Hawki, from my forum I.D. you may guess that I think similarly to you in terms of technological advance relative to adding complexity to management of vehicular systems..?
I ever prioritised self reliance when it came to the ability to maintain and repair my recreational vehicle, in fact all my vehicles right up till the time when digitisation made inroads in a way that restricted access to aspects of it`s fuelling system`s operation and control, and that was many years ago... I stuck with fuel injection right up to K Jetronic, but after that threw the towel in and re-set my priorities for a fun car for the reasons similar to those you suggest. The idea of breaking down or failing to start as the result of who knows what, certainly held no appeal.
I remember perhaps in the 70`s when what were up till then simple fixings on engines etc. began to appear requiring "special" tools to fit them. These fixings created in the manufacturers hope that it would restrict the DIY brigade from performing their own maintenance. I suspect when EFI initially appeared, the manufacturers could not believe their luck in the increased ability it provided to restrict DIY access..
Admittedly gone are the days when the only way to interrogate a digital system was through a main dealer only held software/hardware system. Things moved on a tad with OBDII connectivity and hand held scanners becoming available to the general DIY brigade allowing a means of interrogating the software for fault codes generated as the result of hardware issues. In time Digital systems moved on to then more up to date kit whereby fault codes can be reset or values on some hardware changed through DIY software interfaces and even with the push of a button jump over to a different software programme for performance as opposed to economy or whatever other priorities may be desired...? Yup all very clever indeed... and extremely efficient, until it fails to start, or run reasonably as the result of perhaps just one corroded connection in a wiring harness made up of just how many connections..????
Fault codes are wonderful and can point you in the approximate direction, but they can cause confusion too, even for a logical thinker with a sound mechanical grounding on the basics of an internal combustion engine and much else mechanical that comes together to create a vehicle.... A store full of expensive spares that can be swapped about has oft times been used to determine the source of a fault in the real world of repairing machinery today.
Then of course we come up against obsolescence, and in systems digital... that can come about much more rapidly than ever before, but with a bit of luck you might be able to rip out the old system perhaps even using some of the harness to connect up a new series of sensors to the latest type of ECU...Assuming the machine in question is worth the expense or bother...?
Given any of the above is it any wonder that few folk are hands on with their Morgans as the average Morganeer of the past, sure there will always be those who will enjoy messing with the digital variables and modern mechanicals... even the odd Baby Boomer, but they will become fewer by the day.... call it a mix of technological evolution and expected human lifespan..(-:
Putting all the technological advance to one side it does seem that although a CX Morgan is so very different to a TRAD, it is still a Morgan, perhaps just as a M3W is still a TRIKE, and also very different from the original machine in terms of the technology involved..?
If you read my earlier ramble on this thread, I suspect my conclusion was that a CX Morgan is a wonderful machine and as different to it`s sports car counterparts today as my carb fed +8 Morgan was when it was new in the mid 80`s... Thus that essence which is that a Morgan may still be so very different, seems to still exist in spades...? Just that the number of dirty finger-nailed spanner wielding Morganeers will have all but died out.
Jeez I suspect it may be possible for a "mechanic" to serve an apprenticeship never having seen an engine taken apart and repaired other than in Technical college...? Sealed for life everything equates to unit replacement to the extent that "technicians" replace ever larger units with little understanding of the operation of the units internals, be that circuit boards, or gear boxes... it is a whole brave new world out there...?
As Gambalunga (Peter) typed, gone are the days of those like me were crawling under old cars in the oil polluted mud of scrap yards stripping parts off wrecked cars to keep our old cars on the road, though I do think that there will be a variation of that for digital kit of all types on fleabay etc.etc.
Long term, I think the internal combustion engine has had it`s day, and IF the future is electric, then hopefully the perceptional difference in whatever Morgan exists, will still seem RAW and involving compared to whatever other sports cars might be available at that time...?
ME..? I have no desire for the "sophistication" of a digitally reliant Morgan or the stiffer CX chassis configuration with it`s more compliant suspension and the large number of horses crammed under it`s bonnet, the whole Vintage aspect of what a TRAD Morgan WAS is that which I bought into and enjoyed over a number of years, touring around Southern Europe and here at home. With some selected spares and tools on board I was pretty confident that I would have a good chance of repairing any of the well known "foibles" a Morgan might present.... With flexing chassis, greasing suspension and occasionally loosening nuts and bolts my Morgan`s vintage aspects required a measure of pilot involvement that might be expected of a Vintage car, but it`s Engine, drive train, and electrics and fortunately it`s brakes were far from Vintage.... Though compared to the CX,... well perhaps they are...Evolution is a very important aspect of survival is it not..?
TODAY`s young Morgan buyer may well think that a CX is VERY old school in a similar way as did I some years back when I was younger and thought a Morgan would suit my ideals perfectly at the time..
Just thinking in type....
