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Wales
by Joske Vermeule, September 1
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Forums39
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Most Online1,063 Jun 14th, 2026
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 37,429 Likes: 978
Tricky Dicky Member of the Inner Circle
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Tricky Dicky Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 37,429 Likes: 978 |
I can't say how many new CX buyers have come to the Morgan brand. But I am one. I came to Morgan because my wife really wanted a classic car. To make a story short, we test drove a 4/4, a Plus 4 and a Roadster at a Morgan dealer. None of them were for me. I just really liked the shape. The salesman was then clever enough to offer me a new PlusFour to test drive. And that was exactly my vehicle. It looked like a classic car, new technology and acceptable comfort. I have a lot to do with the automotive industry and its suppliers. So I was familiar with the Morgen brand. What I didn't know was that Morgan still exists and still builds cars. I've said it here before ... the market for 1,000 cars a year is there, even in the price range. The living Morgan brand and its products need to be publicized. That is a marketing task. And that's where Spencer comes in. That's what Morgan did cleverly. I've always admired the great photos he's posted here and on Instagram. I'm sure that's how Morgan became aware of him and the marketing department worked with him to create the very successful video. They use a very satisfied customer as an ambassador for the brand and the products. For me, this is definitely more coherent than the path Jaguar is currently taking. Spot on Clemens and what a good intuitive dealer you have 😎 and cool wife to share your passion with 👩❤️👨 And for me Spencer is a far better advert for the product than the young blonde adventurer, pleasing to the eye but no passion involved really, akin to a photo shoot.
2009 4/4 Sport Henrietta 1999 Indigo Blue +8 2009 4/4 Sport Green prev 1993 Con Green +8 prev
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Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,853 Likes: 400
Talk Morgan Addict
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Talk Morgan Addict
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,853 Likes: 400 |
John, I understand your point of view but I would also like to take up the cudgels for slightly older cars in terms of reliability. We have a Mercedes W124 220CE from 1992/93 and a Mercedes E W212 estate 250 CGI. I know that you know them all and have had them yourself, the 220CE has 280000 km and the W212 now has 200,000 km, our family car. The W212 has never let us down, but the maintenance was much more expensive, these downsized turbo direct injection engines never have the life expectancy of a naturally aspirated engine from the 90s. The 30-year-old 220CE needs an average of 8 to 9 liters of petrol, which is 1.5 liters less than the downsized W212, ok, it has 60 hp more. But I believe that there was a zenith in quality and reliability at Mercedes that will never be reached again, and that was the W124. Heinz, I agree the older Mercedes were in general rock solid cars but post the 124 cars and the ill fated tie up with Chrysler which reduced the reliability of the resultant cars, the quality of engineering suffered and hence that solid build quality they are renown for. They are still playing catch up today. I had a 93 220ce from new, did 36000 miles in 9 months in it and it never missed a beat. I traded it in for a new 94 E320 cabriolet sportline, not cheap cost me nearly £50k a lot of money in '93 by time put the radio kit in. I spec'd it with traction control. Big mistake, the car would go into limp mode in heavy rain usually from motorway speeds, they were never able to fix the issue as the fault memory was lost when you switched the engine off. So I traded it after 2 frustrating years and 96000 miles in. Found out much later that they eventually sorted the problem out it was the ABS sensor. My SL420 had to have the V8 heads rebuilt under warranty at just 20k miles and the one exhaust header replaced as renown for cracking and failing on RHD cars and mine did. I have though of getting a to E320 cabriolet again, but they suffer from wiring harness degradation, blown head gaskets, terrible rust problems with chassis and wings, The UK Mercedes of that era were very expensive, sparsely equipped, eg a radio, speakers and aerial was another £1000 although they had speaker grills in the cars with nothing behind them. A modern Mercedes of a similar spec today to my E320 would only cost about £70/80k with everything more or less standard , so in relative terms the prices have fallen as volume has increased. Good cars compared to the British cars of that time, but not perfect, my favourite was my 96 E220 sportline cabriolet only 26000 miles like new when it was stolen from the storage facility,
Last edited by JohnHarris; 12/12/24 11:45 AM.
22 Plus Four KIMI 12 Plus 4 Sport OZZY 08 Roadster FELIX 06 4/4 70th LOKI 77 4/4 SEAMUS 85 4/4 MOLLY
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,435 Likes: 122
Talk Morgan Guru
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Talk Morgan Guru
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,435 Likes: 122 |
John, there was a big drop in quality in terms of rust when Mercedes switched from acrylic paints to water-soluble paints in 1993.
