This may lead to a new thread in which we divulge the skeletons in our automotive and motorcycle closet.
I owned a 65 MGB for years. I rebuilt the engine once, and within 20,000 miles it was needing another. I also owned a Triumph Spitfire, a Triumph TR6, and several other cars of dubious quality. The MG did have a certain charm, but what a crude lump it was compared to anything Alfa.
Despite having owned BMWs for almost 15 years now, I'm still stunned every time I go to work on one, or rebuild an engine. I still expect to see bellmouthed bores, spun main bearings, rings with three times the specified end-gap, and heads with valves rattling around in the guides. I blame my British car experience on all of those expectations. No one ever told me that there was another way.
Granted, BMWs don't have some of the same inspired looks as a few of the cooler British cars (Jaguar E-type, Austin Healey 100/6, anything Aston Martin) but for the most part BMW never made an ugly car. Too bad the British can't say the same thing. Finally, BMWs work. They work well, they work always.
