NOTES FROM IBCC PRESIDENT BILL DRYDEN…

It was the night before Christmas and all the little British cars were snug in their garages with visions of windy roads spinning in their “heads”.

I hope you and your family had a truly memorable Christmas this year. Sue and I made our way to Sun River in central Oregon to spend the holiday with our daughter, son, daughter-in law and two granddaughters. The 2½ feet of snow gave us a picture book white Christmas and made it easy for Santa and his sleigh to make that rooftop landing. Sharing Christmas with two little girls ages 2 and 5 certainly made for a loud and exciting day and created many family memories!

Winter months are the slow season for our British cars. But there is always that maintenance project….brake systems to rebuild, oil leaks to seal, interiors to ren-ovate…..to keep you busy while daydreaming of summer drives. But don’t forget that club activities still fill the calendar with pub nights, twice a month coffees, tech sessions and special events. With this wide range of options, I hope to see every club member at least once every month!

In another section of this month’s newsletter, you will see a new column ti-tled “IBCC Volunteer of the Month”. As our club is 100% dependent upon members to volunteer their time and expertise in organizing and conducting every club event, newsletter, annual meeting and any other activity, I will be highlighting those mem-bers and their contributions. If you want to step up and support your club as a volun-teer, please contact any board member.

And speaking of volunteers, Francine and Rob Winkle volunteered to organ-ize and manage the IBCC annual meeting. I am sure they would appreciate any member who wants to help with that task. Please contact them at winkle@cableone.net

IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

If you were at Eddie’s for break-fast before December 19th coffee, you may have noticed the wait-staff were all wearing IBCC T-shirts. Others noticed too as at least one non- club member talked with us about his British cars. Eve-ry third Saturday, Eddie’s staff will be wearing our shirts so please join us for breakfast.

S P OK E ‘ n ’ W OR D I D A H O B R I T I S H

C A R C L U B

h t t p : / / i d a h o b r i t i s h c a r s . o r g

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

President Words 1/7

Upcoming Events & Help Wanted

2/3

December Happenings 4

Welcome New Members

4

2016 Summer Tour 5

Article 6/8

Volunteer of the Month 7

Classified 9/10

J a nua r y 2 0 1 6

Vo l u me 2 5 , I s s ue 1

Ev e nts :

Wednesday, December 30th Pub Night at Crook-ed Flats Tasting Room

Saturday, Jan 2 Coffee at Café Capri

Saturday, Jan 16, 8am Breakfast at Eddie’s

Saturday, Jan 16 Coffee at Moxie Java

Wednesday, Jan 27 Pub Night at Sockeye Grill & Brewery

Upcoming IBCC Even ts P a g e 2

December 30, Wednesday Night—Pub Night, 6:30 pm Will be held at the brand new Crooked Flats Tasting Room and Gastropub. The Gastropub is located at 3705 ID HWY16, Eagle, ID 83616. More information and menu here: http://www.crookedfencebrewing.com/locations/crooked-flats/ January 16, 8am, Breakfast at Eddie’s restaurant before coffee at Moxie Java at 9:30

January 27, Wednesday Night—Pub Night, 6:30 pm

Beth & Terry Shannon have arranged Pub Night at Sockeye Grill & Brewery at 12542 W Fairview Ave, Boise

January 30, Odd Saturday Out—need someone to organize—contact Rod

March 12, 2016, Annual IBCC Meeting We will hold the annual meeting at the Banbury Clubhouse. Francine & Rob-ert Winkle have agreed to coordinate the event—they will be sending out de-tails soon. We will be voting on new officers for the board, budget, and any other business brought to the club.

Silent auction items: please contact The Winkles, winkle@cableone.net or Bill Dryden if you have items to donate to the silent auction. They can be brought to coffee or arrangements can be made to pick up the items.

June 23-25, IBCC Summer Tour, Twin Falls, Idaho

September 24, Southwest Idaho All British Field Meet Rick Mills is working on the details—stay tuned!

