OLYMPIA SHOW REPORT-PART II.
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Enquiries and business have, contrary to the apparent estimates of a large number of exhibitors, been most encouraging during the early days of the show. A tour of the principal. stands on Saturday last disclosed the fact that quite a fair number of orders had been booked, and the majority of those with whom we chatted expressed themselves as being well pleased with the opening days' results. There is little doubt that the remainder of the present week should bring crowds of people to Olympia, so wide have been the reports in regard to the opening ceremony, which was admirably conceived, judiciously advertised, and successfully carried through.
The display has already attracted the envious attention of Continental manufacturers, who regard the fact that Great Britain leads in the commercial section with feelings of keen regret. One has been able to notice, from day to day, the presence of a considerable sprinkling of foreign visitors, but far be it from us to suggest that all these are French, German or Italian motor manufacturers, for a not unimportant proportion of these gentlemen must have been attracted to the show by the knowledge that they would see something of use for purchase and export to their compatriots. Other interested visitors have included deputations from several municipalities, and more arrivals of this character are expected before Saturday next. The directors and operating engineers of the principal London and provincial motorbus companies have been careful students of the exhibits, so far as has been possible having regard to their somewhat onerous duties at the present time, and we have heard several express their great
interest. We have, also, observed the attendance of numerous members of the Motor Van, Wagon and Omnibus Users' Association, whose cards of men-thership, we may remind ,them, give admission to the exhibition without payment. Tramway engineers, too, have oot been slow to avail themselves of the opportunity to become more closely acquainted with details of the many excellent specimens of motorbus and emergency-van construction which are in position, and this forebodes an extension of the use of these vehicles for the purpose of feeding extra traffic from districts where the population is too sparse to justify the capital expenditure on the laying down of a tramway track and its necessary equipment. We gather, in addition, that a satisfactory percentage of those who have been addressing most pertinent questions to the managers and salesmen at the stands where motorvans are on exhibition have been large tradesmen and dealers in all classes of dry goods, provisions, etc., and for whom the motorvan holds in store so many chances of extended trade. We have devoted some 4o pages of text, apart from the 8-page supplement which is germane to part II of our report, to the vehicles which are propelled by electricity, the internal combustion of petroleum spirit, or a combination of the two. There are, as will be gathered from our next two pages, only two makers showing electricallypropelled vehicles, whilst three other stands, those of Greenwood and Batley, Limited (No. 35), Sidney Straker and Squire, Limited (No. 43) and W. A. Stevens, Limited (No. IN include examples of petrol-electric transmission. It is difficult, if not impossible, to say which of the stands are the most attractive, although the larger ones naturally catch the eye sooner than others which are not so prominent. We feel, none the less, that we may ask special notice for the makers of the Argyll, Darracq-Serpollet, Dennis, Lacre, Milnes-Daimler, New ArrolJohnston, Straker-Squire and WolseleySiddeley vehicles by reason of the effectiveness of their staging, as much as because of the intrinsic merits of the productions which are on view. It is, of course, impossible for us in a few brief introductory sentences to make the needful references to the other exhibitors who, whilst their spaces are less extensive than those of the manufacturers we name, have brought forward chassis and complete vehicles fully as worthy of inclusion in the front rank. We have, however, endeavoured to throw up a few points in connection with each exhibit, as this method of reporting-, which was adopted in part I of our show report (mowers, rollers, steam wagons and tractors), published on Thursday last, has been received with every indication of approval, both from members of the industry and from users of commercial motors.
We feel sure that any business man who arrives at the show with a limited amount of time at his disposal. as is so often the case, will desire to avail himself of our separate references to the various exhibits, from which he will be able to pick out the stands that are likely to contain anything suitable for his particular purposes. Any such new reader, who may purchase a copy of this issue within the exhibition at our stand (No. 96), will find that he has in his possession a complete report so far as it is possible to compress the essen tial facts into a total of 56 pages of text and 12 of supplement. The small detail illustrations in the following pages will, we hope, go far to improve the bare general impression that is conveyed by an external view of a van, lorry or omnibus.
Mr. Claude Browne, managing director of the Lacre Motor Car Corn
pany, Limited, advises us that his company was applied to, towards the end of last week, with a view to its joining in a procession of commercial motors on Sunday last, and expresses the view that a procession of this description on a Sunday would he more likely to prejudice than help the movement. Mr. Browne, in his letter, adds that his corn pony dues not intend to assist. Whilst unable to include the letter in our correspondence columns, we refer to it here, and we heartily endorse Mr. Browne's decision, subject to his being correctly informed. We understood that a few members of the trade and their friends merely set out to organise a country run as a diversion from show cares,