British Motors Challenge Rivals

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 247, 9 January 1928, Page 12

British Motors Challenge Rivals

SCIENCE AND BOOST CLAIMS TO SUPERIORITY . The British motor manufacturers have roused themselves to the expanse • and needs of thir overseas markets, and 3 the writing is on the wall that they are going to oust their foreign rivals from more than one corner of the map which ■ is painted red. Last year New Zealand was visited • by the official delegation of the Society - of British Motor Manufacturers, by Mr. ; W. E. Rootes, head of one of the lead- ; ing firms of distributors, with interests s throughout the world, and by the re- ’ prsentatives of several of 1 the largest ' British car factories, including Morris, Singer and Crossley. The influence of these visitors was to be seen at the annual motor show in London recently in the various modifications in designs on account of overseas road conditions. ; by increased activity on the part of » British car agents in the Dominion, and by a greater amount of advertising now , carried out by the manufacturers. The “Empire Mail” recently published a special overseas motor number and gave some indication of what British manufacturers are doing and are prepared to do to recapture the markets of the Empire. The reason for the number, the leading article says, is to “demonstrate in practical fashion 1 the superior qualities of the British car —superior because no nation has higher engineering standards than our , own; because no foreign motor industry has pursued such a sound policy of car design as the British; and because all-round comparisons prove that for consistently good service British car is unsurpassed.” “It was generally accepted,” says Sir Archibald Boyd-Carpenter, in an interview on the tour of the motor delegation, “that for quality and service British engineering products remain to-day unchallenged.” In order that the next few years shall see a progressive development of the British export • trade in motor vehicles, it is considered says the “Empire ’Mail,” essential that there should be a greater realisation of of the value of merchandising and further development of research and standardisation. In addition, reference is made to the necessity for obtaining a full understanding of the peculiar needs of the Australian or New Zealand purchaser. FIELD FOR PROPAGANDA Chief stress, however, is laid on another factor in the campaign—“propaganda.” “In a country of such vast size as Australia,” we are told, “propaganda is especially necessary in business. There is a wide field for propaganda on our part, and we should not neglect it, for our competitors are taking every advantage of the situation largely created by the war. One way is to secure concentrated propaganda by amalgamating the various British organisations in a general effort.’ As -regards the effect of the tour itself, the delegation has expressed the modest hope that it “in some small measure have achieved a result as shown in steps which have been taken by public and local Governmente in Australia and New Zealand to further the interests of British manufacturers.” It is, of course, inconceivable that such a tour should not have had a most important influence on the maintenance and increase of British prestige. Sir A. Boyd-Carpenter and his colleagues, Mr.-. A. R. Fenn and Lieut.-Colonel A. Hacking, were in the position of ambassadors of British trade, and as such entered fully into the life of the Dominions. Sir Archibald, for example, made 118 public speeches, of -which 100 were broadcast. He attended and spoke at 217 conferences of business people, and granted innumerable interviews. . . . The delegation travelled 17,000 miles by motor-car, over all sorts of roads, tracks, places where there were no tracks, and mud and sand. Another article in the “Empire Mail” is written by Mr. W. E. Rootes, who says that most British car designers have anticipated the findings of the delegation and have already incorporated in their creations the very features for which the overseas users have long been looking. To-day, he says, we are making cars not merely for local needs, but for world conditions. And what is not less important, we are turning out cars with which overseas traders can build up sound and profitable businesses for themselves. The .dictum of another well known man in the motor world, Mr. S. F. Edge, a well-known pioneer of the race-track and workshop, who is associated with Rolls Royce as well as being managing director of A.C. Cars, says:—“Running costs will come to be the deciding factor in the purchase of a car. People will tire of the large and powerfhl but short-lived type; they will choose cars that will give years of service and remain quiet and smooth-running all the time.”

HOME OF ENGINEERING In “The Story of the British Car,” , Mr. R. Fielden reviews the progress of the British motor industry before the war and the absolute absorption of its energies by the need for munitions and, after referring to the necessity of the British horse-power tax in order to repair the war-worn roads of England, he says the average British car is subjected ' to searching tests before it leaves the factory; it undergoes chassis (rough and finished) tests on the ro~d; the engine is tested for power and economy; the British car receives an amount of individual attention that it would be impossible to give to the cheap American vehicle. Great Britain is the home of engineering, and the British motor-car stands as the symbol of engineering excellence. Replying in detail to many letters in the British motor press from overseas readers, the motor editor of the “Empire Mail” says that practically every British car now made in substantial quantities for export has normal clearance and a 4ft Bin track, although it must not be assumed that this track width is necessary everywhere. Nine inches is the average clearance given, which compares more than favourably with that of most American cars. Greater attention has been given ta springing, and what one does find in British cars, but not in many American, is fine finish and workmanship not confined to outward appearances, but in parts never seen by the motorist himself, as the repair mechanic will testify.

The principal of the largest distributing and motor repairing firm in the South Island writes: “We repair all types of cars imported into New Zealand. Many of the British cars we sell we never see again. The Americans are frequently in our hands, and often have to be given a complete overhaul after 10.000 miles.” The British manufacturer offers power with the minimum of weight—an engine depending upon absolute efficiency and lightness rather than size. In effect, it is science versus brute force, and the scientific method, with petrol at, say 2/- a gallon, as in New Zealand, is decidedly the cheaper in running costs, and repair costs, too. The average British “Fourteen” will transport its load of five people up a gradient of one in nine more quickly on third gear than will the 25 h.p. American on “top.” A gear-box should be useful, and British -ear-boxes can be used as intended. “Already we have it on the authority of one motor agent tfiat, were his firm designing two or three well-known makes for New Zealand conditions; they would be identical with the latest

models on view. The roomy fiveseater now in production will give everything required in the way of power and efficiency, added to the advantage of economy in petrol and oil consumption,” concludes the article.