Saturday, April 23, 2016, 2016 Tulip Rallye A light-hearted, gimmick rallye open to all makes and models of automobiles. Gimmick questions are based on puns with the answers found along the route and perhaps a few trivia questions. Starting point is the Cascade Mall at I-5 exit 230 in Burlington WA. Registration will open in late January 2016. Registration forms and more info will be available at the MG Car Club Northwest Centre website: http://www.mgccnwc.com/ Pre-registration fee is $12.00 USD Have a question?... contact Bert Cripe by email at spiders@wavecable.com or by phone at (360) 731-8758 June 13-17, 2016 MG 2016 Maintaining the Breed, Louisville Kentucky http://www.mg2016.com/ June 27-July1, GoF MG West, Redmond, OR http://gofwest.org/GoF_West_2015.html August 12-14, All Triumph Drive in 2016 Campbell River, BC http://www.atdi2016.com/

IBCC members meet for coffee the first and third Saturday of each

month.

Guests are always welcome

1st Saturday at 9:30 AM Coffee Gathering at Caffe’ Capri on Federal

Way and Gowen Road

3rd Saturday at 9:30 AM Coffee Gathering at Moxie Java on Overland

Road and 5 Mile

P a g e 3

IBCC Board for 2015

President Bill Dryden bs2rdry@cableone.net 208 867-8670 © 208 388-8863 (H)

Vice President Rick Mills rm1950@mac.com 208-890-7252 © 208-895-0752 (H)

Treasurer Wes Seideman banker@spro.net 208 514-7209 © 208 384-0566 (H)

Secretary/Membership Greg Bell G.Bell.M.Bell@gmail.com 302 635-4514 © 208 297-7728 (H)

Event coordinator Rod Nichols tr6driver@gmail.com 208 870-6147 c 08 322-8237 (H)

Newsletter Editor Nancy and Lee Otterness nancyandleeotterness@gmail.com 208 376-5931 (H) 208 861-1186 Nancy’s cell 208 861-8333 Lee’s cell

APPOINTED POSITIONS

Web Master Brad Eells TR4ABrad@gmail.com 208 631 3991(c)

Historian/Archives Bob Frisby bbfrisby@cableone.net 208-336-2169 (H)

Past President Realy Ann Wingert mini64@q.com 208 338-0837 (h) 208 447-8742

S P O K E ‘ n ’ W O R D

The Board is starting the process of looking for “volunteers” to step-up

and run for club offices: if you would like to “volunteer” for a position,

please contact Bill Dryden. Or when Bill taps you on the shoulder … just

say “YES”

Positions that will be open for election (at the annual meeting):

President

Vice President

Membership/Secretary

Treasurer

Events Coordinator

Newsletter Editor

Greg Bell, Wes Seideman, and Rod Nichols have all agreed to serve another year. Rick Mills has agreed to

run for President. The Club needs a vice president and newsletter editor

COFFEE TIME NAME’S DRAWN

December 5, Bill & Gwen Andrews—their name was drawn, but they weren’t

present to collect!

December 19, Lyla Schelhing’s name was drawn, but neither was she there to

collect —that means more money in the drawing on January 2, 2016

Some interesting stats from our Membership Chair, Greg Bell

26 new members for the year, 120 total members

Greg tried counting cars/ages and came up with the following:

3 cars from the 40's or earlier with 2 from 1936.

44 cars from the 50's

63 cars from the 60's.

51 cars from the 70's.

31 cars that were 80's or newer.

At least 10 more that had no age listed for a total of 202+ cars in the club!

Steve & Shelly Walker of Boise and they drive a 1979 MGB

New Members can pick up their name tags at coffee.

D E C E M B E R H A P P E N I N G S

P a g e 4

New Members

P a g e 5 S P O K E ‘ n ’ W O R D

Forty rooms are reserved at each of the hotels listed below, and they are right next door to each other! Make the call NOW to get your room, and ask for the IBCC block of rooms, at $109 per night.

