:: Wog Blog ::

:: WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT? ::

:: Thursday 11 August 2005 ::

SPECIAL MORGAN FACTORY FUN DAY

Get outta the way, man, I gotta get to...

....Mog Mecca

Whoo hoo, arrived in one piece. Had a hairy Mog moment in Malvern, trying to get directions from the tourist info joint on how to get to the Morgan factory. Parked on double yellow lines behind three other cars doing the same thing. On a very steep decline. Handbrake having to work overtime, in reverse for extra security. But absolutely no way of reversing back without sliding forward and colliding with the car in front. No choice but to leave the car parked and wait for the folks in front of me to drive away so I could move off without incident. Waiting waiting. the he appeared. The dodderiest old man in all of doddery town. He finally moved his Mondeo station wagon off and I was away.

No time at all to get to Malvern Link from Greater Malvern. Like 90 seconds. Nothing.

And then I was there. And yes, it really is made out of a bunch of wood.

Critical scrutiny was required of the tearoom.

Uh huh. As suspected. A perfect shrine to heterosexual petrolheady maleness. (And whoo hoo, who can blame them, eh? That Lucy is a honey.)

So, sexist credentials duly established, it was on with the tour.

Strapping metal on to the wood. Good.

Putting wings on the metal on the wood.

There is a special shop for the brand new Morgans...

....the gozeyed Aero8s

The tour is super quick, the staff wonderfully friendly and not at all bothered to find enthusiasts wandering between the red lines past welders and carpenters alike.

The whole place is low key and has the happiest vibe I think I have experenced in a workplace bar none. I kid you not. Not even the Ferrari factory, which you would think would be filled with joy but which is actually a super serious affair, as well it might be, I guess, for the money at stake and the reputation and all.

The Morgan folks have created something unique in their cars and in their whole ethos.

Fantabulousness all round and I for one salute them.

I know not all business can be run in so labour intensive and overmanned a way, but it is a delight to know that one such business is being run that way and that the product created is so very much a reflection of the whole attitude.

....

Urgh. Listen to me. I sound like one of them big-business-bad-small-business-good idiots.

I shall stop now, cos in regular life I drive a Mazda MX5, and Mazda is a dirty big business. All business is people and even in big business, good people are involved.

The Morgan folks are not saints because they run a personalised business. (If they were saints they would have given me a new Morgan yesterday and they very rudely declined to offer one to me. Harrumph.)

They are not saints at all. But they are clever.

The new Morgan 4/4 has an easy fit roof.

See. Here is a happy Morgan man in an easyfitroof new 4/4. It looks normal, doesn't it?

They are modifying their approach to rectify the sheer discomfort of the old-fashioned roof "arrangement" (which is the only word to describe what is involved - I will do a photo essay on that another time) on cars like my little 1999 4/4.

Not saints. Just damned fine car makers.

Good.

Anyhoo, out peeps. Til the next post. From Manchester tomorrow, hopefully, where I hope to have a bloggy meeting. More on that in due course.
:: WB 2:47 pm [link+] ::