Product Longevity

Frequent readers of this blog may recall my posting on the 8th March about the (potential) demise of certain products. If not, you can read the posting here.

How refreshing it was to contrast the extinction of the products mentioned therein, with a story on the longevity of the Morgan 4/4 which appeared in the ‘Life & Leisure’ supplement in the Australian Financial Review of 31st March 2006.

Here are a couple of quotes from that article:

“The Morgan Motor Company has been building its 4/4 sports car for 70 years…the longest running continuous production of a car in motoring history…apart from mandatory safety and emission inclusions (airbags, indicators and front, rather than rear, hinged doors” the design is basically unchanged from the 1936 model".

Believe it or not, the vehicle’s frame is still made of wood, and the roof is constructed manually.

What’s this got to do with pricing? Well, in 1936 the Morgan 4/4 was touted as the cheapest sports car in the world, able to “round corners at speed without sliding”. Back then it cost 748 pounds and 7 shillings. Today, the price of the 2006 limited edition vehicle is $109,000.

How refreshing!