Hampton Inn Holiday Inn Express 1658 Fillmore St 1554 Fillmore St Twin Falls, ID 83301 Twin Falls, ID 83301 208-734-2233 208-732-6001

STOREY’S GARAGE LLC.

OFFERING HIGH QUALITY

RESTORATION SERVICES

AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE

OF YOUR SPECIAL VEHICLE

15% off labor for all IBCC members

(208)-697-0923

storeysgarage@gmail.com

www.storeysgarage.com

P a g e 6

ANALYSIS: MG on the Road to Nowhere By Ray Hutton – April 16 2015 at www.just-auto.com

Reprinted from The E-Chatter, Steve Chivington, Editor

What's in a brand? The Chinese think that being British makes MG special. Here in Britain, the reality is that it must compete in the bargain basement. It is supposed to be easier and cheaper for a car company to take over an established brand than starting anew with an unfamiliar name and no reputation or track record. Tata's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover and the Geely takeover of Volvo would seem to prove that proposition: two newcomers on the automotive world stage have taken advantage of the heritage and goodwill of long-respected brands. And then you look at MG. MG is, officially, the 'export brand' of SAIC (Shanghai Automotive In-dustry Corporation), China's biggest car manufacturer and partner of both Volkswagen and General Motors. You may recall that SAIC and NAC (Nanjing Automobile Corporation) each found themselves with the remnants of MG Rover after it collapsed in 2005. SAIC, which had an established technical partnership with MGR, gained the in-tellectual property and NAC paid GBP53m for the tooling and equipment and the rights to various brand names, in-cluding MG. Both companies set up to make derivatives of Rover models in China. Three years later, the Chinese gov-ernment 'encouraged' SAIC to take over NACand their prod-ucts were combined as Roewes (the nearest name to Rover it was able to use) and MGs. When the first MGs, for Chinese domestic consumption, came off the production lines at Nanjing, the company played up their British origin and translated the name as 'Modern Gentleman'. By the time of SAIC's involvement and plans for overseas sales, it had learnt that MG really stood for 'Morris Garages' and was persuaded that it should exploit the marque's 85-year history. SAIC had a large stand at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show, split between Roewe and MG. Behind the display of the MG3, which was making its debut, was a facsimile of a wooden-paneled 1920s showroom with an illuminated Morris Garages sign and inside was an authentic 1920s car: it was an Austin 7. The company seemed unconcerned by this blunder and didn't even offer what might have seemed a valid excuse - that the Austin 7 was built at the Longbridge plant, where NAC had taken a 33-year lease on part of the site to re-establish MG in the UK. Restarting MG production in the UK was part of the deal that NAC made with the MGR administrator. It was said that it planned to re-employ 1,200 people at Longbridge and produce 100,000 cars a year but at a press conference in Lon-don in July 2006, attended by representatives of unions and suppliers, the president of NAC reduced those figures to 15,000 cars a year and a 'few hundred' employees. It was a bad-tempered meeting where everyone felt let down but the reality would be worse still. All that came down the lonely production line in the huge Longbridge assembly hall was a trickle of MG TF sports cars, built from Chinese-made components. The MG TF was already 11 years old and was never going to sell in significant volume. It was the last of a line of two-seater sports models - the cars that defined MG through the years and generated the world's biggest marque fan clubs. The future would be different. SAIC decided that it first car for export would be the MG6, a mid-sized family hatch-back loosely based on the Rover 45/MG ZS replacement which it had been developing with MGR. Continue on page 8

The addition of the MG3 model has brought some uplift to MG sales in the UK. However, the contin-ued use of the MG brand on non-sports models sends mixed signals to UK buyers. Chinese buyers, on the other hand, love the British heritage that is heavily pushed by the Roewe and MG brands in the domestic market.

P a g e 7 S P O K E ‘ n ’ W O R D

IBCC Volunteer of the Month January 2016

Each month, IBCC will recognize the volunteer efforts of one of our members.

Rick Mills is the IBCC Volunteer of the Month for January. Rick has a long history of service to our club. He is a Past President, has served as the club’s Webmaster and is currently IBCC’s vice president. However, Rick is not this month’s volunteer for his past record of service.

