Imagine a finely tuned classic car — classic in the traditional sense; all handmade, wooden frame, 35-40 miles per gallon. A true dream car. A car one would not take to the grocery store, but instead, a car designed for touring.

Geoff Clark, a native of the Midlands, Great Britain and spokesman for the Morgan Car Club, owns such a car. He, five friends and their spouses are completing a car connoisseur’s dream journey touring through the eastern and southern United States in their Morgan cars, shipped over for the tour from Great Britain.

Morgan cars are traditional British-made cars unique in that they have a wooden frame. Hand-built for nearly 100 years, the cars have an excellent reputation among collectors. In fact, many Morgan owners receive their fathers’ cars as part of their inheritance.

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Clark summed up their tour of the East and South.

“It’s been amazing. The people are so friendly, and we have received a warm welcome everywhere we’ve gone. In one town, the police started following us with siren and lights. We thought, ‘oh no, we’ve done something.’ Then he passed us, went to the intersection and stopped traffic for us so we could pass,” Clark said.

The six Morgan vehicles making the trip are quite a sight to behold. Car fanciers would appreciate the care and diligence taken to preserve these vehicles, some of which are new 2007 cars, but all of them classic in a traditional sense.

Four years ago, the Morgan Car Club, including Clark, toured the western U.S. via the old Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Some areas of the old road are closed, but they stuck to it as much as they could. They have also toured Spain and France.

Clark said the cost of the vehicle is about $70,000 in U.S., and they get about 35-40 miles per gallon. Of course, the steering is on the right and it’s a stick shift. In fact, the group usually uses valet parking when available, but they park the vehicles themselves because no one else knows how to drive them.

Sparkling clean, Clark said their scenic trip from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, via Covington, took about six weeks, having started in May. Their objective was not to drive more than about a hundred miles a day, the maximum being about 124 miles. They also make their own repairs when needed and keep to a strict 50 mph speed limit, which is the same speed they drive in England.

Their route has been enviable — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Byways and scenic drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive and the Natchez Trace in great weather, the top down and just cruising. They have also done some sightseeing, such as Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, Miss., Memphis and Natchez.

They were also amazed as to how many Morgan cars there are in the U.S. In fact, in many areas, car clubs arranged for their housing and meals and then Morgan cars would appear.

Clark said the group has been impressed with the people they have met. When asked about our rising gas prices, he said, “It’s been a pleasure to fill up. With the lower dollar compared to the pound, gasoline in the U.K. is about $11 per gallon.” He said people in the U.S. drive much more than they do in Britain. There, people will walk whenever possible, even to do errands.

They were eager to see New Orleans, and like many people in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world, they had spotty information about present conditions of the city, such as areas still flooded and closed.

Their brief stay in Covington was to rest up a bit before their trip end in New Orleans, where arranged for the shipment of the cars back to England and did some sightseeing. They flew home last Saturday.