Concerning Motorcabs.
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
By Henry Sturmey.
The disastrous report made by the Automobile Cab Company, to which reference was made in " TuF: COMMERCIAL MOTOR " of the ist instant, provides a lesson that may vell be taken to heart by all those who contemplate embarking upon the cab-running trade. I have no doubt, after reading the report, that there must have been a great deal of lax and wasteful management, which will account partly for the losses sustained, but, undoubtedly, the main cause of the trouble was—as the Chairman stated—due 10 the unsatisfactory nature of the vehicles that were employed. These cars were French, and one of the difficulties was, that the unfortunate cab company apparently had no one to help it out of the troubles which so quickly arose. '' The factory of the producing company was in France," said he, " and they .(the directors) were legally advised that it would be a somewhat difficult matter to obtain any redress, even though they obtained judgment in the English courts."
Lack of Repair Facilities.
This is the sort of experience with which many people, who have had unsatisfactory dealings with Continental houses—not only in the automobile trade, but in other businesses—have already become familiar, and, -apart altogether from the quality of the goods supplied, it should be a powerful inducement to buyers to patronise home producers in preference to those of the Continent. I anticipate, however, that this unfortunate cab company had some particularly " clever " individuals on its board or management; men who " knew a thing or two " and reckoned on getting something particularly smart in the way of price, although they do not seem to have been particularly happy in this either. They appear to have paid -X.734o per cab for an order of 32, and, at such a price, whilst they could not have expected to obtain an elaborate article, they could at least expect to obtain a decent one. This, however, they do not .appear to have done, as the Chairman stated that another cause of the trouble was that, when the company was formed, " the directors decided to use a type of car which, he regretted to say, did not eventually come up to their expectations." This, indeed, appears to have been the crux -of the whole situation.
As far as I can gather, the cars were built on French, " assembled " chassis, by an unknown firm with little or no -experience in car construction, and they appear to have .*en .altogether too light for the work required of them, so much .so that, according to the Chairman's account, same 40 per .cent, of the cabs were daily undergoing repair, instead of being on the road earning dividends.
Severity of Cab Work.
This question of lightness and unsuitability of parts is a -very serious one indeed, in connection with motorcabs. At first sight, it may appear that the problem of producing a motorcab is an easy one, seeing that a cab may be said to be a two-seated car, or, rather, a vehicle constructed to carry two passengers besides the driver. Now, quite a small engine can do this work, so that a body built upon a voiturette chassis would, at first blush, appear to fill the bill quite adequately. Cab work, however, is very different from ordinary pleasure-car service, and a motorcab has about the hardest work to do which any light motor vehicle is called upon to perform. The whole construction, indeed, requires to be of a very much stronger character than the number of passengers to be carried wculd at first imply. The constant starting, stopping, and crawling, and the heavy usage they are likely to get, calls for so:idity and strength of -construction, and the class of inexperienced drivers into whose hands they are placed, all call for siMplicity of construction, fewness Of parts, and a design calculated to render the vehicle -as "fool proof " as is possible. Seeing that the vehicles will be called upon to run regularly, day in day out, throughout the year, and that any "days off " for repairs, as well as the cost of these repairs, in addition to maintenance and upkeep generally, let alone the matter of long life, are vital ones in the financial economy of the concern, it stands to reason that all bearing parts Used should be of ample area, and that
everything should be suited for long wear. A cab company will quickly be ruined by heavy depreciation in its stock, just as the motor omnibus companies of to-day are finding themselves financially handicapped by the possession of a proportion of already obsolete, unsatisfactory, and worn-out vehicles, in any other circumstances. The small, light, and flimsy parts, which do well enough in ordinary, light, pleasure cars, should be avoided, and the fullest amount of attention should be given to strength of parts, area of bearings, and lasting construction.
Trade Coming to England.
British houses are already getting some of the cabtrade, and the advantage of supporting the home industry in this direction is being appreciated, whilst there are one or two firms here who. are providing special constructions of a character which appears likely to give good service to users, and a good and lasting trade to their purchasers. It must be admitted, none the less, that there are others who are following in the footsteps of Continental houses, and are merely adapting light, pleasure-car chassis and machineparts to the requirements of Scotland Yard, and offering them for service as cabs. Great discrimination, therefore, in the selection of the vehicles required is called for, on the part of those who are entrusted with it, and I am satisfied that those who make first cost, rather than substantial construction, both in chassis and body, the deciding point, will be making an error for which they, or their financial supporters, will subsequently have to pay very heavily. I insist that these remarks should be applied both to the chassis and, with equal force, to the bodies, for I already hear of doors which won't shut, and windows which won't open, and the finish of some cabs is commencing to look shabby. Seeing that a well-built and substantial cab-body will cost some .7so more than the sum for which an apparently good body can he made, I am afraid that some cab buyers are exercising a false economy in this direction as well as others.
The motorcab trade is to-day on its trial; but, if some people are not very careful, they will go through exactly the same experience as the motor omnibus companies. I believe, in short, that this must inevitably be the case, in several instances which come to ray mind at the moment, but which it would be invidious to mention here,