Clemens, I agree with you, the video that Spencer made together with MMC was spot on. New buyers could discover the brand and learn to love the new CX cars as an unwavering line as a true Morgan without having to trudge into the past, even if you test drove trads. Your dealer did everything right.
'14 4/4 graphite grey
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Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,853 Likes: 400
Talk Morgan Addict
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Talk Morgan Addict
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 3,853 Likes: 400 |
John, there was a big drop in quality in terms of rust when Mercedes switched from acrylic paints to water-soluble paints in 1993. . They introduced galvanised chassis from 86 onwards for most cars and even the bulkheads on post 86 107 SL's are renown for rusting badly. The paint was so soft post 93 if you didn't remove bird droppings immediately it burnt the paint. Oh those were the days.
22 Plus Four KIMI 12 Plus 4 Sport OZZY 08 Roadster FELIX 06 4/4 70th LOKI 77 4/4 SEAMUS 85 4/4 MOLLY
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Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 1,163 Likes: 354
Has a lot to Say!
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Has a lot to Say!
Joined: Sep 2022
Posts: 1,163 Likes: 354 |
And for me Spencer is a far better advert for the product than the young blonde adventurer, pleasing to the eye but no passion involved really, akin to a photo shoot. Unfortunately I have to absolutely agree with you Richard ... because normally I like blonde women 😇
Last edited by CLPlusFour; 12/12/24 03:13 PM.
Clemens
PlusFour Red Baron MY 2022
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 11,530 Likes: 315
Smile, it confuses them Member of the Inner Circle
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Smile, it confuses them Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 11,530 Likes: 315 |
But I believe that there was a zenith in quality and reliability at Mercedes that will never be reached again, and that was the W124. I can appreciate this observation. Recently I had to change car and have a love of AMG beasties. I looked at a 2 year old S213 estate, drove a couple and then drove an S212 estate with 2WD and the much older 5.5L BiTurbo V8. I bought the best S212 I could find as it did not throw three tonnes of garbage into the drivers experience. Okay so I am going to pay for it in the purchase of rear tyres but I will save that in the servicing and parts costs easily. I often wonder if the addition of stuff outside real need is not just to raise the purchase price but also to bludgeon you with parts costs as it ages and drive earlier destruction due to cost of operation in a shorter time. Driving more purchasing. Cynical, me, really? The more they gild the lily the less natural the experience becomes.
Everyone loves a Morgan. Even me, unless it's broken again.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 14,009
Member of the Inner Circle
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Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 14,009 |
.you experience your world around more, you smell the fields etc, etc. And those roadside bacon butty vans  Oh yes! 🤪
Jays Former Morgan owner. Gone but hopefully not forgotten!
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,931 Likes: 132
Talk Morgan Guru
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Talk Morgan Guru
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,931 Likes: 132 |
I often wonder if the addition of stuff outside real need is not just to raise the purchase price but also to bludgeon you with parts costs as it ages and drive earlier destruction due to cost of operation in a shorter time. Driving more purchasing. Cynical, me, really? I think you're right on that! The more technology, the more there is to go wrong. With that said, it is interesting how easy we get used to certain features. For instance, standard cruise control now seems pretty poor to me and adaptive cruise one of those features that I look for in a daily driver. However, if we ignore the basic items: central locking, decent headlights, climate control and some form of stereo/screen with phone connectivity, much of the rest is personal preference or generally unnecessary, even my beloved adaptive cruise! As an interesting side note, I recently watched a review where it was said that Ferrari are stopping putting Sat Nav into their cars, instead relying on phone interface and the owner using their preferred app via the phone (Google Maps, WAZE, etc). This, to me, seems like an intelligent decision... although I doubt it will translate to a cheaper car!
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 436
Talk Morgan Sage
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Talk Morgan Sage
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 436 |
DIxon popped round to see Mum this week - she asked if he'd seen the new Morgan, He has, and his verdict is that its 'alright' 
"Y mae dafad ddu ym mhob praidd" 1972 4/4, 1981 MGBGT, 1984 FLHT1340, 1980 XLH1000, 1990 ZX10
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2 members like this:
Jays, Graham, G4FUJ |
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Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 6,958 Likes: 117
Talk Morgan Sage
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Talk Morgan Sage
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 6,958 Likes: 117 |
I had a Mini with central locking once. You sat in a seat near to the centre of the car and put your first finger of your left hand on the passenger's locking button and ditto with the right hand for the driver's side, and then pushed both down.
Best Regards Lang may yer lum reek
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3 members like this:
CooperMan, Jon G4LJW, Simon |
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