The new MORGAN 3 Wheeler.

[marcus]

Is it a microcar? I do not know, but it is a Morgan, their first 3 wheeler for about 58 years. It also marks their centennial.
Not my favourite engine, but I still love it and I think it would be a brilliant idea for everyone on this forum chip in to buy me one!

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/sales/three_wheeler/three_wheeler.html

[Bob Purton]

Do we know the price yet?

[mharrell]

A friend of mine in the Northwest Citroën Owners Club knows Pete Larsen, the founder of Liberty Motors here in Seattle, manufacturer of the Ace Cycle-Car:

http://www.cycle-car.com/

According to a discussion I had with him (the friend, not Larsen) at the Seattle Auto Show, the new Morgan is to be a modified version of the Liberty Ace, as the two companies are now allied in some sort of mutual licensing arrangement.  Morgan liked the Ace design so much that they wanted to bring it in-house while Liberty will continue to build its own version, now described as "under license from" Morgan.

Here's the Ace that was in the Seattle Auto Show back in November:



along with a completely gratuitous shot of my friend's nearby Citroën nose-to-nose with an odd little green box:

[DrewS]

I'd heard about £30K, and given that it is morgan... a 3 year waiting list!! looks a fab car. Wonder if it will have the same throb to the engine as the original on the film!! Harley engine and an MX 5 Box! a potent mixture, but will it live up to the thrill of a original JAP or matchless setup? only time will tell...........

[jackiep]

The new Morgan looks wonderful , but it cant compete for me, against the older ones .
        perhaps we could have a Grand  Rumcars Raffle & one as a prize?
         Not sure about the Harley Engine , but I think that the new  Morgan could avoid the Congestion Charge .
                 I think Three wheelers are exempt from the now , £10 per day  charge .                 

[marcus]

Unless they have changed the rules 3 wheelers DO have to pay CC, except if they are electric. I had a lot of communication with Transport for London over many years, about having an exemption for "Kei" class cars. Japan has had this for over 50 years, where cars below a certain length, width and engine size are exempt on some motoring costs.

TfL's response: We can't do that because nobody has ever thought of doing that and we don't know how to do it because it has never been done before, and even though you are telling us about the Japanese system we know nothing about it so we don't understand what you are telling us and have no idea of how to do such an unknown thing.

Useless, unimaginative buffle-headed bureaucratic dandiprats who cannot sense a good idea when it has been around for half a century and is beating them over the head.

[karonut]

If you look at the TFL CC web page under discounts and exemptions (Motor Tricycles) you will find the following

Motor tricycles
If you drive a motor tricycle which is one metre or less wide, and two metres or less long, you're eligible for a 100 per cent discount.

To register, apply in writing and enclose photographs of the vehicle (front, back and side) showing the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) along with a copy of the registration document (V5C) and a £10 registration charge

[Big Al]

You can pay £30k for a real Morgan with a Durdly Hardlison engine which ticks many boxes for those who need boxes ticking. For those who want to have fun I suspect a JZR Guzzi is probably just as good for at least a third the price allowing one to buy a Messerschmitt and a modern puddle jumper for when it is cold, all second hand and VAT free. Still I am pleased Morgan are looking at diversification as they are our big manufacturer now and have to take on the might of China and other pacific rim countries on their own. I expect they are at Downing Street today pledging to employ one and a half unwanted civil servants as crevice inspectors in the great Tory job reallocation scam.

[Chris Thomas]

Dear Marcus and Karonut

Looking at the 1.0 m wide and 2.0 m long parameters, which three wheelers would coply? If we can compile a list I will happily publish in in Rumcar News.

Chris Thomas

[Bob Purton]

I would have thought hardly anything worth driving into town in. Peels, cursor, Bamby, those modern Piagio scooters with two wheels at the front, Larmer, Inter with its wheels folded in! TFL have thought about it and came up with these dimensions to make sure that nobody bother apply.

[Chris Thomas]

Dear Bob

Perhaps we should design one that does meet the parameters and is perhaps 1.8 m tall so it just gets under the height barriers.

