Lotus are hand built too. 20 years ago they innovated and built something great - and 20 yr old Elise's with their glued aluminium chassis are still around today. They only die when crashed! Early ones had issues, but over time screws go tighter, components modified etc. Management focused on improvement - probably forced because the press took more interest in Lotus than Morgan - and from 2008-on the cars are pretty good. Every year they get better.
MMC clearly have not made the same effort and charge nearly 50k for a fully-spec'd +4. I read Lotus forums regularly and the quality issues are now more the exception. Morgan owners see it as charming, and so MMC don't try. Sorry, i love the car, the community and really enjoyed my factory trip, but if MMC are to prosper they need to wake up. Foreign markets may not be as tolerant and bad PR can be costly (Jaguar?).
I'm a glass half-full guy, and a trip in the old girl is life affirming. I even enjoy covering the engine before washing, oiling the seams and greasing the kingpins. That's the real charm...
