I may not be current with my information, but doesn't Morgan have
something like a 10 year
backlog for their "hand built", old technology cars? I know that they do
(or at least did) offer a
"modern", air conditioned, V-8 version which doesn't have the "character"
of the older car.
There are a number of "niche", limited production cars, built for the
enthusiast that do quite well
without the megabuck backing of HUGE corporations. The Mini is a faithful
adherence to the
original, while the "bug" is more a poetic license version of the
original. It can be done, if even
to a limited market. As for the demise of the Healey, that, I believe was
a combination of shutting
out Donald Healey from the creative development of the car and the
prohibitive cost to make the
Healey comply with Ralph Nader inspired "safety" requirements, such as
uniform bumper height.
Even with the safety innovations and engineering improvements of "modern"
cars, people are still
killed in accidents despite the government's efforts to protect us from
ourselves. Life is inherently
dangerous. We can go through life wearing a parachute or we can drive our
Healeys, and as one
lister said about HoYo, "We can slide into Heaven yelling and screaming,
"Wow, what a ride!!" "
(Sorry if it is not correct, but you get the idea). The point of all my
rambling is that it always seems
like the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. If our
old Healeys are so antiquated
and out of touch with modern technology, why the loyal enthusiasm? IMHO.
Doug
'56 BN2
> All of the retro cars I can think of are developed and backed by huge
>
> corporations investing megabucks in their development, marketing,
> and
> service infrastructure. And then as you point out some of them flop.
> Without
> major corporate backing of some kind any new (or reborn) marque is
> going to
> have a tough time surviving in the current market. While I wish as
> much as
> anyone to see new Healeys being sold on a showroom floor, I have my
> doubts
> that will happen, especially in the US, unless there is a Nash or
> Austin
> replacement in the wings to kick in some capital.
>
> Hopeful, but not optimistic.
>
> Bill Lawrence
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