No need to close the discussion afaic, apart from the allegations, its just getting interesting
.
If Katoen and Lance are indeed representing (an important part of) the US Morgan community, then I like to hear their arguments, preferably without allegations on a personal level. What I am picking up is that the US Morgan community is much more focused (obsessed?) with the heritage aspect of Morgan ownership.(a heritage chip on the shoulder of Mr. Morgan C. Owner the third?)
Anything that could damage the reputation of Morgan as a vintage car is bad and should be stopped. ref
"And the last thing that market needs is more supply with an obscure provenance" Another interesting remark;
"Let's be honest. The car world has always had two minds about Morgans. Are they potential classics or are they kit cars simply assembled in England?" Is that the US car world? I have never thought of my Morgan as a kit car. If that idea is going around here, it must be in the
classic car world, because classic car owners cannot handle classics that are still being built. If you drive around in a new car that looks like a classic you must be an imposter in a kitcar? For those people the best thing would be if Morgan went bust (20 years ago), or only produce Aero type cars, so that their cherished classics are not confused with the trad wannabees. I have come across this attitude on this side of the pond, but I think it is a small minority, probably because there are so much more young trads here.
Similarly;
"One of the biggest attractions of a classic Morgan is that they don't go down in price" Again this might be true for the classic US scene, but all Morgan owners I know just enjoy the driving and the "experience" (the handbuilt "quality", the tinkering, the events, the friendships etc). They are not bothered with resale value at all and usually spend more then they will ever recover on restaurations.
What is my point? I think we have two Morgan communities with different perspectives. The classic Morgan owners group is probably over represented in the US. From their perspective The Malvern Roadster is a bad thing. Even from my perspective I can see a point. If my next Morgan (the 3.7 Roadster
) is suddenly part assembled here in NL, that is fine but if it is suddenly badged "Malvern Roadster" and I have to go to another dealer to buy it I would probably at least scratch my head a few times.(and then Buy it) Why this name change is required is a valid question, I would like to know the answer however there is no need to acuse MMC of malintent unless there is good evidence. All IMHO of course.
Cheers J
