Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms What if

What if 'BMW' were to end up owning the last of the remaining 'icons' of the British Car Industry ie Morgan. Would it change your perception of the Morgan marque? Bearing in mind that they already own the 'Mini' Brand which has thrived under their ownership. A case certainly exists for thinking that BMW may wish to follow the course of other manufacturers and build for 'Specific Customer Groups'. The 'Aero' could certainly be re-badged a 'Bimmer' and sold as such with out raising too many 'eyebrows'; not that I think that they would do that. They would keep 'Morgan' as their 'Specialist Sports Car Division' with re -badged 'Z' series 2.0 litre models called Morgans! BMW have always prided themselves on their Sporting Heritage and the 'Aero'/Morgans' Heritage would do nicely to bolster that image. With their Saloons trying to outdo 'MB', their 'Sporty' side needs re-inventing.

Open to your views.

Robert from Dubai

Robert, what an interesting question <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The problem, as I see it, is that the average BMW driver would not accept the 'quirks' that many Morgan's possess. So while they (the customer) would expect to buy BMW build quality, reliability and features, I doubt the Morgan range - in its current form - could live up to that.

Therefore, imho your second scenario would be more likely (and in line with what BMW did with the Mini brand) - redevelop the range, using proven BMW models as a base and certain Morgan styling cues; thus, making the cars more main stream and acceptable to the standard BMW customer and suitable for mass production (and in the process bleed the soul from them and what many of us actually treasure).

I believe it would change my opinion of Morgan as it would no longer be British. I trust this does not sound too patriotic or dogmatic but a great deal of the pleasure of ownership comes from supporting one of the few British car makers left.