I agree that R&T in the 70's was a better read but I am not sure I would
blame the advertisers. The fact is that cars have gotten MUCH better
over the last 30 years so they have fewer glitches to point out. At the
same time, the spectrum of inexpensive sporty cars has narrowed
considerably. If R&T went back to focus on two-seat and 2+2 sports and
streetable race cars where performance is first and comfort is
secondary, they would be out of road tests in six months. Try to buy a
car without all of the bells and whistles or "ergonomics" (the opposite
of personality) finely honed by focus groups. Other than Morgan and
"kit" type cars, they no longer exist.
The good news is that it is now almost impossible to buy a "bad" car.
The bad news is that, along with the faults, personalities were also
eliminated.
Now for more good news- I believe that the computer revolution and
flexible manufacturing will be the savior of interesting cars. In the
recent past, the cost of a new product platform was up in the billions
of dollars. This is coming down. Panoz, Morgan, and others are at the
forefront of using new tools, materials and technologies that require
very little fixed expenses (tooling, factories) to build small
quantities of cars at a "reasonable" price. These cars come from
vision, not focus groups so they will have personality. They will also
have quirks and deficiencies. It will interesting to see if these cars
will be successful. The Viper, Beetle, Prowler, and PT Cruiser's track
records suggest that they will. I know that I am semi-considering
plonking down a deposit on the new Mini.
On this note, I despise the term "retro" applied to cars like the
Boxster and the XK-8. Why is copying styling cues from a classic car
somehow less inventive than copying the last BMW, Camry or outlandish
"modern" concept car. I would call the XK-8 what it is- a good-looking
GT car. The new Celica, on the other hand is ugly almost to the point
of visual agony. Anyone who thinks this is cutting edge hasn't seen a
58 Chevy lately or a TR-7.
FWIW, you can't really group Morgan with anything else other than,
perhaps the Mini and the Lotus Seven. Even those fall decades short of
Morgan's continuous history and tradition. In the near future, at
least, there will never be another Morgan.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
"Retrogrouch"
MGA runner
XK150 fhc project
|