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. . . and is Disappointed That More Was Not Done to Tell the Industry's Story
RIP VAN WINKLE, if his 20-year sleep had ended in London this September, would have found little change in the appearance of the Commercial Motor Show. The vehicles were on the ground floor, the accessories above. The nominal roll of banners still looked much the same at first glance as it did before the war Technical advances and improvements in design soon revealed themselves, but the Show contained little else to suggest that, in the comparatively short period of two decades, a complete transformation has taken place in the road transport industry.
The public demand for service from road transport has become more and more exigent. Travel comfort is expected to equal, if not exceed, the comfort of being in one's own home. Goods in transit are expected to be as well looked after as if they were in the factory or warehouse. People want the good things of life to be brought to the door in perfect condition. Like the Red Queen, they seek to go ever faster and faster, while apparently staying in the same place. The problems thus created may never be completely solved, but the ingenuity of the motor industry has gone a long way in the right direction.
Desire for Illusion It is not only road transport that has responded. British Railways, under the stimulus of competition, have acted boldly, even rashly, to meet the public need. The travelling versions of Ye Olde Pig and Whistle," with synthetic beams and sham windows, are a natural, if mistaken, tribute to the desire of the traveller for illusion. Where, moreover, by such means the railways have felt themselves to be contributing to progress, they have not made the mistake of hiding their light under a bushel. They have told their story many times over, so that everybody has become familiar with their difficulties and triumphs.
Successful examples of the response to the public demand were not lacking at Earls Court. The buses and coaches on show this year were more luxurious and comfortable than ever. There were mobile libraries, shops, public houses and exhibitions. There was even a fish-and-chip emporium on wheels. Not enough was done, however, to emphasize the credit due to the motor industry for all these visible signs of progress.
"What Will They Do Next ? "
The public sees the results, but does not learn the lesson. More than one visitor to the Show has said admiringly. "What will they do next?" This is the reaction of the spoilt child. It takes no account of the difficulties which the motor industry has had, and still has, to meet. The latest marvels lie all around, and the public takes them for granted. It forgets, or has never known, that the industry which obligingly provides the Show has to contend with an antiquated road system, high taxation and restrictive Acts of Parliament, as well as the common post-war problems of scarcity and austerity.
A40 The Earls Court Show should have aimed at providing a microcosm of the industry. Full advantage was not taken of the opportunity to educate the public on matters other than the purely mechanical. Few people have a wide knowledge of road transport law, and it is only such people who can understand why, for example, coaches may not be made more roomy, and why the design of vehicles for export differs so noticeably from that of vehicles remaining in this country.
The Morgue
The organizers of the Show had facilities for making the microcosm comprehensive. They were exhibiting something modern, for which an abundance of material was available, in contrast to a museum, where a few chance scraps from the past give tantalizing glimpses of a story with large gaps which the visitor must fill in for himself. In actual fact, the Earls Court Exhibition— when one also takes into account the morgue-like atmosphere inside the building—was not unlike a museum. The groups and parties sometimes to be seen drifting around looked lost without an official lecturer to explain to them the significance of each item.
Such a guide, stopping before one of the five lorries bearing the name and insignia of British Road Services, would have been able to give a discourse on transport nationalization. In the same section, he would have found—if my calculation be correct—twice as many vehicles for operation by hauliers under free enterprise, and innumerable examples of the use of C licences. At least one excellent specimen was available of an Acontract vehicle, deserving a short note of explanation.
The small number of models on show obviously intended for overseas customers concealed from notice the magnificent export achievements of the motor industry. With the help of a few figures, our guide would have had no difficulty in putting the matter in its right perspective.'
A Story to Tell
Far better than a chattering guide would be a rearrangement or augmentation of the exhibits so that they told their own story. Changes in the Show as a whole were obviously limited by the plans of individual exhibitors, but there should be no difficulty if a proposed modification be clearly to the advantage of the industry.
At the present time, it is more than ever necessary that the public should be kept informed of what is happening in road transport. The days have gone when it was advisable for the trader and manufacturer to attend strictly to the affairs of their own little world and ignore what was happening outside. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders realizes this well enough in other directions. It does not hesitate to speak its mind when it does not agree with the policy of the Government on such matters as the allocation of vehicles to the home market. The Society should now consider how the Earls Court Show in the future may be used for putting over the more important facts and figures about road transport.