The Windsor-Detroit MG Club's 2016 Kimber Run

The Windsor-Detroit MG Club made it's annual pilgrimage to Holt, Michigan, today to join members of other MG clubs across the state for a celebration of the 128th birthday of Cecil Kimber, the founder of the MG Car Company Ltd. For the WDMGC the drive meanders across southern Michigan and serves as a lovely kickoff to the new year's driving season.

I have a bit of a sad history with the Kimber Run. I was out of town the first year I was a club member, and the second year the FUN MG never made it to the starting line, as its engine blew up the week in my first shakedown run of the Spring. Last year Monique, the FUN MG, and I made it to the starting line and we were halfway to Holt when our accelerator cable snapped, ending the day's driving for us.

So, we didn't get any Cecil Kimber birthday cake, but I did manage to take this lovely photo of the FUN MG stranded next to a farm field in the middle of nowhere, waiting for its Ride of Shame. This became the April photo on John & Monique's 2016 Calendar, so there was a silver lining in that debacle.

Would this be the year that I finally shook the curse?

I won't keep you in suspense. No.

An April cold snap and snowstorm engulfed Michigan this weekend. With a forecast of several inches of snow across the middle of the state, and salt spread far and wide to keep the roads passable, I decided that the FUN MG's mid-70s British steel didn't need any help rusting. And Monique took one look at the forecast and decided that she didn't need to get up early to drive around in the snow. The FUN MG stayed safe and sound in the garage. Monique stayed safe and sound in bed.

At least I kept my drive British and took Big Smokey -- our ridiculous Jaguar Vanden Plas Supercharged sedan -- for a rare ride through the snow. Fortunately for photography's sake, club members Sonny and Sher Straley weren't daunted by the weather and brought their '77 MGB along for the ride, so I had an MG to take pictures of as we drove from Novi to Holt for lunch, cake, and camaraderie.

Come along for the ride:

"Looks pretty good so far," you say. Here come the first few flurries:

I put an old MG trunk badge on the Jag's dashboard. Did I fool anybody into thinking it was an MG? Probably not.

This is what my view really looked like for this trip. Michigan and an MG as seen across the hood of a Jaguar.

The snow quickly grew thicker and the roads quickly grew sloppier.

We stopped mid-ride for a quick pit stop. Here's our intrepid fleet in full: one MGB, one BMW, one Jaguar, and one Chevy.

Windsor-Detroit MG Club Snowmobile Registry.

At last we arrived at the Delhi Cafe in Holt for lunch, cake, and cameraderie. As it turns out, only three drivers took their MGBs out for this year's snowy expedition: Guy St. John (white), Adam Gucfa (brown), and Sonny and Sher Straley in the green '77 that I followed to the party.

Kudos to all three for venturing forth into that mess in their MGs! They are braver souls than I.

2015 Battle of the Brits: Jaguars

Time for another batch o'photos from last weekend's Battle of the Brits. Today we have the Jaguars. We'll set forth in more or less chronological order of manufacture:

A 1953 XK120 next to a 1966 XJ13 ... well, almost certainly an XJ13 replica, since the original one-of-one XJ13 prototype is supposedly still at the Heritage Motor Centre Museum in England. The XJ13 was a mid-engine V12 racing prototype developed in the mid-60s. It never actually raced, but it's still a great-looking car.

XKEs. I still looooove those swoopy E-Types:

There were a couple of great-looking Mark II saloons in the mix:

Also among the saloons, this 1987 XJ6 Series III, forerunner to our own beloved 1999 XJ Vanden Plas Supercharged and still one of the best-looking sedans ever made.

1976 XJ-C: That era of XJ also came as a coupe for a few years. These have really grown on me.

A V12 XJS. The XJS always got a bit of a bad rap because it came in as the successor to the incredibly lovely and successful XKE. But if you take it on its own you realize it's a pretty darn nice car.

Man, that V12 engine looks complicated.

Here's another XJS, this one from the front. They have a really pretty line.

A 2002 XKR convertible. These are pretty crazy cars, since they take the 370-hp supercharged V8 engine from the XJR sedan and cram it into two-door convertible weighing several hundred pounds less.

And hey, there was even a new Jaguar on the field, a 2015 F-Type coupe, here next to a 1994 XJS convertible:

That's a pretty car.

Which was my favorite Jaguar of the day? Well, I have to admit that it was one that wasn't on the field, but was instead parked out in the parking lot: a 1999 Jaguar Vanden Plas Supercharged Saloon.

Even after looking at great Jaguars all day long, Big Smoky still hits the spot.

P.S. Links to the other Battle of the Brits posts:

MGs

Triumphs
Jaguars

Austin-Healeys

Other