Well Adam you have just explained it. Originally there was the three wheeler. the 4-4 and then the plus 4. All, over the years have been up graded with engines and transmissions keeping them more current with the latest tech. So 4-4 meaning 4 wheels, 4 cylinders. the plus 4 was really a 4-4 with a more powerful engine.
Then followed body and drive train upgrades inc chassis' too, over quite some time. When Charles started getting more involved in the company there was a C change that moved thing forward much faster than previously.... The Rover V8 engine and the birth of the plus 8. From this point many rapid changes and progressive designs started to happen with special editions reflecting racing variants from the past although in a much updated guise. This continued until Charles' baby the aero class was born. This resulted in a totally new platform and through a transition of the plus 8 which resembled a classic moved them into the CX era.
Here is where devision starts to rear its head. The plus 8 BMW was short lived in production and although to the uninitiated it was just a Morgan it most certainly was not. But it brought into production the CX range, namely the plus four and plus six. Both competent cars but being a totally new car in every respect it did suffer with problems initially, problems which Morgan really were not getting solved in a timely enough manner. The dealerships in their limited numbers were not equipped to deal with the cars or repair them quickly enough and for almost three years this was an issue with owners, couple this to the price drops of up to 50% at three years old and it effected the whole Morgan market. Morgan knew this and two things happened. Firstly and not soon enough they went all out through the dealers to rectify these cars with problems. Although the new cars were a radicle shift from the classics they still had a poor suspension system when compared to the cars they were trying to compete against although much improved over the classic and the bodywork had not really changed much from how the classic felt and performed ergonomically yet the interior had left all traces of a classic behind. Morgan then got to work on the CXV platform which became the Super sport and resolved most of the CX issues.
Now, here's the rub. The CX and CXV don't really drive like the classic's, certainly not by as much as they look like them! So on one hand it's very clever in that Morgan have retained the classic look with a car that easily matches the super car market, but uniquely retaining the old school charm. This has split the buying user straight down the middle as those traditionalists want it to look like a classic Morgan and drive like one whereas others want the look but the drive of a lotus or 911.
I think when you boil it down its not strong opinions, more a preference in that there has always been a preferred car within the range but this massive thrust forward has brought to the fore a most radical change, much like happened with the Land Rover Defender. And the price hike was found to be limiting the traditional buyer as it had almost doubled the cost. Then to watch the falling prices after only a short time was a real nail in the coffin, as Morgan owners had never seen this before.
There are other issues, one being the new association with BMW. Owners with say a Ford engine could happily get help from a Ford dealership in resolving problems they may have, but BMW won't touch your Morgan! so You are stuck with the limited Morgan network to sort you out and the final thing and perhaps the most relevant is accident damage. If you are involved in an accident and you suffer Tub damage the cost of repair is so great that the insurers are righting them off, even worse, is that there have been CX cars with relatively minor damage and Morgan couldn't get the parts or repair it in a satisfactory time and they are being written off too. So perhaps you will see some strident statements about some of the cars, both past and present but I would go as far as to say that all Morgans from whatever age have....their own foibles! And of course there are those who love a particular car and others that don't. More frustration has come to the more recently newer technical cars which are attracting a new sector of the market in ownership and they haven't quite got the..... Well it's a Morgan Sir! But in saying that Morgan really have moved into this century with what they are now producing but you are looking at Porsche type money and it has excluded a vast former and current owner of a classic from even looking at them.
