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COLOURS FLYING

23rd August 1986, Page 40
23rd August 1986
Page 40
Page 40, 23rd August 1986 — COLOURS FLYING
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The standard of entries for CM's annual livery competition is better than ever with own-account entrants taking many of the top awards.

• Own-account operators once again dominated the top placings in the annual CM Livery Competition. Of all the recent years, the 1986 event was the most difficult to judge; a large entry and some good designs gave our judging panel a long and painstaking task.

They spent five hours examining 6(X) colour slides that covered every angle of the entrants' vehicles. Drawing up a short list of six or seven finalists in each of the four classes was relatively straightforward, but choosing the first, second and third places was another matter. It was a split decision in all four classes.

The Post Office — the Midland Postal Board in Birmingham, to be exact — repeated last year's success by taking first place in Class 1 for vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes GVW.

The judges had no qualms in nominating the same livery again — they saw nothing to beat it: "It's so punchy." Not that the simple red livery is perfect. It was suggested that the Royal Mail insignia on the Roadrunner's front panel should be moved to the left to centre it in the available space. On the rear shutter the insignia could be moved down slightly, but it is only a matter of centimetres.

This was an interesting class to judge because of the wide range of vehicles — everything from a milk-float to not one, but two mobile libraries!

One of the most common problems noted concerned the operator's identity. Some liveries leave the exact nature of the owner's business unclear; others create a muddled identity by including too many brand names.

Class 2 — for vehicles of 7.5 to 16.25 tonnes GVW — was particularly difficult to judge. Nabisco finally edged out Unigate for first place with a very classy cream-coloured livery on a Leyland Freighter. Unigate's is every bit as tidy and professional but just lacks the interest of Nabisco's.

It is often the rear view of the truck that makes — or more usually breaks — the livery. This was true again this year, particularly in this middleweight class where roller shutters and tail-lifts proliferated. It is significant that all the winning liveries look as good from the back as they do from the side.

TNT submitted several liveries in Class 2 and the next one up, Class 3 (for vehicles above 16.25 tonnes GVW). In general they were not too highly rated; the TNT Overnite livery was felt to lack the speed and urgency expected of an express parcels operator and the rear shutters tended to look too cluttered. The exception was the TNT Contract Services MAN artic working for Cow & Gate. "Terrific trailer" said one member of the judging panel, and the tractive unit was just as good. It was a worthy winner of Class 3.

The final class — for buses and coaches — has, in the past, failed to fulfil the livery potential offered by these vehicles. It was a similar story this year. Coaches dominated the top placings, despite a good cross-section of bus, mini-bus and coach entries.

No doubt encouraged by its second place last year, South Yorkshire PTE submitted a veritable flood of liveries, each one different and displayed on a range of interesting vehicles (including an Optare-converted Sherpa mini-bus and a Leyland DAB articulated bus).

The judges were not in tune with this year's design thinking at South Yorkshire; only one of the entries made it as far as the short list. It was Weston-Super-Mare coach operator Bakers that took first place with its crisp, clean blue, yellow, green and white livery. This comes from the drawing board of designer Ray Stenning, who also designed last year's winning livery for City of Oxford Motor Services.

The Freight Transport Association sponsored an award for the best livery entered by an operator with fewer than 15 vehicles. Screen-wiper manufacturer Trico-Folberth took this prize with its superbly neat red and black colours on a Cargo boxvan.

This year there was for the first time another ancillary award, presented by Fasson UK for the best livery using selfadhesive vinyl markings. For details of this, plus a fuller appraisal of all the winners and the best of the rest, see the accompanying colour pages.


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