Originally Posted By Vspec
Congrats Charlie! Tell us more please


As all of you know, my obsession with the Morgan 3 Wheeler runs deeper than most and seeing the extended forecast week after week go from snow and cold to rain and cold, with nearly no sunny or warm days, was crushing for me. Knowing that my 3 Wheeler was just sitting there waiting for me after I had spent so long waiting for it; but favorable conditions never seemed to line up long enough for me to make the drive. Then a break in the weather appeared on the extended forecast, Sunday, 14 April – partly cloudy with a high in the mid-50s (~13c).

Watching that date inch closer on the forecast brought growing optimism that the weather and conditions were all lining up for me. So, I called the guys at Auto Europe to see if I could talk one of them into coming in on a Sunday so that I can pick up my 3 Wheeler. They were very nice and without hesitation said they would see me at 3 on Sunday the 14th. Then, on Friday, 12 April the forecast changes to include a cold front pushing a rain/snow mix through the area, due to hit in the early afternoon. Not welcome news, at all.

Sunday finally comes and I am delighted to wake up to sun shining through the windows. Meghann and I start getting ready and then my phone rings, it’s my mother and she is concerned that a wintery-mix storm is about to blow through. I assure her that I have been watching the weather forecast with diligence and I think that we will be fine and that I plan on still making the trip. My parents were due to pick us up shortly after 1 pm for the hour and a half trip to the dealership; at about noon the snow started to fall. This was not a normal spring snow, it was big fat fluffy flakes of snow, and it was coming down really hard and fast.

So, I jump on the computer and pull up the weather radar and a few different weather forecast websites, then for the next hour-plus I sat and watched, damming Mother Nature for attempting once again to foil my plans. I called the guys at Auto Europe to see what their plans were and to let them know that I still wanted to do this if the storm passed quickly enough. They said they would stick it out and wait up for me! Finally, at 3 pm the cold front and storm system had passed; the temperature started to rise and the roads were drying so I called my parents and told them to pick us up.

On the drive there the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds and by the time that we had arrived at the dealership there was hardly a cloud in sight. We all went in and my parents got a tour of place, we went over everything about the 3 Wheeler and about the license plate (or lack thereof) and we were ready to take off. We pulled into the parking lot to put our helmets on and get situated with a warm wool blanket on our laps.

While we were parked, a gentleman pulls over on the side of the road and gets his young (6 maybe 7 year-old) daughter out of the car. He walks up and starts admiring the 3 Wheeler and we chatted a bit about it. We hadn’t even gone a portion of a mile and we had already experienced the beginning of the public’s reactions to the 3 Wheeler. Over the next hundred miles the scenery went from very urban with heavy traffic, to the Lake District with narrow roads and large houses, to the country with open freshly plowed fields and to top it off we drove right through the heart of Michigan State University campus before getting home.

Each setting revealed fans of the Morgan; in the urban areas there were many pedestrians who were smiling, waving, giving thumbs up and taking photos at stop lights and on street corners. When we were in the Lake District, people out tending to their perfectly manicured lawns and landscaping stopped what they were doing and stared, smiled and nodded with approval or waved. Once we had gotten further out into open stretches of road surrounded by farmland and dotted with the occasional small town consisting of a one stop light intersection, people seemed delighted at the sight of the 3 Wheeler. At one stop light a lady pulled alongside of me to take some photos and she inquired if I had built it. Another man driving some large farm equipment went out of his way to give me thumbs up as well. Once we reached the campus of MSU, the college students took notice of the 3 Wheeler right away; lots of finger pointing and photos as we passed. One guy on a Harley chatted me up at one red light well into the green light. Over all the reactions were very fun, as this is the most attention any vehicle I have owned has received.

We finally pulled into my driveway at about 8 pm as the sun was starting to set and the temperature was again starting to drop. The drive home took just over two hours and when we finally crawled out of the 3 Wheeler cockpit, there was a lot of stretching. It has been a few years since I have driven a manual for any distance and my left leg and rear side were sore from the workout. But what an exhilarating experience - everything from the constant assault from the elements, the reactions from everyone around, the joy that it brings while driving it, and I can’t leave out the intoxicating sound that it makes.

My overall impressions after the first 100 miles are still good. The bevel box was absolutely quiet, it made a little noise when going over 60 mph but was buffeted out by wind noise for the most part. There was some kick back in the steering wheel when traversing uneven road surfaces, but I would not call it extreme, it was never so severe that it pulled the wheel from my hand. The new peddle box left plenty of room for easy use, it was not as cramped as on the demo 3 Wheeler that I tested. The MX-5 transmission was smooth and easy to operate. And best of all, the new Stebel air-horn that the Auto Europe Service Department installed worked very well.

Now that it is resting safely in my garage, the weather forecast has returned to rain and cold for the next week. But I am looking forward to the many auto shows on my schedule for this summer. I promise to keep everyone updated and awash in photos and stories. Also, my poor daily driver has lost its spot in the garage and is now an outside car for the first time in its existence. It was very surreal to look out my window this morning to see my car in the driveway, knowing that one of the best vehicles ever imagined was mine and sitting right inside the garage, longing for better weather and a jot down the road.


Charlie, Former Editor
Morgan Owners Group - Great Lakes