I think your (ex) Inter is an inspiration as I am not clear if it has to be 1.0 m wide at all times. It could be said that when you open a car door it is perhaps actually 3m wide. Similarly is the 1.0m wide just when it is parked as all motorbikes on full left or right lock are wider than when pointing straight ahead. Remember the Renault city thingy that was longer when it went along and tucked the rear wheels underneath when parked.

What we need is two wheels at the front, that have a system like the Reyonnah such that as you get faster so it gets wider and lower to the ground. Electric disc motor in the rear wheel with batteries stored on either side of the large diameter rear wheel and between the front wheels. Single driving position with load space, over the rear wheel and over the front wheels. All the weight low down, nice sit up and beg driving position. The sides would be flat with slightly rounded corners to make full use of the available space.

What do you think?

Chris Thomas

[Bob Purton]

I think you should go for it Chris. Really though its all irrelivant now as "normal cars are qualifying for exemption anyway. Who will bother with a G-wiz now that the new Fiat 500 twin air will be exempt from the congestion charge this year? I have just been reading its spec, it sounds like it will out perform the 4 pot model in all areas and is just 875cc.

[marcus]

I really think TfL missed a trick by not exempting Smart cars, they are popular, safe, ideal for commuting and acceptably stylish. They use up very little parking space, and really are a true modern bubble/micro car, but with modern standards of safety, comfort and performance. If TfL had bothered to notice them and make them exempt I think they would have had a HUGE impact on commuters' cars. As it is London still has an exceptionally high number of huge executive barges and 4 wheel drives visiting every day, and using up a huge amount of road and parking space just for one person and a lap top.

TfL's response to my suggestion of exempting Smart cars "We cannot do that because no-one has asked us to do it and we don't know how to do it because it has never been done before" etc etc etc ad nauseam (see my previous comments about Kei cars)

TfL are claim to be keen on reducing CONGESTION...i.e. more vehicles than road space, so what do they do? Get rid of double decker buses (which take a large number of people around on relatively little road space) and introduce bendy buses which use up more than double the road space. Doh!

TfL are such stupid morons they have even decided it is a good idea to start fitting all traffic lights with shutters in front of them so drivers cannot see what colour the lights are. Next up "Invisible Stripes" on Zebra Crossings so no-one knows where they are?

[Big Al]

Looking at the 1.0 m wide and 2.0 m long parameters, which three wheelers would coply? If we can compile a list I will happily publish in in Rumcar News.
Chris Thomas

Motorise a load of the blue chemi karsis. Ideal for when stuck in a traffic jam and your taken short. Just like Doctor Who, who will be OK for free access too, you can park pretty much anywhere as well.

Why is the place not infested with those Zimmer trolleys on long range battery pods?

Kei class cars, silly boy, asking a sensible question like that when it is a question of revenue not transportation. Course they do not know the answer. Just like replacing DD buses with bendy ones only to find they block up the junctions more. Spot Bots know the answers to nothing other than keeping their jobs as useless bastards which we pay for out of their ridiculous and ineffective ideas as extra taxation.

How about using road registered Lawn Mower racer. Make the commute home on Friday a great deal more fun. 

Personally I think the Shires ought to charge Londoners to come out of the M25 ring so as to get some recompense for all the money they waste for us out in carrot crunching land. This would be a prior step to declaring Wessex independant with the seat of Government back in Winchester complete with Government /mayoral Zundapp Janus limos etc.

[Bob Purton]

Morning Marcus. Do I sense a slight straine in your relations with Transport for London? The congestion charge from the start was only going to be a money raising exercise anyway so dont expect there to be any logic there.

Back to the New Morgan, I had a chance to study the Ace website last night and it looks quite an impressive car. I wonder what the impact will be on the other kit car makes like BRA which are from what I can make out only just about surviving. Will it raise the profile and create healthy competion of wipe them out altogether? I wonder what proportion of the 200 orders for the new car are for export to the USA? It could be that we will scarcly see any in the uk?