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The M.G. Octagon
With Morris' time and energy being devoted to car manufacture, his original business was entrusted to a general manager. In 1922, Cecil Kimber was appointed to this post. Kimber was a car enthusiast who had already worked for several companies in the motor industry. He was particularly keen on sports cars and had considerable design flair, producing eye catching body styles. It was Kimber's idea to begin to produce a line of special bodied cars on the Morris chassis. As he said later, he saw a niche for a car that was 10 per cent better than the standard product but would sell at a fifty per cent higher price. Determined to emphasize that his cars were more than just revamped Morrises, Kimber showered these M.G.s with Octagon motifs; oval instruments gave way to Octagonal ones. It was thought that the Octagon symbolized the
enthusiastic loyalty customers had to their chosen marque. This magic
began to weave its spell on generations of true motoring enthusiasts. In
addition, motor sports activities rapidly elevated the fame and prestige
of the M.G. marque. The famous enameled Octagon M.G. badge was embraced
by the international public when M.G. won its first international motor
race in Argentina in the heavy days of the 1920's. The winning car was a
14/40 four-seater, which averaged 62 mph in the hands of Alberto Sanchez
Cires. The attractive octagonal badge quickly became a true mark of
distinction and the company was not slow to appreciate that customers
enjoyed showing off the M.G. presence. Thus followed the tradition of
using the octagonal badge or simply the octagonal shape, for any number
of ingenious applications around the vehicle. Bystanders, passengers and
mechanics were never left in any doubt as to the origins of these
charismatic cars. Who Designed the M.G. Octagon Logo?
To start with, these changes were minor in detail and the work was carried out in the dealership workshops. As many more customers came to ask for these various changes and additions to their vehicles, it soon became necessary to find different premises so that this work could be carried out separately, away from the regular repair and service facilities. Before finally acquiring the plant at Abingdon in late 1929, the M.G. Motor Co., as it now became known, had acquired four or five different locations throughout the Oxford area and each time being forced to move due to the lack of space. Due to all this constant expansion and moving, no complete records were maintained and those that were, stood a good chance of being mislaid in one of the moves. Thus it is understandable that one gets so many misleading and conflicting stories about the early days of the M.G. Car Company. When it comes to the designer of the famous M.G. octagon badge, the credit must go to Ted Lee, M.G.'s cost accountant. Ted started work in 1922 at Morris Garages when Cecil Kimber was the general manager. Lee first showed the octagon to Kimber. He liked it and showed it to William Morris and Lee remembers Morris calling it "The best thing that has come into the company." It was used for the first time in the Morris Owner as an advertisement in the March 1924 edition. |
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©2001-2012 M.G. Drivers Club of North America,
all rights reserved. |
William
Morris could be considered one of the founding fathers of the British
motor industry. Beginning his career in Oxford in the 1890's as a cycle
mechanic, he later branched out into the new motor trade and by 1910 had
established himself as the proprietor of the Morris Garages, Oxford's
leading car dealer. Three years later he was to fulfill his ambition of
becoming a motor manufacturer when the first Morris car went into
production at Cowley, near Oxford.
Over
the years many people have claimed to have had a hand in the design of
the M.G. octagon insignia. From Cecil Kimber, who created the M.G.
marque, to such people as the Daily Express cartoonist, Berry Appleby,
Gordon Cosby of The Autocar magazine, plus the chief engineer at the
M.G. Car Company from its earliest days, H.N. Charles. Mr. Charles was
the chief engineer up until the time M.G. became a part of Morris
Motors. The first known use of the octagon was in an advertisement in
the March 1924 edition of the Morris Owner. At that time, Cecil Kimber
was working for Morris Garages and was the instigator of having special
modifications made to the production vehicles to suit the individual
client's requirements.