2025 Highlights
2025 Board Members
In Memoriam 2025
2025 - Highlights
Meetings
Tradional Yearly Events
WDMGC @ National Events
Specials for 2025
In Memoriam 2025
Despite the extreme heat, we had a decent turnout and lots of fun at The Natter and Noggin at the Riverside Sportsman Club. Some of us came earlier to watch the England/ Argentina World Cup game. The wildfire smoke rolled in while we were there. Plan to joining us next month on the third Wednesday!
Photos and report from Dale Brown
It's been 45 years .... and WDMGC is still going strong! We saw a busy driving season with lots of activities, and members were will to share there pictures! Enjoy!
What were you doing in 1980? The Rubik's Cube became a sensation. A heat wave was baking the mid section of the United States. In the theaters, "The Empire Strikes Back" was released, and Ted Turner launched CNN. Remember "Who shot J.R.?" What about the "Miracle on Ice" at the Winter Olympics? Pac-Man is released, and Mount St. Helens eruption devastated the U.S.
Ronald Reagan was elected President, and Pierre Trudeau returned to office as Prime Minister of Canada. We saw the global eradication of smallpox, voters in Quebec rejected a proposal to seek independence from Canada. Pittsburgh Steelers won SuperBowl XIV, the Stanley Cup went to the New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Phillies won the MLB World Series.
Heartbreaking to all the fans of MGs, after continuous production since 1962, the last MGB roadster was made at the Abingdon-on-Thames factory on October 22nd, ending production for the MG Cars marque.
But the same month the last MGB was rolling off the assembly line, there were important discussions going on in North America! Four men, two Canadians; Dave Hornby (picture here lower left) and Jim Trofin, and two Americans; Mark Deacon and Ron Harmon (next to Dave in black shirt), came up with the idea of the Windsor-Detroit MG Club. They hatched a plan to create a social club to keep the MG spirit alive. They saw the international border not as a barrier, but as a link for MG enthusiasts in southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario. They probably had no idea that the group would continue for 45 years, but here we are.
The entire MG community thanks them for their foresight, and early foundation work to develop this unique international group. We wish them all the best on their 45th Anniversary the club, their own personal membership, and their vision.
So even if your Rubiks Cube doesn't get a spin often, next time you take you MG for a spin, remember the four who started this still rolling club.
Story by Vicki Bade - Pics from Vicki Bade and John Magee
Click on any image for a full size image slide show
Click on any image for a full size image slide show
The club and cookies!!! Another evening designe for driving a British convertible! Parking lot photos from tonight’s US-side meeting. Plus, inside: nefarious bribery and 45th Anniversary cookies!
click on any image for a full size image slide show
Pics from Vicki Bade and John Magee
A beautiful evening for driving a British convertible. Tonight’s MG club meeting drew a crowd of them, including some nice Jaguars from the Jag club. Come take a look at what we found in the parking lot.
click on any image for a full size image slide show
Pics from Vicki Bade and John Magee
Pics from John Magee
Click on any image for a full size image slide show
A contingent of WDMGC members headed to Oakville, Ontario to British Car Day, hosted annually by the Toronto Triumph Club. This year was the 40th Anniversary edition, and club member Dave Hornby won first place for later model Morgans. Congrats!
Members of the Windsor-Detroit MG Club joined the Jaguar Affiliates Group of Michigan (JAGM) on Sunday, August 17, for their annual Twisty Bits Drive — a winding drive through the Irish Hills with a picnic lunch and guided tour of the mill at Sharon Mills Park. Much fun was had!
Pics from Vicki Bade
The Kimber Run is our annual springtime drive to Holt, Michigan (just south of Lansing) to meet with other Michigan MG clubs to celebrate the birthday of Cecil Kimber, the founder of the MG Motor Co. It serves as the unofficial kickoff of the driving season.
But wait ... there's more!
Vickie and Matt Bade Images....
Bill and Mary Ellen Weakley images ...
John Magee images ...
Enjoy these pics from our Spring Gathering. Special thanks to everyone who braved the chilly and drippy weather to join us. We had a nice showing and, despite the weather, people had a good time. Nice mix of people and cars along with a good variety of food made it a great event!! And thank you all for bringing the goodies! The cranes joined us in the beginning, but got kicked out when Ken and Melody brought their adorable little furbaby, who despite a big size difference, chased them away!
