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A Continental Visitor Looks at Olympia

15th November 1935
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Page 56, 15th November 1935 — A Continental Visitor Looks at Olympia
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Our Paris Representative, After Visiting the Corn mercial Motor Show, Compares British and French Design, to the Advantage of Home Products

TWO years have elapsed since I was able to compare French and British design by visiting Olympia shortly after the Paris Salon, and it may be said at once that the British industry still appears, in most respects, to be years ahead not only of that of France, hut of the rest of the world.

Superficially, the cOntrast is, per

haps, less sharply marked in the present Show, for the French have, of late, adopted many British ideas in coachwork. On examining the exhibits more closely, however, the difference becomes apparent. Quality tells, and in detail work there is no comparison between French and British products, in either ideas or thoroughness.

A feature of the Show that strikes a visitor from France is the development of light vehicles. Light commercial motors are produced in great numbers across the Channel, but they are made almost entirely by private-car concerns. The French delivery van, for instance, is usually an adaptation of a standard private-car model. The makers simply increase the cylinder bore, lower the gear ratios and stiffen up the chassis to take a bigger load.

In cOntra-st, in England these B30, vehicles are usually designed from end to end for their own particular work and have little in common with the private car. Even when made by a private-car manufacturer, the British light chassis always shows special characteristics, a fact particularly noted amongst the smaller models.

The Trolleybus Neglected in France.

Another point is the increasing popularity of the trolleybus. It seems curious that in a country such as France, where extremely cheap 4electricitY from water power is available over large areas, this useful form of transport should be neglected, but the fact remains that, although tentative experiments have been made here and there, the trolleyhus is virtually nonexistent. The impressive display of this type of vehicle by the Leyland, introduction of many in-conceived regulations as to axle weights, overall dimensions, tyres, etc., have kept 'designers on tenterhooks for a long time. All these difficulties have been offset, in some measure, by the abolition of the horse-power tax two years ago. This step has proved to be a definite help in a period of severe commercial depression, and, as in Germany, the State has actually gained by the change in taxation, owing to the increased use of taxed liquid fuels.

Taxicab exhibits are of special interest to the Parisien who wanders into Olympia, as the street traffic of his home city is largely composed of this type of vehicle. Although their number has been slightly reduced of late, owing to hard times, there are still 20,000 cabs on the streets, and they are the most elegant and luxurious vehicles of their. kind in the world. The Austin, Morris-Commercial and Beardmore concerns are, however, really making an effort to improve the appearance of the London taxicab, and the Beardmore chassis is an admirable effort to deal with a difficult problem.

Coachwork, whether on passenger or goods chassis, merits and receives the highest praise from Continental visitors, particularly in the matters of finish and attention to details. Certain ideas seen in the present Show w ill probably be adopted in France. One in particular is to be found in a coach body, by the Biti'Sh company,.: on a Leyland chassis.. The staggeredseating arrangement gives wider seating accommodation without restricting gangway space.

The Dorvac 'door-operating gear on the Leyland-G.E.C. • trolleybus is another useful 'device which appeals to a Frenchman, especially for employment in one-man buses. • The protection' and comfort of driver's are still far more carefully studied here than in France.

Striking Pantechnicon Bodies.

Pantechnicon bodies are most striking to anyone accustomed to the prehistoric vehicles of this nature in Faris. One in particular which attracts attention is the Wokingham, with a threestep .arrangement for facilitating the loading and unloading of furniture. '

Turning to municipal vehicles, the Eagle Pactum refuse body is of better appearance than any small body of the kind to be found in France, although the loading level is too high for French methods of collection. ' Amongst firefighting vehicles, the idea of comfprts for firemen is carried to extreme lengths in the Dennis canteen van, which should make fire fighting a pleasure! If introduced into France, the vehicle would have to carry large supplies of red wine, which is a regular Army ration (the fire brigade is a regiment).

The display of British oil engines is most impressive, for, although the employment of such power units has expanded to a great extent during the past two or three years, there is still no sign of an all-French proprietary compression-ignition engine for roadvehicle work. All oil engines in France, with the exception of two, the Renault and the Panhard, are built under foreign licence, and in this connection it may be mentioned that the Gardner, manufactured by Bernard et Cie, has already met with well-deserved success.

The preponderance of oilers at the

Paris Salon is not, however, repeated at Olympia, in spite of the enormOus advance made in British design. In checking up engine exhibits I found 19 compression-ignition units to six petrol units, six makes being represented, five of which are British and one American. Chassis makers, however, show 60 oilers, as against 107 petrol vehicles., but this discrepancy may be acconnted for by the large proportion of light chassis in the Exhibition

Where French Design Leads.

French design still appears to lead in connection with suspension. Efforts are, however, being made, in several cases, to improve matters. The Scammell rubber-suspension system appears to have proved a success, whilst there are other novel ideas to be seen, such as the springing arrangements on the fine Bristol vehicle, in which the rear end of the chassis is .underslung on inverted half-elliptics. Another example of an underslung chassis is the little

• Singer. The Brockhouse torsional suspension is another advanced ystem, • The three-wheeled delivery stan which appears at the Show, the James, seems to be a useful little outfit. ft l is rather similar in design to certain French Makes, but, as is usually the case in British prodnets; detail work i and the finish are better:

A 'vehicle ' which. should make a strong appeal in France is the Diamonds-T three-horse box.

_ , . •..-French Makers Conservative.

The Bristol nine-eYlin'clered axial engine is interesting and not a little Surprising:"French ' manufacturers are far too conservative -. nowadays to launch out in such an expensive manner with a power unit Whichmust still be regarded as experimental. '

• Unit construction for the engine and gearbox appears to be much more general in England than in France, even amongst the " heavy rigade." In France practically every chassis larger -than a 3-tonne: has a separate gearbox. Proprietary clutches also intrigue the Frenchman, as this idea is quite unknown to him, but the Borg and Beck dry-plate clutch seems to be everywhere at Olympia.

The B. and E. Gigantip body shown on a Leyland chassis is noteworthy. 1 There are half a dozen tipp ng-body specialists in France, and some of them produce first-class designs, but there is nothing quite like this thfee-stage hydraulic lifting and tipping gear.

On the whole, a visit to Olympia is most cheering to an Englishman resident in France, as it shows him riot only' the pronounced lead which is held by British Imanufacturers; but also the intense vitality of . the commercialvehicle industry in his own country.


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