There is a rule about politics, a concept attributable to the late Mario Cuomo, that candidates campaign in poetry but govern in prose, a distinction that is just as true for race cars—exotic cars in general—versus the sedans, compacts and minivans of everyday life. After the eloquence of the speeches fades and the balloons and bunting burst and pop, after the janitor sweeps away the placards and posters, after the crowds disperse and disappear, after the election—and upon the assumption of office—the excitement dulls, the duties accumulate and the popularity dissipates. you must choose to act, to make decisions that will be as important as they may be inflammatory to your friends and supporters.
That principle makes buying a car no less difficult, because you must often separate your wants from your needs. But sometimes it pays to honor the former, since it fulfills the latter. Sometimes it pays to own…and drive…a Morgan 3-Wheeler.
I write these words because, notwithstanding the fact that I sell this automobile (and others, too), I believe this car—and this car alone—represents something visibly different and experientially profound.
I believe that a handcrafted car, one built with the tools of the trade—a mallet and wrench, ratchet handles, sockets, screwdrivers, drive bits, and precision instruments—is better than something welded by robots, assembled by machines and painted in a factory devoid of people.
I believe people want an escape from the monotony of their generic sedans and station wagons, cars that are cocoons from the excitement of the raceway; cars that insulate and restrain you from doing little more than operating a steering wheel, until a seat belt stiffens, an emergency light flashes or an engine loses speed, and you become one of the stranded, sidelined spectators awaiting the arrival of roadside assistance, whereupon you enter a tow truck for the slow ride back to some godforsaken parking lot surrounded by razor wire and the sound of barking dogs.
I believe, instead, in the concept of attainable luxury. I believe you need not spend a fortune on an iconic car so that you may enjoy something new, something better.
Also, let me be clear about the issue regarding means and opportunity. That is, if you have the means to buy a supercar (which is to say if you are in the market for a classic Mercedes, Porsche or Ferrari) then seize the opportunity to do so. I would be the last person to deny you the chance to open those gullwing doors, to sit within that customized body a famed history and glamorous appeal.
For the majority of people not in that income bracket, I recommend a Morgan 3-Wheeler because, for $40,000 USD (or thereabouts, notwithstanding currency fluctuations), you can have a car that looks like nothing else on that asphalt queue of midtown congestion and suburban traffic. You can get style and substance without squandering money you do not have, or cannot get, for some dream car that could be a source of seemingly endless repairs and botched restorations.
You can get the best of an English car, for that is what this car most certainly is: a tapered capsule of chrome, embroidered leather, stainless steel, chrome and wood, a car of aristocratic lineage and populist persuasion, where, if you are to have your toys (and you should; indeed, you must), then you should turn heads as you turn corners; you should elicit cheers as much as onlookers solicit your attention.
So, yes, attainable luxury is real. It should inspire additional automakers to think more creatively; to get them to acknowledge there is no compromise between quality and affordability, that the former need not come at the expense of the latter; that you can drive something different—radically different—without busting your budget.
Think of the Morgan 3-Wheeler as the start of something new. Treat it as the elegant car it is, while speeding down the motorway with a sense of the style and élan of a genuine automotive enthusiast, replete with the driving gloves and goggles of a celebrated era of British achievement and English refinement.
Become, in other words, a character befitting this car.
Drive with energy. Drive with enthusiasm. Drive like you never have before, recognizing that what is beautiful is not beyond your grasp; what is attainable doesn’t need to lack luxury, class, or passion.
Thanks to Christopher John Silvestri for taking the time to share why the Morgan 3-Wheeler has become one of his favorite driver’s cars. You can follow his company at www.christopherjohnltd.com.
Source: morgan-motor.co.uk
