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Open House to the World
Page 65
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Show Reveals Tendency Towards Greater Economy of Operation at Home and Overseas DURING the next nine days, the British commercial vehicle industry will keep open house at Earls Court to operators from all over the world. Shortages of supplies and unpredictable difficulties in production have not been allowed to interfere with progress and invention. Visitors to the Commercial Motor Show, which opens to-day, will find ample evidence of the qualities which have placed Britain ahead of all its rivals in the commercial vehicle markets.
Among the biggest collection of vehicles ever seen at Earls Court there are some 20 new chassis and several new standard designs of bus body. These models are not old types tricked out with fresh frills to tickle the purchaser's fancy and flatter his vanity: they are new conceptions in design and have been prepared to meet specific mechanical and economic needs. Economy of operation is one of their common basic objects.
Lighter and Larger Penal taxation has created a demand for a reduction in deadweight and larger payload capacity, particularly in public service vehicles, and chassis manufacturers and bodybuilders have responded to the call. A nelif chassisless coach or bus produced by a famous bodybuilder has achieved a signal success in this direction, whilst other chassis makers and bodybuilders have, in their separate spheres, evolved new lightweight designs which secure economy without reducing longevity. Renewed interest is being taken in the 14-seater, which, in a limited market, has several valuable applications.
Post-war design has now been consolidated and the Show reveals several strong tendencies in goods-vehicle construction. One lies in the direction of increased numbers of gear ratios, either by means of auxiliary gearboxes or through the use of two-speed rear axles. Another is seen in improved cabs. The attention given in. cab and chassis design to creating easier and more congenial working conditions for the driver is significant of the modern approach to industrial problems. A third tendency is found in the wider application of the oil engine. Earls Court introduces the first standard 1-ton oiler built in Britain, for which remarkable economy is claimed. Brake designers also display a progressive spirit and it may be that a revolution in braking systems is around the corner.
The traffic manager's influence is strong in public service vehicle bodywork. His demands for greater seating capacity, for easier steps to speed up loading and unloading and avoid platform accidents, and for improved luggage facilities and visibility in coaches are realized in many of the Show exhibits. There is also a welcome movement towards cleaner external lines, which may reflect the beneficial effects on contemporary design of the Festival of Britain.
Builders of goods bodywork have now acquired the art of using light alloys correctly and display a new boldness in design. Specialization is a strong characteristic of many of the goods vehicles at Earls Court and the politically conscious may discern in it one of the reasons for the large increase in C-licence transport. In particular, the range of loads which can be carried in bulk without pre-packing has been widened. At the same time, bodybuilders seem to be trying not to limit too closely the functions of special types.
Valuable Support Makers of accessories and components are keeping pace with the needs of chassis manufacturers and bodybuilders, and steady progress in the design and construction of tyres is in evidence. The service equipment on display at Earls Court reveals a keen appreciation of the necessity of speed and economy in maintenance, and of the current dislike of dirty work.
Some exhibitors may have had misgivings on .the wisdom of holding a Show under the present difficult conditions, but the glittering display on which the curtain will rise this morning should resolve their doubts. London remains the centre of the world's greatest Commercial Motor Show and Britain the home of the world's finest vehicles.