As a business school type, this is an interesting management issue for me, but I shall have to comment with care less I accidentally upset Jays. I am not a troll!!!
MMC have survived when others have gone by finding a small niche where the big boys cant compete, and then keeping costs sensible and shareholdings in the hands of long term holders. They have real advantages with a system of light weight construction, and a non mechanised production process which is inherently flexible even if sometimes questionable on quality.But they have a disadvantage - the large number of apparently identical used Morgans that there are around. Lotus have the same issue with the Elise - why buy a new Elise at 50k when there is an apparently identical one available second hand at 30k. Sure there will always be people willing to buy new but the numbers are reduced by the large old stock and the lack of visual change over the years.
Which I guess is the reason why the Aero was invented. And the three wheeler brought back to life.
The key question for any new MMC car is the one of appearance. Do MMC stick to the style of the 40s even if as with the Aero its modernised a bit. If they do, then having got a 4 cylinder sports car and an 8 cylinder one and a 3 wheel 2 cylinder one, its difficult to see what next other than evolution of models that exist. I suppose they could use their big advantage, a simple easily changed production process , to make a 4 seater possibly based on the Aero and as a more serious attempt than the old 4 seater to cater for families. But in doing so they would be getting ever closer to the big boys.
My vote would be for MMC to revive the traditional British sports car in a simple non electronic form. By that I am meaning a modern design of the physical size of an MX5 but more expensive and special. Maybe using the roadster engine to give somewhere between 200 and 300 bhp/tonne. Proper modern suspension and brakes. Maybe even mid engined? In the old days there always was a ranmge of sports cars from say Midget through big Healey to XKs so I do see an opportunity for a light weight modern open 2 seater to fill the empty big Healey gap. And it wouldnt pinch Roadter customers - there are buyers like me who ( sorry Jays!) want something more modern and less crude than a Roadster without going as far as a new Aero.
IMO, MMC would be daft to put their limited resources behind electic or hybrid cars just yet. Petrol engines will last for a long time , and developing new technology is horrendously expensive. MMC dont even develop their own petrol engines - is now the time for them to risk everything trying to keep up with Honda and Mercedes? I think not. There will be time in future to buy that technology in from an outfit that doesnt make competing sports cars just as they do with modern petrol engines.
MMC have a big opportunity to grow without losing their soul. As I have found looking for toy cars, the choice is very limited indeed if you dont want the electronified output of a mass car maker.