In December, Rick produced the 2016 IBCC calendar. He collected pictures of members’ cars, edited all that material into the calendar format and then worked with the print shop so the colorful calendars would be available for club members at the Christmas party and last coffee in December. Rick has also taken the lead in managing the second annual Southwest Idaho All British Field Meet scheduled for next September. This event was first held this year with over 50 cars so Rick will be looking for some other volunteers to help prepare for the 2016 show. Rick is also working with club members to plan the early August trip to Campbell River BC for the All Triumph Meet and is part of the planning team for Summer Tour 2016. In his “spare time”, Rick works to keep his 1971 TR6, 1958 MGA and 1968 MGB on the road.

Liz Mills, Rick’s wife, is also an active volunteer; helping Rick with each of his club projects. Together, they make a great team for IBCC.

Congratulations to Rick (and Liz) for being the IBCC Volunteer of the Month for January 2016.

If you want to nominate a person for IBCC Volunteer of the Month, please contact Bill Dryden. And if you want to volunteer a few hours, please contact any board member.

NOTES FROM IBCC PRESIDENT BILL DRYDEN… continued from page 1

On December 12, 65+ club members gathered at the Maple Grove Grange for our annual Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Every year, I enjoy or perhaps over-enjoy the many choices of salads, hot dishes and desserts. And every year, I look forward to the excellent roast beef. THANK YOU Paul and Linda. With Martin’s excellent assistance, the gift exchange went smoothly and everyone left with a smile. We already have the grange hall reserved for next year’s party so put December 10 on your calendar.

At our last coffee, we recognized the contributions of another IBCC past president. Steve McAfee, with a special “Past President” nametag. Steve….thanks for all you do for IBCC.

P a g e 8

SAIC's UK engineering department - some 250 people - was moved to Longbridge and a small MG design studio es-tablished there. The cars, 80 per cent complete, with painted and fully-trimmed body shells, would be brought from China in containers and married to the engine/transmission sub-assemblies (also from China) on the final assem-bly line at Longbridge. Thus, MG was able to claim that the cars sold here were 'Engineered, designed and built in Britain'. It took until April 2011 for the first of these cars to emerge from Longbridge. MG Motor UK said that it expected to sell 2,000 cars in 12 months, through 40 newly-appointed dealers, and that sales in other European countries would start within one or two years. The critics gave the MG6 a warmish reception. SAIC's ex-Rover engineers had ensured that it drove well but the en-gine (petrol only to start with) wasn't very refined and some aspects of the finish and interior trim were poor. Its prob-lem was - and is - that it is resolutely ordinary. In size terms, it fell between the C and D market sectors and yet, at £15,500, didn't look particularly good value in either. In 2012, its first full year, 782 MG6s were registered in the UK. The introduction of a diesel engine and a four-door saloon version, using the heritage name Magnette, couldn't raise MG's game and in 2013 it actually sold fewer cars (504) than the previous year. Plans for sales in mainland Europe were suspended. UK sales numbers have improved since then - 2,326 last year - thanks to the arrival of the MG3, a well-priced and standard-sized B-sector supermini. A small SUV crossover is due to join the range next year (and seen at the Shanghai Motor Show). In the meantime, there has been a re-think about the MG6 and its place in world. The range has been cut back to one model - a diesel hatchback - with three trim levels and prices GBP3,000 lower than the 2014 equivalents. It now starts below GBP14,000. The improvements are worthwhile and meet most customer and press criticisms of the earlier cars. The MG6 can now be seen as what it is: a competent and spacious car for a family on a budget, as the Skoda Octavia was on its journey to the big league, or as Dacia is today. Which raises the question: why MG? Company officials admit that although they would like a sports car there is little prospect of getting one. SAIC either doesn't appreciate or doesn't care about the MG's heritage or that the brand today has none of the characteristics that made it famous. It used to be known for its affordable sports cars and even in its darkest days as part of Leyland, BL, Rover and MG Rover, when its products were largely badge engineered saloons and hatchbacks, MG was presented as the sportiest brand, commanding a price premium over its stable-mates. Today, in Europe, I reckon that MG could sell just as many of its current cars if they were called Shanghai or Nanjing, or, like Chinese scooters, branded by the retailers with inconsequential made-up names. But in China it is a different story. Customers in the world's biggest car market may not understand the significance of MG but they MG and Roe-we are promoted in the domestic market with images of Union Jacks, red phone boxes, Tower of London beefeaters, and Tony Blair's Cool Britannia. MG's latest move is designed to reinforce that connection. SAIC has spent millions on a seven-story building on Piccadilly at the heart of London's West End. It will provide some offices for its European operation but the main reason is to open a flagship MG showroom next to the Royal Academy and opposite Fortnum & Mason - closer than any other car maker to Piccadilly Circus, the centre of tourist London. It wants the MG octagonal logo to rub shoulders with the world's most prestigious fashion houses and their Mayfair boutiques. We can see a mis-match here but the Chinese can't. They are proud to have actor Benedict Cumber-bach as an MG brand ambassador in China. Perhaps Modern Gentleman wasn't such a bad translation after all.

