headlights... who needs them? Morgan says theirs (2012 -2013) don't comply with US regs, but they say: noncompliance of the subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety

V. Summary of Morgan's Analyses: Morgan stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:

In addition, Morgan knows of no reports of injuries or other safety issues in the US or the rest of the world caused by the subject noncompliance.

Morgan believes that the described noncompliance of the subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt from providing recall notification of noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.

In its petition, Morgan also requested that NHTSA amend the headlamp spacing requirements in FMVSS No. 108 during future rulemaking.

This request cannot be considered as part of the instant petition as filed under 49 CFR part 556. However, Morgan may consider petitioning the Agency for rulemaking.The appropriate type of petition to request a change in a rule is one filed under 49 CFR Part 552 Petitions for Rulemaking, Defect, and Non-Compliance Orders. NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on this petition only applies to the vehicles that Morgan no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, a decision on this petition cannot relieve vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant motor vehicles under their control after Morgan notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

AUTHORITY:
Back to Top 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.
 Issued on: December 2, 2013.
Claude H. Harris, Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.

Morgan contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety on the basis that the lamps meet the substantive requirements of FMVSS No. 108, the technical requirements of FMVSS No. 108 and that the current horizontal spacing of 29 inches is in the best interests of road safety, Morgan owners almost exclusively go to Morgan dealers for replacement parts, and if the M3W were compliant with the existing motorcycle head lamp spacing requirement, other road users would not have an accurate indication of the width of an oncoming M3W.

All parsed from https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/09/2013-29249/morgan-3-wheeler-limited-receipt-of-petition-for-decision-of-inconsequential-noncompliance

This is what the letter looks like when a company fires a family member... you know, your grandfather started it, and your name is on every car?

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/mmc/downloads/pressreleases/morgantechupdate.pdf

as one of only 5 car companies with a family member still with the company, (Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot, Ford, and Morgan are the only companies I know of... Bill Ford, Akio Toyoda, Ferdinand Piech and Robert Peugeot ) Charles Morgan was not the director of the company, he was strategy manager, and in 2011 the last two family members resigned. So now a family owned company is being run by a remuneration committee. Who knows, maybe the other family members that are majority shareholders have hired better managers. But isn't it a shame that of all the car companies that put the family name on the line by making cars and selling them worldwide, one of the very few still with family running the business has slipped out of that rare position of making the car with their name. Now Smiths and Andersons are running the Morgan Company. There is something depressing about that. Morgan is the oldest family owned, and only independant car company in England

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/morgan/10396147/Morgan-whats-going-on.html

as Andrew writes at the Telegraph:
 “From rags to riches to rags in three generations,” is a British version of a Chinese saying that states a company, founded with vision and drive, gets conservative by the second generation and goes into decline by the third.

Charles Morgan, was dismissed on October 14 as an employee and director of holding company Morgan Technologies and then his identical positions at subsidiaries Morgan Motor Co, Morgan 3 Wheeler and Aero Racing.

Sochiro Honda, observed that in future there would be just half a dozen car companies worldwide: “...and Morgan”.

From Wikipedia:
The Morgan Motor Company is a family-owned company founded in 1910 by Henry Morgan, and was run by him until he died at age 77 in 1959.

 above and below images from http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/mmc/historypages/history1.html#!prettyPhoto  where they do a great historical bio.

 HFS Morgan set up business to attended to the needs of the Edwardian motorists and became a dealer for Darracq, Wolseley, Siddeley and Rover cars in 1905

 Peter Morgan, son of Henry, ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. He was replaced as Chairman by Alan Garnett, a non family director, from 2003 to 2006. On his departure, a 4-man management team was set up consisting of Matthew Parkin, Tim Whitworth, Steve Morris and Charles Morgan, (Peter Morgan's son).

 In 2010, Mr. Parkin left the Company and Charles Morgan was named Managing Director. In October 2013, Mr. Morgan was removed.

The shareholders also appointed the first Chairman of the Board since 2006 in naming Andrew Duncan, a local solicitor and friend of the Late Peter Morgan.

Since 2011, the Morgan Motor Company and its related companies, (Aero Racing Limited and Morgan 3 Wheeler Ltd) have been wholly owned divisions of Morgan Technologies, a company incorporated in late 2010. Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 163 people.

Morgan produced 640 cars in 2007.

