More than half a century after the summer of 1973, when he bought his first British retro sports car at the age of 20, Michael Hattem had been ready to buy a new model of Morgan More four.
However, the 73 -year -old classic car enthusiast in Los Angeles is now faced with a dilemma. The luxury car with hand -made wooden frame, which has a price of $ 85,000, could soon become 10% more expensive if US President Donald Trump keeps his import prices of all vehicles and automotive parts made abroad.
“I just have to save a few more cents,” said Hattem, the president of the Morgan Plus Four Club in Southern California, but added that he was also afraid to buy now in case Trump changed his mind and removed the samples. “Let's give another 30 days. We will see what will happen with the prices.”
Morgan Motor CompanyThe 116 -year -old British specialist was taken unexpectedly in Trump's crosshairs, as was the key model of the brand's offer returned to the American market for the first time in two decades.
Long before the start of the trade war, company engineers have worked for years to eliminate American regulatory obstacles to bring a four -wheeled morgan to American fans as a result of changes in a local rule which allows companies to reproduce models of more than 25 years.
In November, just as Trump won the presidential election, Morgan announced that the most four, which was introduced for the first time in 1950, finally obtained approval for sale under the revised American law.
A four -wheeled Morgan car had not been sold in America since 2005 due to American emissions and safety standards, although its three wheels, classified as motorcycles, were available during the absence of the model.
While vehicles finally arrived in the United States in March, Trump announced 25% of foreigners prices car Imports, triggering a flood of requests from American consumers, feared that their beloved models were suddenly much more expensive to buy.
Since 1914, all Morgan's cars have been built in a factory outside Malvern in Worcestershire in the west of England. About 90% of vehicle components are manufactured in the United Kingdom, while the company supplies by the 2-liter over four engine from the German automaker BMW.
Matthew Hole, CEO of Morgan, said that the company planned to transmit about half of the tariff costs for consumers, which means that the $ 84,995 model would cost around 10% more. With taxes and personalization options, the price would likely exceed $ 125,000.
Orders have already been placed for 200 cars for sale in the United States this year, which would represent around a third of Morgan's annual income of around 48 million pounds. Hole said there was not “a flight of people canceling their orders”.
Under American rules, the company cannot sell more than 325 cars per year.
“If you have been waiting for a morgan for 20 years … Many of our customers are already invested emotionally,” said Hole.
To prepare for the prices that entered into force this month, the company had moved some of the cars that were originally heading for non-American markets for American consumers and reduced shipping and logistics costs.
But the options to compensate for the prices are limited for the British company, especially since it can only make 13 cars per week. The average waiting time for a vehicle is up to nine months depending on the model.
Large parts of the cars are still made of wood, including the frames made with ash wood carved by carpenters using a chisel and a hammer. Its aluminum panels are beaten by hand by its craftsmen. The same generation of families works in the Morgan factory with skills that are transmitted from their grandfathers to their grandchildren.
“One of the reasons why people buy our car is that it is built on this historic site in Malvern,” said Hole.
While prices will make his cars more expensive in the United States, Steven Armstrong, former European chief of Ford who now chairs Morgan, said the United States will remain an attractive market for the British group.
“We will continue to grow,” said Armstrong. “The prices will take the edge of this growth, but it is not as if we lose something that we had before.”
However, Larry Dalphy, one of the 150 members of the Morgan Plus Four Club, said that the prices would lead to the four more to cross “a certain price barrier that some will have trouble swallowing”.
Annabelle Tescione, president of the Western New York Morgan Owners Group, agreed that the higher price of prices would be difficult for the medium-legged British car lover in the United States. “Any negative effect on Morgan's imports will cause an eyebrowing on many of our faces, especially after so long to wait for them,” she said.
However, Hattem, who already owns seven Morgan vehicles, expected that he always buy a new plus four if he became clear that the prices were there to stay.
“I don't buy dear jewelry and I don't buy shoes. But it's my only pleasure,” he said.
