waste.
Fears that careless owners might refuel the MG2½ with week-old sprouts, thus making it a high-emission vehicle, are allayed by the fact that this car has no engine, making it a true zero-emission vehicle. Not that anyone has yet designed an engine that runs on old cans and bottles, and kitchen scraps. In any case, it has no doors, so as to ensure no driver is distracted by the electronic features.
Recent controversy about MG model numbers has meant that the exact model number of future models is important. It has been claimed because the number 4 is "unlucky", the MG2½'s big brother two-and-a-lot-box saloon model will be called the "MG3-and-a-bit, in-fact-a-very-big-bit".
Summary: MG2½, zero emission, zero fuel consumption, zero to zero in a week (no engine), shredded wheat on roof as standard. Launch: Beijing Motor Show. Price: only around 60,000 yuan. Rating: not recommended for blacksmiths who get annoyed at shredded wheat.