(The Morgan Motor Company website states 177 employees and 1300 cars a year made http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/mmc/aboutus.html)

All the cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years, although it has been as high as ten years in the past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Motor_Company

For part of the 1950s and 1960s, the USA provided the company with its largest market worldwide, taking up to 85% of all production. This ended with the first wave of US safety and emission regulations in 1971.

In 2005, its right to import its classic models ceased when supplies of its necessary airbag were exhausted and no replacement was developed.

 In May 2012. Charles Morgan's Superdry edition Morgan 3 Wheeler was prepared it for its first major American trial. This vehicle was driven across the States, from New York to Los Angeles by Charles Morgan and his wife,covering 3000 miles, in the Gumball 3000 Rally. At the end of the 7 day drive, the Morgan 3 Wheeler was awarded the "Spirit of Gumball" prize.

the North Park Car Show

this is still the only MotoRegister I've ever seen, and how I made a friend several years ago at a car show, this is Randy's Model A, and he has a couple very cool era specific accessories on it that in the entirety, combine for a most exceptional  Model A

an AMC Spirit, posted to remind us all that AMC didn't disappear after the Javelin, AMX, and Machines

which has a smaller and more useless back seat? The Austin Healey 3000, or the Morgan 3 wheeler? You can't fit anyone over the age of 3 in either cars back seat

Terrific sports car racing movie now available on DVD for giving as a Xmas gift!

This movie was made over 18 months at over a dozen East coast race tracks events and show a great variety of racing cars, from extremely expensive to very affordable (less than 10 thousand dollars) and is arranged in chapters that cover the race tracks, getting into racing, growing up in racing families, and the overall story line is that the movie maker went along with the Zapata racing team to these various tracks.

this Bugatti was imported into the US when new, and stayed int he US racing ever since. Not restored, just raced. 1930 something type 37

a lot of humor is covered by the movie, the various off track moments,

the three wheel around corners traction ability of several cars

Even on two wheels around a corner... without lifting off the accelerator.. wow.

 the feeling of being on the track, the thrill of racing, and the real emotional reaction to the cars getting in the way of the car that the camera in mounted to... "Get out of the WAY!"

I yelled at my screen.

 I did.

Slow drivers upset me.

 Great rare expensive cars

even the ones that are racing against Pintos! Dan Gurney drove this Denzel in 1959

 these are Denzel 1500 International Sports cars

I was surprised to learn that some of the race track events include the towns they are at with parades and race cars driving through or stopping in for lunch so the locals can check out the cars. Good free advertising to get people interested in the racing and buy tickets to the tracks. You'll add Elkhart Lake, Road America, Sebring and Watkins Glen to your life list / Bucket list if you are anything like me, once you've seen this movie. Yeah, you've been warned you'll like it that much

the above nun is "Partial to Porches" when interviewed on camera

 from the chapter on growing up in a racing family

 from the chapter on racing as a lifetime hobby

 damn, Corvairs can look really cool in full racing battle gear

 a bit of a look around in the pits shows innovation like the above engine hoist

 and the only Shelby signature I've seen on a hood (wow cool)

and there is a chapter on how to get into racing cars, advice on buying cars like where.. . Bring a Trailer and Wirewheels dot coms, Vintage Motorsports and Grassroots Motorsports magazines, and looking around at the racetrack in the paddocks and clubhouse

the movie is made by Ben Cissell http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/

 with the generous time commitment and racing of the Zapata racing team http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/pages/zapata-racing

 the tracks that they went to

 the racing sanctioning bodies that operate the race tracks

the wonderful sponsors that helped the filmmakers get this movie produced, filmed, etc!

the hobby of vintage racing, focuses on the Zapata Racing Team. Director Ben Cissell follows the team to 17 events in the span of 18 months, capturing the excitement and sense of community that has hooked thousands of drivers and spectators to this riveting sport. Rather than put their race cars behind museum velvet ropes, these car owners have opted to race their historic cars the way they were designed and purposed...at over 100 mph around world- famous race tracks. Vintage racing is a unique and captivating sport, one that gets in your blood and carries a life-long love.
http://www.vintageracingtoday.com/pages/the-film

In review, the music is mellow, well editted, and perfectly timed to the action, the movie editing is great, the action is damn good, and plenty of it with a good variety of the trackside culture like parts helping, a bit of wrenching, some camaraderie, and after watching the movie lock up your checkbook... the desire to get a Formula V is overwhelming. The need to go to your local track and get involved is huge. Damn good movie.