Steve Cropley - MY WEEK IN

Fascinating to hear that MG's centenary will be the big celebration at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed - and that the vehicle most prominent in sculptor Gerry Judah's monumental installation in front of Goodwood House will be the Cyberster, a two-tonne electric roadster, special show editions of which are probably being built in China right now.

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MONDAY

Given the car's mass, Goodwood engineers might even have to reinforce the elaborate but discreet foundations under the Duke of Richmond's lawn to handle the weight of Judah's girder-based structures.

It has lately become fashionable to observe how canny MG's Chinese parent, SAIC, was to purchase a well-known and succinct marque name - with an octagonal trademark thrown in. These assets have certainly brought success to the cars. But SAIC's perception of the value of this heritage came some time after the actual purchase. A few years ago, I attended a Beijing motor show at which MG was ludicrously portrayed as standing for 'Modern Gentleman' and the show stand was populated by models dressed like characters from a Jane Austen TV drama. More fascinating will be to see what today's MG company does in future with a heritage to which it has never made any contribution. Let's hope the management recognises a responsibility to build on something that has brought much benefit.