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.

2012 Morgan Sports Cars EvaGT

Morgan was one of the first car companies to see the advantage of a bonded aluminium chassis to give rigidity but also to save weight. The 2012 Morgan Sport Car EvaGT uses a further developed version of the bonded aluminium chassis of the Morgan Aero SuperSports, a chassis that successfully competes in International GT3 Sports Car Racing. Compliant with European and US safety approvals.

2012 Morgan Sports Cars EvaGT

The Morgan Motor Company  has been making new cars all along. Morgan used the unveiling of the EvaGT sports car to again commit to releasing a brand new model every two years, with new niche markets in mind. It says the EvaGT is a four-seater coupe with a bit of “automotive theatre” aimed at young sporting families, while it also has plans for “a fun weekend vehicle” and, most intriguingly, an “electric sports car”.

The Morgan Motor Company is the last survivor of these British sports car manufacturers. Morgan sports car has a history of successful collaborations with German suppliers BMW, Siemens and Bosch. But Morgan also works with a number of young engineering companies in the United Kingdom and with world class British university research departments.

2012 Morgan Sports Cars EvaGT 

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is one of the most prestigious automotive events of the year, and is drawing the attention of more and more high-end manufacturers. Count Morgan among them, as the company has just debuted the stunning Morgan EvaGT 2+2.

The Morgan Motor Company is in a good position to respond to this challenge because the company is small and flexible with a proven track record of fast development cycles. It currently manufactures one of the greenest sports cars in the world, the Morgan Four Four Sport. Morgan sports cars achieves this result with the use of the new Ford 1.6 Sigma engine coupled with a light chassis. Morgan currently has a young well qualified technical team working towards a potential 5 engineering PHD's, who will make full use of research departments at the University of Oxford, Cranfield and Birmingham City to tap into a technical knowledge network to make more efficient cars. This team is helping to develop a high torque electric motor twice as powerful as others of the same weight and size and a powerful lithium phosphate battery with a higher charge density to achieve the most efficient performance for weight so far.

The turbocharged, 3.0-liter inline-six from the BMW 335i sits under the sculpted hood and produces a healthy 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels by either a six-speed automatic or six-speed manual. Morgan sports cars expects a scamper to 62 miles per hour to take 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 170 miles per hour. With its top speed at 170mph, Morgan sports cars Eva GT returns an impressive fuel economy of 40mpg UK, equals to 7.0lt/100km and 33.3mpg US, and has CO2 emissions of 200g/km.

The first public view of the 2012 Morgan sports cars EvaGT will be at the 60th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, California, USA on the 15th August 2010. The Morgan Motor Company will be taking orders worldwide with a request for a deposit of £5000 from prospective clients for an allocated build slot. The first 100 cars of a limited run are planned to begin production mid 2012 and the "on-road" price will be competitive for a car of this class.