"The Motor' s" Napier Delivery Van.
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Without exception, the busiest time of the year for our sister journal The Motor " is the week immediately preceding the Motor Show at Olympia, and the week during which the Show itself is in
progress. So insistent is the demand of the public to be supplied with the best information concerning the latest developments in the motor industry, that the whole staff is occupied in a strenuous rush to fill the hungry pages of the big Show issues during practically every minute of their waking time.
We endeavoured to secure a short interview with the Editor of our contemporary last week, in order to obtain his views on the advantages to be secured from the use of commercial motors. We . anticipated a little aloofness—perhaps coldness—from the avowed advocate of luxurious pleasure vehicles, but, greatly to our surprise, on putting a query to him in the Editorial sanctum as to whether the employment of a motorvan was a successful experiment or not in newspaper work, he replied, in Levee, telegraphic form : " Can't spare you time now. Couldn't do without it. Go out for a day yourself and see."
Accordingly, then, an Editorial member-of this journal spent a few hours with the van on Monday last.
Between the hours of 8 a. M. and 12 noon, the van was engaged in making calls on the London offices of the leading motor manufacturers. etc., collecting information, delivering letters, and so forth. It -then returned to the offices of Temple Press Ltd., in Rosebery Avenue, and, as soon as the special Show numbers of " The Motor" were freed from the press, they were. hurried out into the publishing room, and from there the first early copies were placed in the van and taken full speed to Olympia.
We need hardly inform our
readers that newspapers in .bulk, weigh extremely heavy, and it was a fine test of the vehicle to load it up in this manner, and then to hurry it, along at high speed. The run to Olympia through the London traffic was made in just over 22 minute; and in less than halfan-hour from the first copies being issued the Temple Press Stand in the main hall had large but rapidlydiminishing piles cif the journal on sale.
The van returned empty to the offices of Temple Press in just over twenty minutes, and there it was again loaded and quickly returned to Olympia, where further supplies were taken into the building.
Early delivery was essential, as naturally traders in other parts of the country who could not visit the Show were desirous of securing the first published and most complete account of the actual Show in the quickest time, and, accordingly, the wholesale newsagents had to be supplied at express speed. Here the van was invaluable, and with its help valuable hours were saved. Many short excursions were run from different districts on Tuesday and Wednesday, and so huge and comprehensive is the Show, that it would be impossible in the course of a day to inspect it as thoroughly as one could wish unless one could obtain and study a well-written account before visiting Olympia. Accordingly, this express delivery of "The Motor, containing an account of the exhibits, saved much time to business men to whom time is of some little moment.
After delivering to the Wholesale newsagents, the van once more returned to the offices, and was then engaged again in carrying copies of "The Motok " to Olympia.
Speaking with sonic knowledge of the conditions under which the current number was produced, and the extreme urgency of delivery necessary, we affirm that such delivery could not have been effected without the help of the van.
Below will be found an illustration of the vehicle as it appeared when loading up withcopies. The chassis is a one-ton Napier, which was fifst fully described by this journal in our issue dated 14th March. 1912. The body is cream painted, and in bold letters on the panels the well-known red lettered signature of " The Motor." appears. The van well maintains the
house motto of •• First out." • •