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Established in 2001, MG-Rover.org is the ultimate web site for MG and Rover enthusiasts throughout the United Kingdom, across Europe and around the world! Managed by an experienced and dedicated team of MG Rover enthusiasts, MG-Rover.org is now much more than simply a website – but a community, drawn together by a shared interest in MG and Rover cars. From a standing start in April 2001, MG-Rover.org has grown to become the world’s single most popular web resource for MG and Rover owners, prospective owners and enthusiasts. Today, over 80,000 people visit the site every month and there are more than 3,000 registered members on the forums and in March 2003 we passed the million pages per month landmark. Indeed, the site is now much more than simply a website – it’s a unique community of people, drawn together by a shared interest in MG and Rover cars. And best of all, access to the site is entirely free… and always will be! MG-Rover.org first appeared online in April 2001. The brainchild of Steve Childs, from Walsall in the West Midlands, Steve had recently become the proud owner of an MGF. However, prior to purchasing his F, Steve had searched the web - often in vain - for information on the F and other MG Rover cars. Recognising, the requirement for a site devoted to MG and Rover cars, Steve decided to do something about it and MG-Rover.org was born! Initially, the site concentrated upon trackday reports, news and owners reports. However, as MG-Rover.org began to attract an ever-increasing number of visitors, more content and features were added. By June 2002, the site was proving so successful that Steve resigned from his job as a Software Engineer, to devote all his energies and enthusiasm into the website. At the beginning of 2002 the online shop was added in conjuction with Richardsons Performance Motorsport, part of the Richardsons Group (comprising a few Seat dealerships and Richardsons MG Rover in Tiverton, Devon). The shop steadily grew month on month and is now a very popular source for parts, accessories, tuning equipment and XPower Merchandise. When the shop was recently upgraded to a secure server to allow credit card payments, the first day it was re-opened (and it was only down for less than 24 hours), orders worth over £800 were taken. The prices will always be competitive as it is setup to offer value for money over profits. Later in 2002 we were forced to upgrade the computer the website is served from, due to the outstanding success of the website, we also took the opportunity to upgrade the forum software to vBulletin, the standard for Internet forum software. Soon after we added the gallery, which replaced the existing Image Gallery with a far more powerful and feature laden gallery, which most importantly, was integrated with the forums to offer unsurpassed features for our members. Not only had gone from having the most popular MG and Rover enthusiasts forum, we now had a gallery which would allow members to upload their own pictures to the site. 2003 will bring the next big section for the website, more of which will be announced shortly. The website was not setup as a commercial interest and it is not the goal of any of the people involved to make loads of money from the site. Any profits that are generated from the site will be reinvested back into the website and its members, in various ways. The site was setup with the goal of helping present and future owners of MG and Rover cars, that is still the goal of the site. The depth of expertise in the moderation team is a testiment to the helpful and friendly people we have on the forums who can help and assist you in a variety of activities. The website is fully independant, owned and run by Steve Childs who inturn
is Managing Director of Online Enthusiasts Ltd, the company setup to run
the website. To read the profiles of the various Moderators and staffers on the website, please click on the 'Profiles' link in the menu on the left.
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