September 2017 – MOGSouth

07 Sep

Morgan Road Trip to the Pacific Northwest Planned for the Fall of 2018

MOGSouth members looking for adventure or have the need to check a cross country Morgan trip off your bucket list?

A new road trip is being planned for the fall of 2018. It is primarily for Morgans that will travel from Cleveland OH to the Pacific Northwest.

A preliminary itinerary has been developed with the assistance of Bill Button (Morgan owner from Washington state) who knows the roads very well.

There are still some details to work out but the overall plan is as follows:

Leave Cleveland after Labor Day 2018.

Travel to Rapid City, SD

Visit to Needles, Rushmore

Travel to Yellowstone (this is still uncertain because we don’t have time to do it justice)

Travel to Glacier NP

Travel to Olympia NP

Travel down Washington and Oregon coast to Northern California

End trip

The trip will be about three weeks from Cleveland to Northern California. From Rapid City on it will be primarily a driving trip over glorious roads that Morgans were made to conquer. Some attractions will be included along the way but that is not the emphasis. Journey back home will be on your own.

Warning! There will be interstate traveling from Cleveland to Rapid City. This is necessary in order to get there as quickly as possible. Speed will be a reasonable 60 mph or so. We don’t want wear ourselves and cars out before the real fun begins. About 6 hours driving a day.

I have already advertised the trip to others and there are still a limited number of spot available. But time is of the essence to make lodging reservations at some hard to book locations (Yellowstone).

We already have interest from Morgan owners in Ohio, Morgan Club of DC, and the West so anyone interested needs to respond quickly to assure inclusion. Interested parties can contact me directly.

I need to get a commitment reasonably soon because we will be making lodging reservations shortly. The commitment must be almost certain and a non-refundable deposit might be required depending on the terms we get at the hard-to-book locations (i.e. Yellowstone).

Also, negotiations with hotels often require booking a set number of rooms to get a discount. If there is a reduction in the numbers of participants there could be a penalty.

Furthermore, we might have more interest than spaces and we don’t want to exclude someone only to have another participant drop out. I don’t mean to be harsh but that’s just the way it is. Let me know as soon as you can.

Bob McKenna

jerm067@aol.com

06 Sep

Cars and Coffee at Amelia Island Concours (Saturday, March 10, 2018)

Yes, I know this is early, however they have just announced the event and have posted the application on line. Some folks couldn’t attend last year as they didn’t get their application in on time and didn’t get accepted. Don’t be one of those that didn’t get their application in on time.

This event requires that you submit an application and be accepted before you can attend. If you haven’t as yet decided that you will attend or take your Morgan please fill out the the application anyway and submit it. You can always chose not to attend later.

Although every one that wants to take a car must go through an application process, showing a collectible car costs nothing and the event is free to the public from 9am to 1pm.

Click this link for the application. Cars and Coffee Application 2018 Fill it out and send it in now!! Also, let me know via email (series1@cfl.rr.com) if you are planning on attending so I can finagle the head counts for the Friday Noggin. Don’t worry I won’t hold you to it, if you change your mind later on.

The event this past spring (March 2017) was amazing and very well attended by MOGSouth members and other Morgan enthusiasts and I suspect it will again be a big draw. I also expect that the event will fill up quickly as it did in the spring, and they will have to turn folks away. They have already begun receiving applications so please do not wait to apply.

Just like we did this past March (2017) we will again have a Friday night (9 March 2018) Noggin somewhere in the area. We will post the information (location and time) about the Noggin on the web site in the near future. However, I wanted everyone to get the application for the Saturday 10 March 2018 event as soon as possible.

02 Sep

Thousands Gather for Morgan’s Inaugural Run for the Hills (www.justbritish.com)

Morgan Motor Company celebrated over a century of innovation and craftsmanship at the inaugural Run For The Hills event [August 26 – August 27] with 1000’s of Morgans from a 108-year history returning home to Malvern.

Held at the Malvern Three Counties Showground in association with the Morgan Sports Car Club, Morgan owners and aficionados from around the world gathered for two days of family fun, just a few miles from the Pickersleigh Road home of the iconic coachbuilder.

The RFTH weekend saw over 5,000 owners an enthusiasts enjoy activities for the whole family including an open house at the Morgan Motor Company factory, hot air balloon rides, Morgan AutoSOLO track experience, live aerobatic displays, racing simulators and male grooming and beauty treatments and a freestyle motocross stunt display.

