THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE FORD.
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The Suitability of the Standard and the Ton Truck Chassis for Employment in Diverse Occupations. Ideas for Present and Potential Users.
TITIS being a mechanical age, and one in which the motor vehicle plays an important part in the transport of raw material and manufactured products of all descriptions in the course of their passage from producer to consumer, it might almost he considered superfluous to indicate the diverse uses to which the modern road vehicle can be put. On every side evidence is readily procurable to show the remarkable sphere of activity of the commercial vehicle in its many guises.
The average man or woman has, perhaps, only a dim conception of the dependence of the country's industrial status upon modern transport, as represented by the motor vehicle, be it light van or heavy lorry, and so long as their normal domestic and other wants are met, their interest is, more or less, superficial. They cannot, however, fail to observe the striking growth in the use of the industrial vehicle, and particularly of the lighter type of machine which, in its many forms, has become a definite feature of the industrial life of the country as well as of that of the individual.
Growing Use of the Light Vehicle,
If we were questioned as to the reason for the, growing popularity of the tight vehicle, we would unhesitatingly and ungrudgingly bestow praise upon the Ford which, largely on account of its low first cost and simple mechanical construction, has presented to many small men, with limited means, a speedy unit which is both economical and efficient in use. Not that it must be thought that the small man alone has given evidence of his appreciation of these factors. Large concerns in the industrial and commercial world, as well as a considerable number of municipal bodies, also owe much to the general handiness of this ubiquitous —a word one is impelled to use—chassis of American origin.
The Range of Usefulness of the Ford.
The adaptability of the Ford is legion. Be it a man in a small or a large way of business, suburban grocer or universal supplier, as a transport unit it forms a round peg in a round hole. Itis only natural, perhaps, that, in spite of its acknowledged utility, the Ford should have achieved greater success in some business channels than in others, although it may be somewhat unreasonable to impose the reason for this disparity upon the chassis itself.
Given a suitable type of body, is there any limit to the use, within its defined capacity, to which the Ford ton chassis could be put. either for goods or passenger-carrying? There are obvious limits to the use of the standard Ford chassis chiefly on account of its carrying capacity and of the size of body which it can conveniently carry, which are not associated with the ton chassis, and the latter accordingly provides much greater scope for the employment of useful or unusual types of bodies.
The Object of this Feature.
The purpose of this feature, which will be repeated at intervals, is chiefly to assist potential users. Accordingly, we shall give actual examples of the profitable employment of the Ford van or lorry, which may serve to convince those who have hitherto held aloof from the use of motor vehicles that their methods are out of date. This remark applies, of course, to small tradesmen, small menicipal undertakings, and the like, who may have thought that the Ford chassis was not altogether suitable for their existing needs.
The primary object, therefore, will be to illustrate this feature with vehicles having distinctive and, in some cases, unusual types of bodies which have been built to meet special requirements, and by so doing we may pass on new ideas to old users, or impress upon those behind the times the adaptability of the modern light motor vehicle. This week we open our featnre with illustrations and details of vehicles in five diverse occupations, and these, we are sure, will interest those who may be engaged in similar lines of business.
Let us add that we shall at all times be pleased to receive from users who have such vehicles in service, or from coachbuilders who have designed and constructed special types of bodies, photographs and particulars relating to Ford vehicles, so Tong as they possess a "talking point" and do not merely deal with the orthodox.