Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The Decline of the Trad !!!

In a way, the trad is it's own worst enemy. With so little apparent change and on a car that doesnt rot away and get scrapped, why buy a new one? It will be very little different from an old one.

Changing the product every 3 years or so is a standard practise for most car makers and they do it to generate sales. Morgan policy on the Trad is the reverse.

I don't really see that any of this is an issue. So long as Morgan continues to prosper, and there remains enough demand for the trad to stay in production for those of us that particularly love them, surely it has to be a positive that MMC is casting it's net wider and gaining a whole new set of different buyers for the other models. I think that the enthusiasm that the 3W has generated is marvelous, and as Jay observes the new plus 8 has to be seen as a whole new category, appealing to those who fancy the aesthetic of the classic but maybe not the dynamics.

Market fluctuations are to be expected, especially in these uncertain economic times, when dealing with higher price tag luxury vehicles. Coupled with limited output based on size and time frame, multiplied by pressure to create so many 3 wheelers and with a new product to market, none the less. I am not sure you could call this trend a decline so much. Now, come visit me in Michigan and we can take a drive over to Detroit and the surrounding areas and I can show you some decline.

It doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines to come to the conclusion that is the effect the author(s?) of Mogwire is hoping to achieve. I stopped reading it in 2011 because the news felt like it came second to the subtext.

Good luck to Morgan. If the demand for the Trads is there, I have no doubt they will build them to sell.

That has to be true albeit the price is horrendous. I'd order one tomorrow if that werent the case.

Much as I love the trads, I think it's pretty clear that their long-term future is not as secure as we'd like it to be, mainly because of safety legislation.

I remember an interview with CM a couple of years ago when he pointed out that one of the major issues they have with the trads is the lack of places to install airbags - especially the side protection. With roadster doors there's just not enough of it to satisfy the bureaucrats.

It will be interesting to see if they can get the new Plus 8 approved in America. As Jay and Giles have both said, I agree that the new Plus 8 may give rise to a whole new category and if they can get the price down a little with increased production we may even see smaller engined versions. As I said once before, not everyone wants the power, or the cost of running, a huge V8.

Interesting dichotomy between Mogwire and the new Mogmag. Mogwire appears to be at the tabloid end of the spectrum - supposedly looking for the "story within a story", and embracing gossip and intrigue where it thinks it reveals (as they see it) the truth behind the headlines. And getting it wrong with some regularity. Sort of a News of The World of the Morgan World

On the other hand, Mogmag - as someone already observed - is more like the in-flight magazine for the Morgan-minded: anodyne, uncontroversial, factory-sponsored, and frankly, a bit "beige". Sure - the production is glossy and professional. But this is no Car Magazine - more like one big Morgan "advertorial".

It would be nice to see a middle line - a mag with a bit of "bite", but without the vitriol. But let's be honest - a one-make publication is hardly going to be able to employ genuinely gifted motoring journalists, is it?

Remind me when we next meet up...

Cheers,

Throw-away society???