I think MMC would probably not be in operation today if the Aero didn't happen.
That car, good enough to be front page of car magazines, good enough to face top end cars in comparative tests, good enough to show up in TV shows, good enough to battle Porsches, Ferraris, Corvettes, Audi R8s - and WIN - in professional GT racing, made Morgan visible - therefore existent - to generations that weren't aware of it.
Also, even for those that knew the brand existed, this car made Morgan look very different from the general idea that it was some kind of anachronic antiquity bound to die, where someone forgot to "pull the plug" a few decades ago, where somehow a couple of blokes working in a shed still managed to make enough money to live from it.
Indeed because of the Aero, people understood the trads were not a relic, but an option from a manufacturer that could do other things too. And stay modern, not losing its soul.
I say all this but I will also add that the Aero cars never got me interested. Probably because I'm not rich enough to own one, probably because I just love the trads for what they are.
I find the Morgan-Nissan-OAK LMP2 "adventure", and the money that went into it (another point of debate elsewhere) less interesting and more debatable indeed. But I will say that keeping the name MORGAN repeatedly spoken and written in motorsports events like Le Mans, and motorsports news all over the world, adds to give global awareness to the brand too. IMHO, in a positive way,
The 3 wheeler is a success, I don't think there's a doubt about it. I keep delaying my order because I'm sincerely worried with the issues I keep reading about (especially the bump steer and the bevel box)and I want to hear a clear and reassuring word from MMC that they dealt with these teething issues.
So, what can I say bad about how and where the leadership of Charles Morgan took Morgan to? I read elsewhere (PH) that the company has financial difficulties, that the Aero's aren't selling, the trads aren't selling and the 3 wheeler is selling but doesn't provide enough money to keep it all going. If this is true, it is a somber truth. But all this family "debacle" won't help to any of it. And a "go back to basics" route, ditching the big Aero cars and the semi-Aero new Plus8 is hardly the right answer. Based on what I read being written these last days (but not my own experience) I'd say CLIENT-CARE and BUILD QUALITY CONTROL should be the main priorities to clear potential buyers from their understandable doubts and fears.
To end this post I will also say that Morgan, as a loved brand, has in its DNA the fact that it belongs to the Morgan family. I am aware that with or without Charles Morgan it will still be a family owned company, but there's a unavoidable path away from this reality if and when no family member is involved with the day-to-day decision making. The emotional connection between the family members and the company quickly fades, and its place becomes replaced by the "old'n cold" question: Do I want my shares and the dividends that may or may not end up in my bank account? Or do I want to sell?
Anyway, I am saddened by all this. I read a guy in PH saying he got a Morgan car (think it was a +8) and sold it ASAP because the car was full of problems since day one and kept needing a mechanic throughout all the time he had it. This being written out there - be it true or false - is BAD for the brand. And I chose to write my own post in the "public section" of these forums because I want to leave it in writing that I bought a Morgan Plus 4 in 2010. That I already clocked almost 20.000 kms in it WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST ISSUE OR PROBLEM. And, also, that I RACE that same car. And that I drive it from home to the track area, and back by road to my own home. My car is the embodied epitomy of a "RACE IT SUNDAY, DRIVE IT MONDAY" car.
And I repeat: 0 (ZERO) problems. May it long last, And may I long live to drive and race it.
Last edited by MarioCP; 27/10/13 03:16 PM.
