Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms New Morgan with a boot?

All sounds very promising, watching with interest!

My humble 2 cents. Spencer, you made a very nice video with and for MMC. It had something unifying - for all Morgan models past and present, and for all Morgan drivers past and present. It wasn't an elevation of the CX model over a Trad, no difference between 1950 and 2024, it was the core values of the Morgan experience that I also experience in my 4/4 in the same way when I drive past farms in the Eifel or lavender fields in the south of France. Morgan wanted to bridge the gap and present the new CX models as authentic Morgan in a timeline that gives us stories, experiences, heritage and tradition in the best sense of the word, and as a Morgan has always been able to do. This was very well done, and you as a relatively young driver in the middle of life was very believable and rejuvenating for the brand's target audience.
Your enthusiasm for the new model, which you express here in a post, with the trunk is very infectious and palpable in the same way. The only thing I feel is perhaps a little unfortunate is that you single out the future model in a polarizing comparison to all previous models. I'm not sure if you mean the CX models as well when you say they are held together by chewing gum and good prayers. But that's not so important. It's a bit at odds with the idea that it's the stories that will stay. It's nice if each new future model can be seen as a continuity of the core values and doesn't have to gloss over in polarization to all previous Morgan models. I don't think you win new customers by saying, “Hey sorry, we're doing everything differently from now on, forget yesterday's BS”. But I think you were just very impressed and enthusiastic about the innovative appearance of the new model and you were lost for better words. No offense intended.

Well put Heinz.

Jaguar may be the first brand to discover how insulting core heritage customers works out.

So that'll be Jag-u-were.....

Heinz I would feel sure that Spencer was not talking about the CX chassis range as he would not have eulogised about his Plus Four in his video.

He was talking about the pre 1997 era cars with untreated wood and dissimilar metals in the wings I imagine and quality control was iffy at best and amazing “fixes” were discovered🤣

Interesting you mention this, Dave.

I had written a similar point but deleted it because it felt incongruous to the point I was making about the value of all stories, not simply ones that resonate, or sit comfortably, with our own. Furthermore, as Heinz referenced, the models prior enhance what comes next, not detract from it. To my mind, they actually tell the story of the company and create the mythology and authenticity of the brand. This, in my opinion, is the real value in the years of history behind the wings and one that no marketeer could easily create in a short period of time. However, as we have seen from Jaguar, it is all too easy for said marketing teams (or senior manager) to decimate and divide a legacy brand in one click of a button.

I would like to believe that MMC understand the value of their customer base and can appreciate that nurturing it, whilst also expanding the net to include new customers, is the fiscally sensible one. Jaguar (jaguar?) seem to have taken the 'baby-bathwater' approach and only time will tell how sensible that methodology is...

One aside on the topic of older owners is, perhaps, one that is often missed. Surely there is an element to those owners passing that love on to younger generations within their family, akin to vehicular osmosis? If you asked my daughter what some of her fondest car memories are when she was a child, she will regale you with stories of jaunts in a Morgan. To that point, one of her goals is to own one in the future. To dismiss older owners simply because they may not purchase another car, or perhaps don't fit the image the brand would like to curate, would seem to miss the fact that those same owners can be a positive brand ambassador. By sharing their passion with the younger generation, it can help to create the next age of buyers.

Further to the point I made earlier, I'm old enough to remember being told by someone 'influential' in the Morgan world that I had not bought a 'real Morgan' when I purchased my first Aero. As many of you know, TM came about for this very reason; all are welcome, whatever you are lucky enough to own.

That's +1 for me, Simon. I have to admit that I just was concerned in the beginning, that this vid just increased the gap between the CX generation and the Trads. In the UK there are special CX-fora, CX-outings, whereas in The Netherlands we just emphasize that we are a Morgan club for EVERY Morgan member/driver/owner. I think that this is so important. Let the brand move and nurture its legacy! The most cared-for PlusFour (Spencers) is now for sale. I try to understand it all. My children have the fondest memories of our 4/4. My eldest son, being a car-designer at Zeekr (Geely) in Göteborg Sweden, wrote an article in the upcoming FataMorgana about our recent trip to Malvern in the PlusFour. We met Thomas Brainwood (Morgan senior car designer) there, and Joost, my son, emphasized in his article how important these brands as Morgan are, especially in the present global car market, and that we have to treasure them, and give young people the change to help creating new Morgans for the future!

An odd somewhat incongruous statement given earlier Morgans were bolted together and current ones are bonded. Not that I have any issue with the latter - if it's good enough for Airbus etc.

Who is this messaging really targeted at. Those that have a Morgan know all they need to know to make a informed decision as to what car they want next.

For someone new to the brand entering a Morgan showroom will probably struggle at first to differentiate between a trad and a CX except on price and even that becomes blurred with late trads and early CX's as the prices come closer. So price maybe a driver of which Morgan they go for.

We have all experienced this, when you park up people want to chat about the car, its usually those of my own age that tend to know what a Morgan is. The younger families tend to ask is it a kit car, how old is it, what engine is in it they have no knowledge of the brand, just attracted to what looks like a 1930/50's shinny vintage car. It's not fair to generalise, but in my experience it falls into 2 camps they either know the brand or don't and with the younger generation it tends to be more of the latter.

I would be interested to know how many of the CX buyers are completely new to the brand and how many are trad or repeat buyers. The number (very similar to trads) of really low mileage one owner CX's that come on the market (age profile of the owner would be interesting) and if on some form of finance, do they at the end of the 2/3 year period, repeat buy another CX. That's the type of brand loyalty that Morgan needs to create, as I would think the size of the potential Morgan market at the current price points is not that great. and its much easy to sell to the converted than try a convert someone to the brand.

I would love to understand (and only a salesmen would know this) how many people know the brand and basically what they want when they walk into the showroom as opposed to those the salesmen converts into sales.

I tend to think. you are either (as with other brands) into a Morgan or not as the case maybe , and wonder whether the CX cars engender repeat sales like the trads used to do, But there again the trads had quite basic and unique features and driving dynamics not available in contemporary cars so more difficult to compare. therefore often didn't bear the same comparison.

Whereas, CX cars with more modern build and much higher price point come closer to comparison with many other brands and therefore how it then fairs.

If you assume a lot of the low mileage one owner cars exist because the Morgan was at one time a potential investment instrument, somewhere to put your money and potentially make a return, those days seem to be behind us now, so how do you recreate that potential market. Low volume specials may do if they prove to be a sound investment, interesting times ahead,

I did smile at the video, having had soft tops cars all my life, the very reason I have them, is the rationale he used for a Morgan.....you experience your world around more, you smell the fields etc, etc. even in a Mercedes Cabriolet or an MG Midget. Morgan doesn't have the monopoly on this.

And those roadside bacon butty vans