Hi Elton: I envy your long time ownership and enjoyment of Morgans. I owned and drove English sports cars in the 1980’s and finally became a proud owner of a Morgan in 2006. My love of Morgans has very much to do with their history, their place in history, their iconic status, and their ability to let me experience the raw unfiltered relationship between machine, road, nature, and human senses. I like steam engines, and the smell of oil and metal. I have never owned a train or a motorcycle or a Land Rover but I enjoy looking at them. I like the idea of pieces of metal attached to each other, pushing or pulling in a sequence ordinary humans can understand, doing a job that produces motion. However, I have never been a tinkerer. I love riding in or driving relatively primitive machines, but I have no desire to build them or to work on them, and would almost certainly ruin them if I tried. Therefore, I don’t think I am too different from yourself as far as appreciation of the car is concerned. On the other hand, because of my lack of mechanical ability or mechanical interest, I don’t enjoy fix-it-articles very much, and I’ll agree that sets me somewhat apart from the traditional Morgan owner. I feel a little guilty not tinkering with my Morgan, although in 36,000 miles it hasn’t needed much tinkering. I would pose one question though. Is it possible that the trend you have observed of Morgan owners being more like me and less like you might parallel the trend of Morgans becoming more sophisticated and more difficult to work on? Could the decrease in simplicity between a 1935 F2 or a 1967 Plus 4, and a 2005 Roadster (like mine) or a 2012 V8 Aero iteration have played a part in that trend? What do you think? Bob K Towaco, NJ “Trovador” In a message dated 5/9/2012 3:20:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
When I bought my first Morgan (1935 F2) in 1983, there were Morgan owners who were mechanics, plumbers, plant managers and those who were very wealthy, all of which worked on or even restored their car. We all got on well together and had a great time enjoying our Morgans. Any +8 was seen as a strange machine with lots of horsepower and a show off owner. Times have indeed changed. The only reason I still own Morgans is because I have pretty much owned them continuously since then and only sold to upgrade or change as my needs changed. The last time I sold a Plus 4 (1967 4 seater) the only ones to even look at the car were folks with substantial resources and no knowledge of the cars, their history, or what Morgan ownership was all about. Luckily the ones who purchased the car had a good local English car mechanic who has done them well. My point is that many recent Morgan owners bought them for the same reason most people buy a Range Rover-because it makes them look good and they can afford to look good. I know I am probably starting a firestorm, but I have owned Morgans (and Land Rovers) because they are fun, easy to work on, and maybe they make me look good too! But I feel a connection with the history. Like some of you, I too am interested in technical articles on how to repair this, or overhaul this, or restore something else along with an occasional travelogue piece that tells me how the writer repaired his exhaust with wire in the middle of the French countryside. I am afraid though that the average owner sees the Morgan as a really cool car with lots of character. But a lot is expected just like for their Jaguar or Hyundai. How many new Morgan owners would stand a chance making a roadside repair to their car? Maybe a travelogue is the best thing for the new owner?????..... Elton I have to broadly agree. For some time now I have found not much of interest in Miscellany each month. As said already, a good number of articles are just travelogues which don’t very much interest me, TC David. View posts on The Mail Archive _http://www.m ail-archive.com/[email protected]/_ (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/) _Modify_ (https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;) Your Subscription (http://www.listbox.com/) ------------------------------------------- View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ [http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/] Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=22459785&id_secret=22459785-4a39ddf8 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
