Campaign to save Zed cars launched | Car Talk - Car News Jan 2019

15:51 Thursday 17 Jan 2019

Two UK car clubs have joined forces in a new campaign to preserve a piece of Britain’s motoring heritage.

The MG Car Club and the Zed Register have reacted to the rapid disappearance of MG ZR, ZS, and ZT models from UK roads with the launch of the Save Our Zeds campaign, designed to help owners of the endangered models to find the right tools and parts to keep them running.

MG collapsed in 2006, and at that time there were over 90,000 examples already on the road. However, the intervening decade-and-a-bit hasn’t been kind, with over three-quarters of those models having now been scrapped leaving just 19,618 still running. The MG ZR has taken the biggest hit, with 84% of those build no longer on the road.

John Thompson, Chairman of the Zed Register, commented “Today’s culture of financial incentives to scrap older cars when purchasing cars on PCP or lease deals versus the cost of repairing an older car appears to rule out repairs as a viable option. There are many quality MG specialists and parts businesses across the UK and the MG Car Club offer member discounts with some of these suppliers, so repair really is a good choice.

The Zed range of cars is an affordable way into MG ownership, and the growing Modern Classic scene, with good condition cars available from as little as £350. This makes a Zed car a great option for a young driver as a first car, as well as something fun.

Adam Sloman, General Manager of The MG Car Club, added “This decline in Zed cars is something we as a Club have heard many stories about at classic car events up and down the country. We are concerned that an important part of the MG brand’s heritage is going to be lost; and future generations are going to miss out on these much loved cars.”