I also went to the UK Motor Show last week having last been in 1996. My
impression was that the Morgan stand was far more open and welcoming than it
had been 2 years ago - it was very easy to walk onto the stand and plenty of
Morgan people to chat to who seemed to be trying to actively sell the cars,
extolling the joy of trips to Malvern to see the works, encouraging people
to sit in the cars etc. This seems to reflect the advertisements of the
cars/dealer network in the weekend Times etc encouraging would-be buyers to
part with their £250 deposits and start the long wait. On my last visit the
stand seemed far more reserved and the cars were less accessible. When I
remarked on this impression to one of the Morgan people i got a fairly
non-committal response so it may just be my impression from the days I went
(although both visits were within the first two hours after it opened for
the day). As well as the Morgan stand, I also spent a long time on the
Caterham stand discussing and dreaming about building a Caterham kit with my
15 year-old son while I wait for my turn at the head of the Morgan list....
George Hook
Northampton, UK
-----Original Message-----
From: Graeme Sutherland <graeme@pixelfusion.com>
To: morgans@Autox.Team.Net <morgans@Autox.Team.Net>
Date: 03 November 1998 14:18
Subject: Morgan at the British Motorshow
> I went along to the Motorshow in Birmingham (England) at the weekend,
>and visited the Morgan stand whilst there. Unlike last year, when the long
>door cars debuted, there were no major modifications to the cars.
>
> The Morgan display consisted of four or five road cars, representing
the
>entire range, including a gorgeous dark green Plus Eight, with a pale green
>interior. Since this was Motorsport day, Big Blue was there, although the
>car was somewhat smaller than I imagined. Most of the exterior panels had
>been removed to give a good view of the alloy chassis and the engine. You
>could even see the strip of ash running along the bottom of the door frame.
>
> Apparently Big Blue is a prototype for future Morgans, although it's
not
>been decided whether its style of chassis will enter production.
>
> I picked up a factory newsletter, which said that production has been
>raised from ten to eleven cars per week, mainly through efficiency
measures.
>The eventual aim is to get the waiting list down to three years, rather
than
>the current five to six.
>
> This might be old news, but exports to the US have resumed after an 18
>month gap, and Morgan cars are now type-approved throughout Europe (since
>June or July), and so can be sold anywhere in the EU.
>
> Other than that, the British sportscar industry is undergoing something
>of a boom, with new cars from Jensen (a modern take on the Healey 3000),
>Lea-Francis (with a chassis by Jim Randle, who engineered Big Blue), TVR,
>Lotus, AC (who nearly closed last year), Dare (founded the the Walklett
>brothers, of Ginetta fame), Ginetta, and Marcos.
>
> Graeme
>
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