Visitors were also treated to a stunning lineup of Morgan dealership displays as well as a concours and historic area celebrating Chris Lawrence and his significant impact on the Morgan marque. All three Morgan SLRs were displayed alongside TOK258, the Morgan that Chris Lawrence drove to victory at Le Mans in 1962.

Visitors on Saturday morning witnessed a special 3 Wheeler cavalcade from the factory to the showground, showcasing Morgan’s iconic 3 Wheeler models from over a century of the marque’s history. The oldest models were built in 1909 by H.F.S. Morgan while the newest model had rolled off the assembly line that week. The cavalcade included over 50 3 Wheelers and was led by the all-electric EV3, driven by Managing Director, Steve Morris.

A grand Gala Dinner took place on Saturday night, hosted by the world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The British hero thrilled guests with stories from over five decades of his expeditions in the world’s most perilous climates. The Gala Dinner menu celebrated produce and companies from across the 3 Counties, and was local sourced where possible. A charity auction hosted by auctioneer Philip Serrell raised £22,000 for the British Heart Foundation. Stand-out lots included a clay model Aero 8 created by Jon Wells, and an EV3 Junior.

The climax of the weekend was the Morgan prom on Sunday evening, with the English Symphony Orchestra playing iconic pieces of music for a packed arena, with the backdrop of a spectacular fireworks display bringing the weekend’s celebrations to a close. A highlight of the event for many, the concert provided a fitting ending to a truly memorable weekend.

Steve Morris, Managing Director of Morgan Motor Company, said:

We have had such a wonderful weekend here at Run For The Hills. We are continually blown away by the unrivaled passion that our owners and enthusiasts have for the marque. There were many highlights for me, however seeing the 3 Wheelers leave the factory on Saturday morning and then watching the English Symphony Orchestra concert and fireworks closing the event were perfect book ends of the show.

We welcomed well over 1,500 Morgans home to Malvern throughout the weekend from early pre-war cars to latest production cars, returning home from all over the world. The strong attendance of the event and the superb atmosphere throughout the weekend is a signal of great strength for the Morgan community. On behalf of the Morgan family, directors and staff, I would like to thank all those involved in helping to make this event a success. We are already looking forward to our next event.

01 Sep

British EV Maker Seeks Crowdfunding (Alcraft Motor Company, IndieGoGo)

[This is the first I have heard of this. I don’t know if Charles Morgan is still with Morgan or if he has left for this venture. (Matt Humphies left Morgan in 2013) It appears to me that the renderings have the flavor of the Range Rover Evoque . . . Cheers, Mark]

The company wants to raise about $776,000 to build a running prototype To Make GT Concept A Reality

Fledgling British electric automaker the Alcraft Motor Company hopes that a crowdfunding campaign might help get its first vehicle on the road. Simply called the GT, the design plays on the look of a classic shooting brake with two doors, a long roof, and short tailgate. The firm aims for production to start as soon as 2019.

For now, the GT only exists as renderings and a 33-percent scale foam model. However, the full-size version would use three electric motors with an estimated total output of 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts) and 840 pound-feet (1,139 Newton-meters) of torque. Their arrangement would provide all-wheel drive with torque vectoring. Alcraft figures the vehicle could reach 62 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and have a 300-mile (483-kilometer) range.

More News About Alcraft:

Inside, the GT sits two occupants, and there’s 17.66 cubic feet (500 liters) of cargo space.

Alcraft is clear that the GT’s design allows for tweaks in the future. Conceivably, the firm could add a range extender to the powertrain. Plus, the interior could sacrifice cargo space to incorporate a 2+2 layout.

Alcraft’s business team includes Charles Morgan, previously at the Morgan Motor Company. Matt Humphries, another former worker at Morgan, is handling design duties. Alcraft is partnering with outside firms to supply the engineering, including Continental for safety systems and Michelin for tires.

The automaker’s crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo aims to raise 600,000 pounds ($776,800 at current exchange rates) to build a running prototype of the GT.

As of this writing, the company has amassed 10 pounds ($13).

Alcraft has been around for a few years, and it previously produced aftermarket body parts for a variety of British vehicles. In 2013, the company unveiled a line of parts for the Land Rover Range Rover (see above) that updated the front bumper, grille, and headlights. The angular pieces were a major departure from the luxury SUV’s usual look.