Pia,
I do not think that any one thread of desire for having a Morgan will
necessarily be found in owning a Morgan. It is certainly the last firm
that still hand crafts each car. If you are not interested in having
possessions that are just like everyone else has, that is stamped out,
then Morgan is the last of traditional sports car builders. Times have
changed and many of the owners of them have also become different. Most
of the people that had Morgans in the 60's were involved in sport car
events. At that time the most affordable and competitive of the
available cars was Morgan, which upon delivery, could be competed with
that day. My car ''Matilda'' was just such a purchase. With very
limited funds, a friendly banker and a price of $2865, including T. T. &
L., she was very affordable. This is of course a rationalization. The
truth is that when I took a test drive through Topanga Canyon with Gordon
Phlug, I did not remember ever having such a rush in any car. Fast,
responsive,nimble, downright fun and now after over 30 years of owning
the same car, that same feeling persist about her. Matilda is not an
inanimate method of getting from point 'A' to point 'B'. She has a
lively, if somewhat perverse, personality which has beguiled me for over
half my life. Just writing about her now reminds me that I need to go to
the stables and feed the horses. We will go waltzing down a road that
has not been straightened out yet and at the end of the run I'll have to
re tighten several nuts and bolts, make sure that neither the starter or
generator is about to fall off and have a wonder about people who ask the
wrong question, not the one we hear today "how much is it worth" but
rather "how fast will she go". In a time when you see advertisements
from manufacturers showing robots zapping mass produced cars in unison,
it is comforting to know on Pickersleigh Road, a craftsman is selecting a
piece of ash, that with simple tools, will be turned into a part of one
of the last great coach-built vehicles in the world.
Concerning (2) yes. What a pleasure it would be if Morgan was located
within a couple of hundred miles of Dallas. (3) The waiting list is a
function of the number of craftsmen available. If you go to a fine
restaurant,where everything is prepared when it is ordered, from scratch,
anticipation is to be expected, otherwise fast food (like MacDonalds) is
always available. That is, in fact, what most manufacturers offer.
Anytime that you correspond with Morgan, the quickness of their replies
is amazing. I doubt that the Managing Director of General Motors would
either answer the phone or send you a letter concerning the history of a
car manufactured 30 years ago. The idea, that to survive as a car
company, is that you have to be either very big or very small, was well
stated by Peter Morgan. The proof is that Morgan has survived, while most
of the competition no longer exist. (4)Anything is worth what the market
will bear. That is true even if it makes it less affordable.
My apologies Pia, for I know that you are primarily interested in Morgans
relationship to the U. K., but here in Texas, Morgan's is far more
important to me than the monarchy continuing. If Morgan was run along
the lines of most modern business thinking, they probably could not
survive. Morgan makes Morgans, not units.
An afterthought would be that if Rolls Royce is to stay in production as
an automobile manufacturer, the best solution would be to hire either
Peter or Charles Morgan as consultants provided,that is, if Rolls Royce
was to remain British.
Good luck on your dissertation..
Yours Truly,
Charles Allen Harris
Companion of B1139
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