Yahoo Autos Formula 1 Drivers Play Some Musical Chairs
Oodles of car-enthusiast stuff going on. Let’s get straight to it. Here’s what's happening in the car world:
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Way back in March, at the beginning of COVID-19, we did a story on the Morgan Motor Co., the tiny U.K. outlet that cranks out about 800 cars per year. The story asked the question, are Morgans really made of wood, as legend has long had it?
Here’s another question: When, if ever, will Morgan once again offer a four-wheeled car in the U.S.? The question popped into our heads when the FAST Act, or Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, came up in conversation the other day. That was passed way back in 2015. The act said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had until December 2016 to write rules allowing boutique carmakers — such as Morgan — to start selling their cool cars here. But NHTSA hasn’t done that yet (no surprise), so last year SEMA sued NHTSA. As this is being written NHTSA and SEMA are still haggling, and NHTSA claims the ruling will be complete in January.
Meanwhile our man in Europe, Mike Duff, dug up some updates at Morgan and filed the following report:
Things happen slowly at Morgan. The English sports-car maker has been doing things its way since its founding in 1910, and staying well away from fashion has proved a successful strategy for most of that time: The 1950 Plus 4 was only retired earlier this year.
Although the company has sold cars in the U.S. at various stages of its long history, it hasn’t offered any four-wheeled products since the expiration of the smart airbag exemption allowing small numbers of its V8-powered Aero 8 to be imported. Morgan recently announced the retirement of its Edwardian trike that is the Morgan 3 Wheeler. It was sold as a motorcycle in some states, and it now means the company’s U.S. dealers are facing a fallow time.
It wasn’t meant to be like this. Morgan wants to bring its two spiffy new models — the BMW-powered Plus Four and Plus Six — to the States under the aforementioned FAST Act. It included a clause allowing replica cars resembling production vehicles made at least 25 years ago to be sold without the huge expense of full federal approval. But Morgan, too, is waiting on NHTSA to implement the clause. So even though Morgan’s new cars were designed with the rule in mind, they can’t come in.
“It’s challenging, to say the least, because this has now been going on since 2016,” Morgan managing director Steve Morris told Autoweek. “And I think that with a new administration coming in it’s likely that replica cars aren’t going to be the No. 1 priority.”
The FAST Act allows a maker to sell up to 325 replicas a year, which could be a huge boost for Morgan — with total production of 850 cars last year.
“Our dealers in the U.S. are obviously keen to expand the proposition, so it’s been really tricky for those guys,” Morris told us. “Anything that we do — any announcements that we make — the U.S. is always the biggest market from a numbers point of view. There’s still huge interest in Morgan in the States.
“The opportunities are obviously significant for us, which is why we’re putting huge effort in the background,” Morris said. “We can’t influence the external factors, but we’re doing everything we can internally in preparation. So if and when it happens, we’ll be ready.”
There is some good news, though. Although today’s 3 Wheeler is retiring, largely because its U.S.-built S&S V-twin engine can’t meet European emissions standards, Morris confirms that the trike’s replacement — with an emissions-compliant engine — is definitely coming to the U.S.: “The next-generation 3 Wheeler is a fantastic opportunity for us and something that we look to expand on in terms of the excitement and experience of the previous one,” he told us.
So look forward to the next Morgan 3 Wheeler, but also keep your fingers crossed it gets joined by some four-wheeled sisters.
CAR NEWS AND NOTES
Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson says it’s possible the automaker he runs could be EVs only by 2030. “I would be surprised if we wouldn’t deliver only electric cars from 2030,” Samuelsson said, having previously said the company expects 50% of its car sales will be battery-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. Volvo has also committed to put 1 million electric cars on the road by then.
