RE: Marcos Engineering Appoints Administrator
Discussion
Podie said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I notice the Farbio is using a Ford Duratec lump...This is serious money for most potential purchasers - and quite a risk on a company that might not be here next year... leading to the potential nightmare of having bought your car, and then having nowhere to get it fixed if you need....
The Farbio is a very serious performance machine. A totally different market to the one that could sustain higher volumes of sales.
Amongst all the doom and gloom is there not an opportunity here for MG? I know many criticise the TF, but the Elise is just too extreme for some. A British assembled RWD roadster at a price to undercut the MX5 must surely win a few friends. Then there is the prototype V6 engined coupe version. Doubtless people will moan about Chinese sourced parts but this is probably the only way at present that the price can be kept at a competitive level.
With the demise of the MR2 there really is a gap in the market for this type of car. If they can sell a few hopefully they will then be encouraged to launch a new Healey. We will have to wait and see.....
With the demise of the MR2 there really is a gap in the market for this type of car. If they can sell a few hopefully they will then be encouraged to launch a new Healey. We will have to wait and see.....
JulesV said:
Amongst all the doom and gloom is there not an opportunity here for MG?...
I think the re-released MGTF could do well, it's never been favoured among petrolheads, but let's face, we're a dwindling minority - the MGF ticked a lot of boxes and sold well alongside the MX-5 and MR2, we Brits love convertibles and a trendy (or at least what is perceived as) mainstream roadster for sub twenties still seems to sell well, there must be a few potential customers among those who haven't switched to the new Tigra or 206/207cc anyway.
Podie said:
Horse_Apple said:
Podie said:
Horse_Apple said:
Hopefully, this is the final nail in a coffin which say the Griff and Chimp as the industry's last hurrah.
Hmm…. So explain why prices continue to drop in the second hand market. Seems to be an influx of decent(ish) cars out there going for (quite frankly) peanuts.What are people buying..?
Don't think you get what I was meaning.
I meant that the launch of the Griff and Chimp was basically the pinnacle of this type of home built, home sold car business. That was back in the 90s. That was the last hoorah and the industry has been in strong decline ever since.
As for an explanation as to why the prices of second hand cars falls, it is a natural phenomina that allows a product to find the real value at which the demand appears.
Essentially, it shows even more strongly as supply must be greater than demand and so there really can't be too much moeny washing around for this type of product.
My comment regarding S/H values was that they appear to be in freefall at the moment. Good, solid cars that were trading for £15+ are now closer to the £10k mark.
Friend of mine picked up a 4.3 needing some minor fettling for peanuts, absolute peanuts.
I genuinely suspect that this is down to the fact that running costs are high for the average prospective buyer.
The older guys will tend to veer towards one of the larger manufacturers' 'sports' cars due to safety, reliability and pure functionality. They will also have a wife to placate.
That leaves the younger end of the spectrum where the cost of insurance and general running might be too high.
Added to all that, I think we all have to face up to the fact that people like us who want a real car that is exciting and a bit edgy that has to be genuinely driven afe few and far between and almost certainly decreasing in number.
little-red-canam said:
Christ ! you lot just don't get the point £59,995 for a Marcos ? if Stelliga was a true enthusiast he would have kept the price to which the genuine enthusiasts could afford, around the £40k mark and would have set up a proper dealership network, I don't know which market he was aiming for, but at £60k you are in the big league with plenty of choice, I mean Porsche, Noble, ???? Marcos doesn't come close, I have had Marcos from the age of 17 when the insurance cost more than my 3ltr v6 did to buy, and I have had a total of 5 Marcos ranging from the 3ltr right through to the Mantis, so don't even go there, yes it is a tragic day for a wonderful car, and like I said another foreigner has fcuked it up. Rant over !!
This is a foolish arguement.You can't make a car for that much.
The simple fact is that the people who want these cars can't afford to buy them. There is no market for this type of product.
It has nothing to do with Governments or foreigners. Society has simply evolved away from this type of product.
It is a shame but that's the way things are.
Just be sure to let all the guys know at your next clan meeting.
I don't really see this as all doom and gloom, I think as usual its a market adjusting to what customers want.
There are still a lot of car builders out there, us included, and yes we build a light weight mid engined sports car, (designed by the cos in Marcos...)based on MGF mechanicals.
Do I ever consider it making real money? maybe? not really, because someone already tried that and it floundered, so we do it for ourselves and people that want something different.
The commerciality of car building is horrific...but to some its still worth trying.
There are still a lot of car builders out there, us included, and yes we build a light weight mid engined sports car, (designed by the cos in Marcos...)based on MGF mechanicals.
Do I ever consider it making real money? maybe? not really, because someone already tried that and it floundered, so we do it for ourselves and people that want something different.
The commerciality of car building is horrific...but to some its still worth trying.
Joe T said:
I don't really see this as all doom and gloom
I think it depends on from where you are looking at it.Personally i think its pretty tragic. Another great British motoring institution gone to the wall. How would the Italians feel if Ferrari went skint?
I guess it depends on how passionate you are about all things British and british motoring heritage..
We have huge history both in manufacturing and motorsport which i could go on about for months and increasingly we are losing these guys who 'dare to be different'.
I'm sure market forces, British manufacturing costs etc etc have alot to blame but for whatever reason its definitely a sad day in British Motoring..
Hendry said:
Cue Al Melling, stage left...
For what purpose, other than to gain more PR off yet another company's misfortune? I'm not aware of anything that the guy has announced that has actually made it into mass-production yet. Which would be a bit like Marcos, except they at least managed to sell three. Sorry, but I just see Melling as falling into the same category as a lot of other dreamers - lots of talk, very little to back it up. Hopefully he might one day prove that statement wrong, but so far we're still waiting. IMHO.
joust said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
And that, is the crux. That is impossible without mass manufacturing economics. Lotus essentially lost on every single one of the Elises, and that had bugger all in it cost wise and was made in 1000s per year.J
If they can't bring that to market cheaply (remember base roady's were about 11K from smart) with development assistance for settign up in wales - you can see how easy it's not going to be to start from a clean sheet and do this in the UK.
I very much doubt we'll see the ace or any other car new car in this range European legislation is just too expensive (emissions, pedestrian safety, crash safety etc, H&S in the factory) for a small low volume manufacturer to charge that little and survive.
If mazda can charge nearly 20K for a new MX-5 with all the economies of scale they can muster to put a new car on the road with 3yr warrnty and th ebells and whistles the law and buyers demand....
SImes.
Quinny said:
What a shame, lady up the road from me owns this beauty, uses it every day, and last time I spoke to her she said its been 100% reliable
Looking at the spec and build quality they should have sold loads. Strange that this is the only one I've ever seen on the road
Isn't that the press car?Looking at the spec and build quality they should have sold loads. Strange that this is the only one I've ever seen on the road
joust said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
And that, is the crux. That is impossible without mass manufacturing economics. Lotus essentially lost on every single one of the Elises, and that had bugger all in it cost wise and was made in 1000s per year.J
The problem was execution.
Using a development mule as the first press car (or was it using the press car as the development mule?), which is what they did, is totally unprofessional.
Yes it's a shame, particularly as the company could have been viable if better managed.
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