MG on the Road to Nowhere, continued from page 6

P a g e 9

FOR SALE: 1957 Morris Minor Pick Up

Truck includes everything but the original bed, planned on making a custom step side similar to this image. Truck has been completely pulled down for ini-tial cleaning and repairs, all original nuts are available as well. Rust is surface rust for the most part, nothing too major anywhere other than cab floor edges. Truck cab, original front fenders-good shape, frame-had damage, pulled cap off to repair a twist previously repaired poorly, cleaned frame metal. Set of used Morris car rear fender/wings for custom bed (Step-side). Boxes of many parts, wiring, multiple horns. Morris Steering wheel and centers. Original heater much more. Glovebox doors (both sides). Rear leaves in good shape, been cleaned up. Rear axle in good shape, aluminum pumpkin. been cleaned

up. Window levers/door pulls all in good shape. Original crank included. All original glass is good. Many brand new parts. (m 10/15) Pictures available at: https://www.pinterest.com/carouselangel/my-morris/ Contact: Chelsea 208-866-1011 Boise, Idaho. Asking $6,250 FOR SALE: 1995 Jaguar XJS Carolyn Berry is selling her Jaguar. It is a sage green convertible, comes with a cover, runs well, and mileage is 73,666. Please make a good offer! 208.602.7436 (m 9/15)

FOR RENT: Dry, heated storage or work space in Garden City for your British car. See Rod (tr6driver@gmail.com) or Bill (bs2rdry@cableone.net) for more information. (m 7/15)

FOR SALE: 1973 Triumph TR6 Nice, classic British sports car and is fun to drive. Totally renovated about 11 years ago (taken down to bare metal then painted, new wood dash, new upholstery) and has been garaged since then. Has a cou-ple dings on the hood and one on a fender. Price reflects these blemishes. Manual 4-speed transmission with overdrive. Dual Stromberg carburetors. Have the shop manual for this auto. Also have a tonneau cover which has never been in-stalled or used. Purrs like a kitten. Call John at 503-957-0846 (m7/15)

FOR SALE MG-TD Transmission Cover, good condition, cleaned and painted $175/obo. Drive shaft with good U-Joints, cleaned and painted $175/obo. Steering wheel, needs complete restoration $50/obo. Gear shift knob, $10/obo. Used clutch pressure plate and disc Make An Offer. Misc. odds and ends—Inquire. Craig McAllister 208.861.9208 fastmail@cableone.net (m 3/13)

Contact Nancy Otterness, Editor, to place an ad—nancyandleeotterness@gmail.com Classified ads are free for club members. Non IBCC members can place an ad for 3 months without charge.

Note: Since you can now place your own ad on the IBCC website—if you would like it also posted here in the news-letter—please send me a copy of your ad. Our newsletter is sent to other British Car Clubs throughout the US.

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