I agree with that line of thought Alistair relative to behaviour of other motorists at junctions and in today`s traffic than it was hereabouts circa 20 years or more ago, there is no doubt that on the road a Morgan can bring pleasure to others given the interest and smiles, even occasional waves it can generate, compared to the degree of envy that can be experienced when driving other sports car marques.
Likewise I agree with John too who put it a tad more succinctly than I seem to be capable of...
As I have typed before it seems perhaps best to incorporate a reasonable degree of relativity in terms of ones motoring priorities when choosing a vehicle which is hoped to provide the preferred range of automotive experiences..?
If you have perhaps read any of my rambling, my priorities were to seek out a more involving driving experience in my fifties, a time when my appreciation for many things seemed to be ..err..maturing ... as was I. Up until that time the latest would be the greatest in sports cars, m/cycles and much else.
It was not immediately obvious to me, but I was suffering a growing resistance to digital decision making in so many aspects of life, which was growing within, and in the process increasingly killing off the value of hard won skills in all sorts of areas... Yeah, for sure it is an age thing...!
At the time I desired to get myself into a rip roaring old car that demanded my full attention to keep it out of the surrounding scenery when enjoying a challenging bit of twisting and undulating Tarmac, and at a time when I was still young and fit enough to enjoy such nonsense. It seems possible I made the right decision relative to choosing not only the right machine to buy, but at precisely the right time too, which was most unusual for me..Though in truth much of that was down to the internet Morgan community in the mid 90`s and the GoMoG webmaster who greatly educated me as to the realities of Morganeering...
The right machine..? One devoid of as much modernity as seems reasonable..?
The tight time..? A time prior to the degree of regulatory emission changes that removed carbs to be replaced with digitally controlled fuelling solutions and so much more to complicate maintenance and repair processes. Not only that, but the increased digital processes involved in monitoring so much more which increased exponentially to an extent then unimagined by me as it is today, be that in road speed recorded or by others or all of the decisions a series of sensors and actuators working together to over ride some decisions the driver might make, should he think to operate outside the parameters of the programming... Hmm..?
Yeah well, it seems unreasonable not to consider the advantages of evolution that can come in to play, where our older selves may not be as precise or nimble of mind as once we were and perhaps less physically supple too, thus a bit of extra comfort and digital decision making might just become more acceptable as being superior to our own abilities in ever more circumstances...? Thinking beyond ABS and the many other digital controls, and on to proximity sensors not only to avoid bumps while parking, but to keep you in lane, or maintain a safe distance from the car in front, not to mention all the comforts to minimise the level of skills required to pilot a machine on the road today, with entertainment and comforts never ever thought by me as being a requirement for motoring enjoyment... and none of which were on my list of desires when I thought a Morgan might be the ideal machine for ME.
Time and tide wait for no man, and today, flappy paddles, air con and so many aspects of engineering advances and digital decision making certainly make driving less of a challenge for the old man I have become than it might otherwise have been had things stayed as the were when my priorities were entirely different. For other than some of those advances I would more than likely have had to accept the limitations of the ageing process as opposed to extending the enjoyment of our last trip down to the LM Classic and more Southerly regions of France in a flappy paddle air conditioned and rather comfortable 4x4 ..Hmm..? Had a similarly equipped sports car been available at the time...Hmm..?
However, all that aside, I still managed circa 600 miles in my old Morgan this year which included the occasional short RIP, and perhaps even the odd pop and bang thrown in, while allowing just the correct amount of time for second gear to accept my need of it when dropping down from third, with just a hint of heel and toe in the process.... Yeah my dancing and Morgan driving has slowed down somewhat, but I would not want my Morgan to be other than the wonderful old car it is.... Except perhaps without it`s electric enrichment device for cold starting, I would have preferred a choke cable, back when choices were made, and still think similarly today...Though what are the chances of remembering to push the choke back in before the engine begins to falter somewhat, to remind me of the need to do so before I further poison the planet...Hmm..?
As ever just thinking in type. Each to their own indeed.
