Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) The future of the Trad.

To counter some of your discussion, and for the accountants to ponder on, why would you kill off a car that has been in production for over 80 years when : There is a steady demand, compliant engines are easy to source (they dont have to be BMW or Ford), you can market it well under 50 and make good money, people come to the factory (a profit center in itself) to watch it being built, no development costs.
I seriously dont believe that many would line up just to look at CX vehicles being assembled as opposed to 4/4s being created.

A very good point about the factory visits. If they are still allowed to build Trad. Morgans in the fashion we all remember, perhaps in an old wooden shed down the slope somewhere, then the factory could become a heritage centre with even more coach parties and they would be able to sell the cars we watched them make.
After all, the number of visits to the likes of Beamish and The Black Country Museum are an indication of what is possible or have I just had too much wine?

I agree 100% with the idea of making, and restoring older Morgans in a the HFS Heritage Centre, using the 1909 buildings whilst the CX cars are built in a new facility on the field.

Talking to a dealer today regarding the "trad" type cars - I asked the direct question " how much longer will Morgan continue with the traditional type chassis cars?". The answer was clear " 2 years Max - most likely less than that". The new +6 CX chassis is the future of Morgan production. I know things change and evolve - but can't help feeling a bit jaded about it.

i think that a 2 l BMW turbo in a CX chassis is likely to be a fantastic car -- I hope they produce this or something similar - only that would tempt me away from my fantastic Plus 4!!!

Andymot, that are sad news. Only two years? I would never buy a CX-Morgan, I keep my old one. I would not be surprised if the Morgans with the traditional chassis gets in future the nimbus of the real, especially the small body 4/4 and the powerful sound machine +8.

Trads are dead.
there are huge forces in the car industry and massive changes in market demand. Morgan are not immune to these changes, and the boomer generation is fading away. Morgan are right to retain the characterful bodies but modernise the underpinnings. Caterhams are totally different and still relevant (still niche of course).
8yr waiting list is long gone, in part because the prices rose so much, but also the target market is dying.

Electric trad body with sophisticated suspension would be my bet.

Followed by hydrogen when its a sorted fuel which will end electric production ...

Bear in mind that everyone said the trad was dead in the 60's just before Mick Jagger bought one. Didn't Peter produce the plus 4 plus because of the belief that the trad was dead?
Who knows what the future holds?
Nick

Well it seems that the naturally aspirated engines have reached the end of their life because of excessive CO2 emmisions. At this point there is absolutely no sense in re-engineering the trad chassis to take small turbocharged engines.

I know nothing but I would have a little bet that 3 and 4 cylinder engines are already in CX series prototypes in the "skunkworks" at the Morgan factory, I would almost bet that they will be ready for release at the next Geneva show. The market for CX Morgans with a more "friendly" power plant will be much greater than that of the Plus Six. Due to volume production of the tub and lower hours for assembly I would also expect prices that will be comparable with current 4/4 and Plus 4 prices.
Perhaps even lower