Here is a slide show John Magee put together on the Windsor-Detroit MG Club's Kimber Run expedition on April 27, 2025.
This video is mostly pictures John took during the drive with some additional photos -- most of the photos of actual people! -- from Vicki Bade and Mary Ellen Weakley. Thank you Vicki and Mary Ellen for the added pictures! The stills are also available below.
Hosted by Twin Bay British Car Club, the show was once again a success! There were a handful of WDMGC members attending, including Bill Reeves, Kenneth Klemmer, Melody Jones-Klemmer, Amy Striplin Brown, Jeremy Brown, Vicki Bade, Matt Bade, Russ LaFevre, Bill Wheakley.
From Vicki Bade ... Matt & I attended the Alden Sports Car Show sponsored by the Twin Bay British Car Club as our extended weekend up north came to an end. With the heat, long drive and other factors we chose to drive my Fiat (Fiata) this weekend. What do you know - I won my first ever car award by getting 1st place in the Italian class!! Woohoo!!!!
As always it was a wonderful show & we had a nice contingent from the club also attending. I believe Ken & Melody Klemmer picked up another award for their fabulous car, new members Amy and Jeremy Brown won the chairmans choice award for their MGB, and Bill Weakley gave it a go in the valve cover races with his peacock entry. Congrat to all!!
The Twin Bay club always does a fabulous job with this event and we really enjoyed the day!!!
Bill Reeves images ...
Vickie and Matt Bade Images....
Resident photo-buff John Magee shared pictures of the Waterford Hills Vintage Races from late July 2025. It was mostly fun cars doing fast laps, with a few parade laps in Ken KIemmer's 1931 MG D-Type at the lunchtime break. Lots of fun!
More than 30 members of the club joined for lunch on March 16 at Wixom Station in Wixom, Michigan, to celebrate the end of our winter hibernation and he arrival of the spring driving season. The lunch featured tons of Italian food and fun little gift bags with club keyrings and detailing brushes, all the better to turn your ignitions to “On” and then brush the dust off your dash after a spirited run! John Magee shares a few pictures from the day.
Full house for JAGM Joint Meeting!
April WDMGC meeting was a joint meeting with the Michigan Jaguar club. It included a presentation on the early history of Ford racing, presented by Todd Bryan, the president of the Henry Ford Heritage Association. HFHA’s mission is “Fostering interest in the life and accomplishments of Henry Ford, and to preserve and interpret the landmarks associated with his life and family."
Twenty people showed up to the April Natter and Noggin. Three American members made the cross-border trek! Weather was nice enough to bring out lots of cars and plenty of fun.
Another Meeting Filled With Generosity!!
It was a splendid way to wrap up the MG year!
The December meeting and holiday party at Craft Breww City featured a literal truckload of food and toy donations! The items brought by club members, and donated to C.A.R.E.S. and the Toys for Tots program. Special thanks to Vince and Kelly Lacroix for the cake and a rousing game of MG Bingo; to Kelly and David Larson for the now-traditional MG cookies; and to Russ and Marlis LaFevre for again volunteering their pickup truck to deliver our donations!
Our December meeting for the last few years, we collected for items for the Toys for Tots organization, and non-perishable goods for the C.A.R.E.S., a local charity that helps food-insecure families. The generosity of our members always far exceeds expectations.
Looing forward to doing it again next year!
The beginning of another year brings the chance to elect the WDMGC Board of directors. This year the voting was, once again, on-line. The board did not see any real changes again this year - just some unexpected official news. Back by poplular demand - Vince LaCrouix as Treasurer! He actually returned mid term last year to fill in the vacant spot, which was much appreciated. Vicki Bade continues as President, Dale Brown carries on as Vice President, and John Magee serving as Secretary and Can-Am Connection Editor. Congratulations to all who participated in the voting, and we offer our support to those elected for the upcoming year. Remember, you may contact any board member for any suggestions or comments about the WDMGC.
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| Vicki Bade President |
Dale Brown Vice President |
John Magee Secretary |
Vince LaCroix Treasurer |
We are very sorry to report that longtime member and former president Ed Fleming passed away in June, 2025.
Ed joined the club in 1990, and was the receipient of many awards presented by WDMGC.
Ed also became a lifetime member of WDMGC in 2006. He served as President, Newsletter Editor, and was often a Ralleye Master for driving events for the club. He offered an insight to his life with this ariticle from the Can-Am Connection published in March, 2008.
We send our sincere condolences to all his friends and family.
