Page 29 - May2022

Though I never owned a Mercer, once I did ride in a different types of tires before product-managing
four-seat ?toy tonneau? 1911 version. I was them as well. My subsequent QA and marketing
impressed about how ?right? my early expectations jobs led me to the uneasy conclusion that I LOVE
were! tires!
But, having a real life Model A had me dreaming I retired from the Bridgestone Tire Company
about and learning about all the other Fords of the exactly 15 years ago.
era that I might realistically consider.
Q. Back in the day Firestone was thought of as a
While most parades and car events in West Virginia quintessential American company. You were already
were strictly American vehicle-oriented, when I was seeing the world in a Chevrolet, with a Model A Ford
15 the sports/racing bug bit me, hard. A local chap in the rear view mirror. What turned your attention to
(who I later worked with) bought an MGTD. At about cars of British manufacture and when did you stop
the same time a neighbor of a friend ?gave up? on looking and start buying?
his 750cc, Crosley-powered H-modified Sports racer.
A. Ultimately, the lingering MGTC clues scattered in
Morty, the racer guy, had crashed his real car and my mind were activated in the early '70s by their
needed $100 to manage his insurance deductible; appearance in movies. Featured in Disney?s
this time my gas station job financed a Crosley ?Diamond on Wheels?, ?The Way We Were?, and
purchase. The convergence of MG and Crosley ?Love Story?, I was reminded of my romantic
thoughts revived the The Red Car?s revelation that Mercer dreams of low slung, sporty, 2-seaters
t
cars you owned didn? have to be ?conventional?. capable of motorcycle-level risks and excitement
except -- these cars actually existed in quantity at
However, life and other priorities like getting a
?possibly? affordable prices ? neither of which was
degree and marrying while still in college meant
true for my dream Mercer.
that practical and dependable vehicles had to be
considered (initially a ?63, four cylinder Chevy II we In 1972 a house purchase crimped my MGTC
rebuilt and a Bridgestone 90 motorcycle as a dreams with good cars selling then in the $2500
third?car?got me through school). Then , because range. My car budget (not actually approved by the

now I had a real job, I bought my first new car --a wife) was likely half that, but doing requires trying.
1970 Nova SS 350.
I let all my friends know I was looking for an MGTC.
Q. Wait! A Nova SS 350 doesn? sound exactly like a For most of them I had to describe the car?s
t
family runabout. That Nova counts as a muscle car. features to avoid being distracted by other
Your first job must have paid better than the gas desirable MGs. An odd set of circumstances then
station where you began your working career. Where ensued and I?ve no reasonable perspective on it
t
did your job search take you?
e
y
.
A. I started at Firestone?s Akron, Ohio headquarters
in 1970 and worked as a tire engineer for 10 years,
product manager for 17 years, marketing manager
for 5 years, and quality assurance manager for 5
years.Bridgestone bought Firestone in 1988 and
ultimately moved my job to Nashville as part of the
company?s consolidation.
Obviously, tires and cars have lots of crossover but
surprisingly, my work in tractor and off- the-
highway tires was also great! I managed to directly Above: " At last-- this is the MGTC I bought from a
engineer and design significant numbers of friend in Ohio." Mike Long

Interview continues on page 30
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