In addition to the stories and fond memories of that were shared by members at our June and July meetings, Dale Brown and William Reeves sent along these stories of Ed’s adventures with the club. Thank you both for these great tales.
From Dale Brown:
Back in the day, Ed and his cohort, Marcia Greiner, did many clay pottery items for the Club. One thing they did for many years was an award for the most miles driven in a season. I forget the name of the award. They had a pottery award that was a scene with a car and a clock. Each year the recipient kept that one and returned it for the following year. But they also made a model of the recipient’s car that they would keep. I won it the final year they did it and I still have the model of my 69 MGB. It was so accurate including the side reflectors.
Ed had a black tulip MG Midget. I don’t think he ever had a top for it. For several years, he needed a new starter but drove it anyway. He would park it on a slope when he stopped so that he could coast down and pop the clutch to start it. Sometimes when that wasn’t possible, Club members would push him. Eventually he got the starter replaced and admitted it wasn’t such a big deal after-all.
Way back when, John Twist used to sponsor a road ralleye called “Ralleye around the Lake” (or something like that). It was around Lake Michigan and I think it took two days. This was well before GPS, etc. A few times, Ed did it with friend Dan Kirby in Dan’s ralleye-prepared Midget. Sometimes it was after nightfall. The point was to do it in the shortest distance and time as well as other factors. They would find all kinds of detailed maps that they took with them and find the most shortcuts. One route they found was through a farmer’s field. They came across a creek that they couldn’t cross, so they found some old boards and made their own bridge across. At times they were driving so fast that the car left the ground. Another time in the days of the John Twist summer parties, there was always the Sunday convoy to Gratton Race track to watch vintage racing. We were always able to do laps at the lunch break. Ed had done some racing earlier in his life and he was my passenger. He coaxed me through the curves and turns with the curbs, etc. for us to have a decent lap. I will always remember that one.
From William Reeves:
It was the early 90’s when I joined the first caravan with the Windsor Detroit MG Club. I was riding with my young son who was just out of diapers. We were driving on the back roads west of Haggerty and 8 Mile. The car was swaying left and right, soon my son fell asleep in the passenger seat. His head was rolling left and right to match the curves of the roads. All of a sudden he woke up and just threw up all over the seat and his clothes. I pulled off the road to the right and stopped. All the other cars behind me and in front of me stopped and came to my rescue. Ed Fleming was the first to arrive. He came to the window and said what’s the matter? Carb? Out of gas? I can help. I said no I need a mother to help me with my son!!!! We had a good laugh when I saw what was going on in the passenger seat. Of course I was not prepared with extra clothes or water to clean him up. We arrived at the meeting location where I was able to wash out his pants in the restroom and tie his jacket around his waist to cover his behind. I placed the pants on the rack of the MG to dry in the sun. By the time we were ready to leave it was dry. Ed was always handy with his camera and took photos of the whole sordid affair. The story appeared in the next issue of the newsletter with photo of the pants drying on the back of the MG luggage rack. P.S. that young son is now 34.
We were gathering at the usual location for a caravan, 8 Mile and Haggerty. Ed was busy passing out the printed route for the day’s event. Cars started to line up and leave, Ed was still walking around the parking lot. I said do you have a ride? He said no. Well, ride with me as I was alone. I always found it hard to read the map and drive by myself. I try to get in the middle of the group to have a car in front and behind me. Ed and I talked about his days racing with Paul Newman. He would sleep with his car in a pup tent at the tracks. He told me one morning he was up early and walking the infield when he came upon Paul Newman working on his car. He said they talked racing and cars for a while. He then returned to his wife and her friend now awake. Edna was mad at Ed that he did not get her to meet Paul Newman. He said that at the race track he is not an actor, he is a driver and the Hollywood business is left behind. Everyone here is focused on racing. I was still driving to the event and now noticed that our conversation got me separated from the rest of the group. I did not have a car in front of me and did not have a car behind me. Ed said don’t worry as I know these roads as they were used by Road and Track to test the cars for evaluation. He guided me to the next meeting place and all was well.
I attended a hibernation dinner one January evening. It was very cold and snowing hard that day. We arrived in the parking lot and I was amazed to see a man driving around with a Purple midget with the top down. He was wearing a fur hat from northern Canada. It turns out that was Ed Fleming. Someone inside the dinner said that he did not have a top for that car or just did not want to bother putting it up. I now know these are different people.
